Jixia Academy
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The Jixia Academy or Academy of the Gate of Chi (simplified Chinese: 稷下学宫; traditional Chinese: 稷下學宮; pinyin: Jìxià xuégōng; Wade–Giles: Chi-hsia hsüeh-kung) was the most famous scholarly academy of early China. It was founded around 318 BC in the city of Linzi, capital of the state of Qi (modern Shandong province), and Jixia was a gate in the city wall.. At the time, Linzi was one of the largest, most prosperous cities in the world. "For the first time on record a state began to act as a patron of scholarship out of the apparent conviction that this was a proper function of the state or a means of increasing its prestige" [1]. Scholars came from great distances to lodge in the academy, with the most important scholar holding the rank of Great Prefect. Notable scholars who worked at the academy included the Daoist philosophers Tian Pian, Shen Dao, and Peng Meng; Zou Yan, founder of the Yin-Yang school of philosophy; the Mohist philosopher Song Xing; and the Confucian philosophers Mencius,[2]Xun Zi,[3] and Chunyu Kun.
The Shiji says that "the king of Qi favoured these scholars. From Chunyu Kun down he gave them all the rank of ministers and honoured them by building large mansions, broad avenues and imposing gates for them. This was to show the proteges of other rulers that the king of Qi was a good patron."[4]
"The most prominent scholars were called 'Master' (先生 xiān-sheng) and their rank was equivalent to that of a higher-ranking official (上 大夫 Shàng dà-fū) at the Qi court. They received very generous stipends and were exempt from daily administrative tasks."[3] During its heyday, the Jixia Academy was the center of learning in China.
Among other works inspired by or begun at the Jixia Academy, the "Guanzi essay 'Neiye' 內業 (Inward training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor and meditation techniques. The essay was probably composed at the Jixia Academy in Qi in the late fourth century B.C."[1]
The Jixia Academy throve until the reign of King Min of Qi. In 284 BC, Linzi was taken by the army of Yan and the scholars of the Academy were scattered.
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the Jixia Academy inspired jealousy among leaders of other states, including Lü Buwei, chief minister of Qin, who became the patron of thousands of scholars in Qin between 250 and 238 B.C.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Wu, Hung; Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (1999/2007). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC.. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. pp. 662. http://books.google.com/books?id=cHA7Ey0-pbEC&dq=cambridge++history+of+ancient+china&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=AdFPS6TcB5W6tgPTy632DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- ^ Stockwell, Foster (2001). A History of Information Storage and Retrieval. McFarland & Company. pp. 22. ISBN 0786408405. http://books.google.com/books?id=bYGrRynxtMUC.
- ^ a b Sato, Masayuki (2003). The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi. Boston: Brill Leiden. pp. 12. http://books.google.com/books?id=FXJuJl5XTqAC&pg=PR3&dq=king+jian+of+qi&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=4#v=onepage&q=jixia%20academy&f=false.
- ^ Sima, Qian (2001). "Mencius and Hsun Ching [Xun Zi)". Selections From Records of the Historian. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 74.
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