The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to decide on an interpretation of the Chinese classics. This formed the basis of the

Imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s, which aspiring government bureaucrats had to pass to attain higher-level government posts. Painters working for the court were also attached to the academy.

Academy members

Some of the more famous academicians of Hanlin were: *

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

(701–762) – Poet * Bai Juyi (772–846) – Poet * Yan Shu (991–1055) – Poet, calligrapher, (prime minister, 1042) * Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) – Historian *

Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). She ...

(1031–1095) – Chancellor * Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) – Painter * Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) – Painter, calligrapher, poet (rector, 1314–1320) *

Huang Zicheng Huang Zicheng () (1350–1402) was a Ming dynasty imperial scholar and overseer of rituals. He was an advisor to the Jianwen Emperor. He was put to death by the Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August ...

(1350–1402) – Imperial scholar * Li Dongyang (1447–1516) – Imperial officer, poet, served as 'Grand Historian' * Ni Yuanlu (1593–1644) – Calligrapher, painter, high-ranking official * Wu Renchen (1628–1689) – Historian and mathematician * Chen Menglei (1650–1741) – Scholar, writer (Editor in Chief of the '' Gujin Tushu Jicheng'') * Zhang Tingyu (1672–1755) – Politician and historian * Ji Xiaolan (1724–1805) – Scholar, poet (Editor in Chief of the '' Siku Quanshu'') * Yao Nai (1731–1815) – Scholar * Gao E (1738–1815) – Scholar and editor * He Changling (1785–1848) – Scholar and official *

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

(1811–1872) – Scholar and later key military official * Chen Lanbin (1816–1895) – Diplomat (ambassador to the U.S., Spain and Peru) * Weng Tonghe (1830–1904) – Imperial Tutor *

Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...

(1868–1940) – Educator * Qu Hongji (1850–1918) – Politician

Bureau of Translators

Subordinated to the Hanlin Academy was the Bureau of Translators (). Founded by the

Ming dynasty 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 ...

in 1407, after the first expedition of

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...

to the Indian Ocean, the Bureau dealt with the memorials delivered by foreign ambassadors and trained foreign language specialists. It included departments for many languages such as the Jurchen, "Tartar" (

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

), Korean, Ryukyuan, Japanese, Tibetan, " Huihui" (the "Muslim" language, Persian) Vietnamese and

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

languages, as well as for the languages of the "various barbarian tribes" (''Bai yi'' 百夷, i.e., Shan ethnic groups on China's southwestern borders), "Gaochang" (people of Turfan, i.e. Old Uyghur language), and ''Xitian'' (西天; (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

, spoken in India). In 1511 and 1579 departments for the languages of ''Ba bai'' (八百; Lao) and Thai were added, respectively. A

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines ...

vocabulary (Manlajia Guan Yiyu) 滿剌加館譯語 (Words-list of Melaka Kingdom) for the Malay spoken in the Malacca Sultanate was compiled. A

Cham language Cham (Cham: ꨌꩌ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian family, spoken by the Chams of Southeast Asia. It is spoken primarily in the territory of the former Kingdom of Champa, which spanned modern Southern Vietnam, as well ...

vocabulary 占城館 was created for the language spoken in the

Champa Champa ( Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd ...

Kingdom. When the

Qing dynasty 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-speak ...

revived the Ming ''Siyiguan'' 四夷館, the Manchus, who "were sensitive to references to barbarians", changed the name from ''yi'' 夷 "barbarian" to ''yi'' 彝 "

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Numbering nine million people, they are the sev ...

", and changed the Shan

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

from ''Baiyi'' 百夷 "hundred barbarians" to ''Baiyi'' 百譯 "hundred translations". The later Tongwen Guan set up by the Qing dynasty for translating western languages was subordinated to the Zongli Yamen and not the Hanlin.

1900 fire

The Beijing Hanlin Academy and its library were severely damaged in a fire during the

siege of the International Legations The siege of the International Legations occurred in 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers; an anti-Christian anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilia ...

in Peking (now known as

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) in 1900 by the Kansu Braves while fighting against the Eight-Nation Alliance. On June 24, the fire spread to the Academy: Many ancient texts were destroyed by the flames. The Academy operated continuously until its closure during the 1911

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty, the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of Chi ...

References

External links

Foreign language vocabularies

* wikisource:zh:華夷譯語 – 達達館（蒙古語）Mongol language
華夷譯語(一)
– 暹羅館（泰語）天文門。 Thai language
華夷譯語(二)
– 緬甸館譯語緬甸館來文（緬甸語）通用門。Burmese language
華夷譯語(三)
– 百夷館（雲南傣語）天文門。Baiyi ( Dai, Shan)
華夷譯語(四)
– 百夷館（雲南傣語）天文門和地理門。Baiyi ( Dai, Shan)
華夷譯語(五)
– 回回館《回回館雜字》（波斯語）天文門。Persian language
華夷譯語(六)
– 回回館《回回館雜字》（波斯語）天文門和地理門。Persian language
高昌館來文
– 高昌館來文（高昌）回鶻語 (畏兀兒館（回鶻語）。Old Uyghur language
譯文備覽
– 譯文備覽西番館（藏語）。Tibetan language

– 《西番譯語》西番館（藏語）Tibetan language * wikisource:zh:華夷譯語/朝鮮館譯語 Korean language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (陳侃)#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E.EF.BC.88.E9.99.84.EF.BC.89 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (蕭崇業)/附#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E – 使琉球錄夷語夷字 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (夏子陽)/卷下#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E.E3.80.90.E9.99.84.E3.80.91 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:中山傳信錄/卷六#.E9.A2.A8.E4.BF.97 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:重修使琉球錄 Ryukyuan language
使琉球录三种-夷语（附）_国学导航
Ryukyuan language

Ryukyuan language

Ryukyuan language
《女直館》（女真語）《女真譯語》《女真館雜字》在 ''Die Sprache und Schrift der Jučen'' by Wilhem Grube by Wilhem Grube 《女真文和女真語》作者：葛祿博
Jurchen language {{Authority control 8th-century establishments in China 1911 disestablishments in China Confucian education Education in Beijing Government of Imperial China History of education in China History of Imperial China Song dynasty Tang dynasty