Medieval Education in the Far East
Medieval Education in the Far East
China had a system of Imperial colleges. I guess you could call those universities. The oldest one is now the Hunan University in... well, Hunan Province though the much often cited Beijing University is considered the oldest university in China based on the western model.
Hunan University's origins can be traced to the Yuelu Shuyuan, or Yuelu Academy, more than 1,000 years ago. The Yuelu Academy was the first Chinese traditional institution of higher learning to adopt the tutorial system. It was established in the Song Dynasty and financed by the feudal government. The basic functions of the academy were to teach students and build up its library of books. It is regarded as one of the four most prestigious ancient academies of its time.
But Chinese academies or imperial colleges really date back to the Han dynasty when in 192 B.C. Imperial decree started the Imperial examinations for government posts. Anyone could take the Imperial exams and your grades in the exams determined the level of government position you will be assigned to. Of course money politics and family connections usually made it easier for rich families to get their sons good grades when the system fell prey to corruption. There are however, many traditional stories throughout the millenia, of poor sons who make it to top posts through the imperial exams and depending on the moral of the story, either forgot his parents who nurtured his studies or brought his parents out of poverty.
In traditional Chinese courts, the Emperor held court with two rows of officials, the scholars on the left and the generals on the right. The numbers were always balanced though not always equal.
The Imperial examinations were abolished in A.D. 1905 by the Qing government in an attempt to modernise.
Hunan University's origins can be traced to the Yuelu Shuyuan, or Yuelu Academy, more than 1,000 years ago. The Yuelu Academy was the first Chinese traditional institution of higher learning to adopt the tutorial system. It was established in the Song Dynasty and financed by the feudal government. The basic functions of the academy were to teach students and build up its library of books. It is regarded as one of the four most prestigious ancient academies of its time.
But Chinese academies or imperial colleges really date back to the Han dynasty when in 192 B.C. Imperial decree started the Imperial examinations for government posts. Anyone could take the Imperial exams and your grades in the exams determined the level of government position you will be assigned to. Of course money politics and family connections usually made it easier for rich families to get their sons good grades when the system fell prey to corruption. There are however, many traditional stories throughout the millenia, of poor sons who make it to top posts through the imperial exams and depending on the moral of the story, either forgot his parents who nurtured his studies or brought his parents out of poverty.
In traditional Chinese courts, the Emperor held court with two rows of officials, the scholars on the left and the generals on the right. The numbers were always balanced though not always equal.
The Imperial examinations were abolished in A.D. 1905 by the Qing government in an attempt to modernise.
Source: Our Forum Sep 5 2005
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Article added: 2006-03-03 @ 10:29 am | Last Modified: 2006-06-02 @ 6:21 pm
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