The Donglin movement () was an ideological and philosophical movement of the late

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties of China. The movement was established in 1604, during the

Wanli Wanli was the era name of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Wanli may also refer to: *Wanli Emperor (1563–1620), the 14th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty *Wanli District, Nanchang, district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China *Wanli District, New Taipei, a ...

era of Ming, when

Gu Xiancheng Gu Xiancheng (; 1550–1612) was a Ming dynasty Chinese bureaucrat and educator who founded the Donglin movement. He was born in Jiangnan, to a mercantile family, and from an early age was tutored in the Chinese classics. He quickly rejected the ...

(1550–1612), a Grand Secretary, and Gao Panlong (高攀龍, 1562–1626), a scholar, restored the

Donglin Academy The Donglin Academy (, Wade–Giles ''Tung-lin''), also known as the Guishan Academy (龜山書院 ''Guīshān Shūyuàn''), was a former Chinese educational institution in Wuxi, China. It was originally built in 1111 during the Northern Song dyna ...

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

with the financial backing of local gentry and officials. The motivation for restoring the Academy was concern about the state of the bureaucracy and its inability to bring about improvement. The movement represented a resort to moral

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

traditions as a means of arriving at fresh moral evaluations. Thereafter the Academy became a centre of dissent for public affairs in the late Ming and early Qing periods. Many supporters of Donglin were found in the bureaucracy and it became deeply involved in factional politics. The movement got momentum when the Donglin Academy in Wuxi was joined by the academies of the nearby Wujin and

Yixing Yixing () is a county-level city administrated under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware tea pots. It is a pene-excla ...

. Donglin men carried on politics not only through bureaucratic maneuverings but also through educated opinion; it involves building reputation and reports of dreams. Many of the academy's creators were among the mandarins who a few years previously had forced the Wanli Emperor to appoint his first-born son, Zhu Changluo (the future Taichang Emperor) as the heir to the throne, even though the emperor himself would rather have the throne go to

Zhu Changxun Zhu Changxun (1586–1641) was the third son of the Ming dynasty Wanli Emperor. His mother, Noble Consort Zheng, was a favoured concubine and, in efforts to please her, the emperor attempted to have Zhu made heir apparent, but failed to overturn th ...

(the emperor's son from his favorite concubine, Lady Zheng). During the reign of the Tianqi Emperor, Donglin opposition to the eunuch

Wei Zhongxian Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuc ...

resulted in the closure of the Academy in 1622 and the torture and execution of its head, Yang Lian, and five other members in 1624. The accession of the

Chongzhen Chongzhen () (5 February 1628 – 25 April 1644) was the era name of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Chongzhen was also the Ming dynasty's final era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with C ...

Emperor restored the fortunes of the Donglin faction. Later during Chongzhen's reign, Donglin partisans found themselves opposed to the Grand Secretary

Wen Tiren Wen, wen, or WEN may refer to: * WEN, New York Stock Exchange symbol for Wendy's/Arby's Group * WEN, Amtrak station code for Columbia Station in Wenatchee, Washington, United States * WEN, ICAO airline designator for WestJet Encore * Wen (surna ...

, eventually arranging his dismissal in 1637. The Donglin movement represented growth of the literati influence on the political life in late Imperial China. In this, it was inherited by the

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

-centered Fushe movement ( 復社) before the fall the Ming dynasty, and by the

Changzhou School of Thought Changzhou School of Thought () was the Changzhou-centered influential school of scholarship that existed during the late Ming and Qing dynasties in China. Scholars of this school are best known for their contribution to the New Text Confucianism. ...

during the Qing. China's defeat in the Opium War (1839–42) prompted the revival of interest to the Donglin movement, a prominent instance of literati solidarity.Elman, 276-7.

References

Citations

Sources

* * Elman, Benjamin A. ''Classicism, Politics, and Kingship: The Ch'ang-chou School of New Text Confucianism in Late Imperial China''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990

* Ming dynasty politics Qing dynasty Political movements in China Political party factions in China Confucian schools of thought 17th century in China {{Confucianism-stub