The Beijing Guozijian (), located on Guozijian Street in Beijing, China, was China's national university during the Yuan,

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

and

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-speak ...

dynasties, and the last

Guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the national central institution of higher learning in Chinese dynasties after the Su ...

of China. Most of the Beijing Guozijian's buildings were built during the Ming Dynasty and it remains an important heritage site in China. During the

Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...

of the Qing Dynasty, the education and administration of education functions of Guozijian was mainly replaced by the Imperial University of Peking (Jingshi Daxuetang), later known as

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

. The Guozijian was shut down in 1905. The ''Guozijian'', often translated into English as the Imperial Academy or Imperial College, was the national central institute of learning in ancient Chinese dynasties. It was the highest institute of learning in China's traditional educational system. Emperors in imperial China would also frequently visit the Guozijian to read Confucian classics to thousands of students.

History

The Guozijian was first built in 1306 during the 24th year of Zhiyuan Reign of the Yuan Dynasty, and was reconstructed and renovated on a large scale during Yongle and Zhengtong reigns of the Ming Dynasty. The administrative officials of Guozijian were called Chief (, ''Jìjiǔ''), Dean of Studies (, ''Sīyè''), or Proctor (, ''Jiānchéng''). The students who studied at the Guozijian were called "Jiansheng" (, ''Jiànshēng''), and they mainly studied the

Confucian classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

Location and layout

The Guozijian is situated at the central area of the Guozijian Street and adjoining several other well known imperial structures of Beijing, and the complex of Guozijian accords with the Chinese tradition which dictates that the temple should be on the "left" and the school or college on the "right". To the east of the Guozijian, lies the Confucius Temple, the second largest Confucius temple in all of China, and the Yonghegong Temple, the largest Lama Temple in Beijing. The whole complex of Guozijian faces south, and it has a total building area of more than 10,000 square meters or 107,639 square feet. Along the central axis of Guozijian are the Jixian Gate (the front gate), Taixue Gate (the second gate), the Glazed Archway, Biyong, Yiluntang, and Jingyiting (Jingyi Pavilion). On its east and west sides are the six halls and palaces in the traditional symmetrical layout.

References

External links

* {{Imperial City, Beijing 1306 establishments in Asia 14th-century establishments in China Buildings and structures in Beijing Dongcheng District, Beijing Education in Beijing History of Beijing Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Tourist attractions in Beijing

History

Location and layout

See also

References

External links