Taixue

Taixue (Tai-shueh;

The Imperial University (taixue) in Kaifeng was created as part of the Qingli Reforms to provide education to the children of commoners and low-ranking officials. It was the only institution that survived the reversal of the reforms.^[9]

Wang Anshi's New Policies included a major reform of education, including a greater emphasis on the Confucian classics at the expense of poetry and the reorganisation of the examination system. The university was expanded from 200 students in 1051 to 2,400 students in 1079 and was restructured into three halls: Outer, Inner and Upper. The students proceeded from one to another and upon graduation became qualified for the position of official.^[10]

The Three Hall system survived the partial rollback of the New Policies and was used as a template for prefectural schools. The university sat at the pinnacle of the hierarchical system with students advancing from level to level and from school to school based on examinations as well as teachers' recommendations. In 1106 a new "eight virtues" advancement path was introduced, with students recommended for their virtuous conduct spending one year in the prefectural school and then proceeding to the Upper Hall of the university.^[11]

The university had 3,800 students in 1103, of whom 3,000 were in the Outer Hall (which had a separate campus to the south of the capital), 600 in the Inner Hall, and 200 in the Upper Hall, with ten to sixty men graduating each year.^[11]

After the fall of Northern Song, the university was re-founded in Hangzhou, the new capital, in 1142 with the student quota of 300, which grew to 1,000 in 1148. Throughout Southern Song, the students of the Imperial University, sometimes joined by the students of other capital schools, became one of the most visible and influential political groups. They often took to the streets protesting various domestic or foreign policy issues. Sometimes their protests led to dismissals of prefects and even chief councilors.^[12]

See also

• Academies (Shuyuan)
• Ancient higher-learning institutions
• Shang Xiang
• Guozijian

References

Notes