Song Dynasty education

Author: / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1992-01-01
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(III) The Development of Academies During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279)
From 1127, when Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing (now Shangqiu, Henan) and rebuilt the Song Dynasty, to the second year of the Xiangxing era (1279), when the Song Dynasty fell, these 153 years were known as the "Southern Song Dynasty." The characteristics of this period were that the Jin forces continuously invaded southward, the Southern Song ruling group was confined to a small area, and the vast majority of the Southern Song people, who suffered great devastation, rose in resistance. National conflicts became the main contradiction. Under this situation of north-south confrontation, continuous warfare, and people's suffering, the official schools of the Southern Song gradually declined due to political chaos, frequent wars, dwindling finances, and the rulers' lack of attention. Although many people petitioned to build schools, the court officials often evaded the issue with excuses like "military needs and transport," rarely paying attention to them. Therefore, although the official schools of the Southern Song Dynasty did not completely cease, they had no actual role or influence. The History of the Song Dynasty·Selection System records: In the third year of the Shaohui era (1192), Li Ben Shi Ni Si petitioned to restore the mixed examination method, and the order was issued to discuss whether it was feasible. Then, the Minister of Personnel Zhao Ruyu and others jointly submitted a memorial saying: "Since the restoration, the Imperial Academy has been established in the capital, and the imperial examinations have been held in various prefectures, but the trend of competition has been victorious, while the customs of loyalty and trustworthiness have been weak. This is also because honor and disgrace, promotion and decline are not determined by schools, and moral conduct and righteousness depend on anonymous candidates. They focus on carving and engraving texts without the desire for self-improvement, treating schools as temporary lodgings and teachers as strangers. The monthly assessments and monthly records have become mere formalities." The Comprehensive Literature Examination records the criticism of Yu Chou, the Vice Minister of War: "I wonder why the schools in recent years have often been dilapidated. Scholars who study abroad are not aiming to earn a living but rather to wear robes to deceive the public. Those in the villages who value themselves pass by their doors without entering. As for the instructors, they consider themselves cold officials and do nothing. From the perspective of a prefecture, it may not seem very harmful, but if the whole country is like this, it is indeed a matter of great concern. The court establishes an official post to govern a specific duty. If it is considered too remote from the affairs, of no help to the times, why not abolish it in one go? The salaries and stipends for scholars can still be saved. If it is considered that moral education and the formation of customs, as well as the cultivation of talent, should start from schools, then since the ancestors, there has been no change. How can we let it exist in name but not in reality?" Under such circumstances where scholars in charge of education failed in their duties and official schools had only names, some officials who had failed in the officialdom and knowledgeable scholars living in the countryside established academies in the ruins of academies established during the late Tang and Five Dynasties or chose secluded mountainous areas to build houses and set up academies, recruiting students to teach, spreading culture, discussing, and cultivating talent. Thus, the focus of education shifted to private academies. The Southern Song academies rapidly developed, covering prefectures, states, counties, and towns, becoming the most prosperous period for the academy system in the history of Chinese education. This was a prominent feature of education during the Southern Song Dynasty. The specific details of academy education will be discussed later. The author briefly describes the following six major academies:
1. Yingtianfu Academy Located at the ruins of the ancient city of Shangqiu in Henan. It originated in the Later Jin Dynasty. Yang Qu, a native of Yu City, "studied diligently and was not seeking fame," established a private school, and taught students. Qi Tongwen, a native of Chuqiu, studied under him, mastered the Five Classics, upheld integrity and righteousness, and did not seek official positions. General Zhao Zhi built houses for him to gather students, calling it the Shuyang School, and people from afar came to study. Although named a school, it actually had the nature of an academy. When the imperial examinations were introduced in the early Southern Song Dynasty, students from the school "passed the examinations, with more than fifty or sixty people. Zongdu, Xu Xiang, Chen Xiangyu, Gao Xiangxian, Guo Chengfan, Wang Li, and Teng She all entered the imperial court." In the first year of the Taiping era (976), Qi Tongwen passed away, and the academy was temporarily interrupted. In the second year of the Dahongfu era (1009), Cao Cheng, a citizen of Yingtianfu, invested three million coins, "built 150 rooms for a school on Tongwen's former site, collected more than 5,000 volumes of books, and recruited many students, making the academy very prosperous." Cao Cheng offered to donate the school to the government, and the prefecture reported the matter. The Emperor Zhenzong praised and approved the proposal. On the 24th day of the second month, an edict was issued to grant the name "Yingtianfu Academy" and appoint Cao Cheng as the assistant teacher of the prefecture, with Qi Tongwen's grandson Qi Shunbin in charge. From the fourth to the eighth year of the Dahongfu era, Fan Zhongyan studied at Yingtianfu Academy for five years and achieved great success. In the third year of the Tiansheng era (1025), Li Ji, the prefect of Yingtianfu, said: "Our prefecture's academy has many students, and since the establishment of the capital, culture and learning have been particularly prosperous." He applied to increase the quota for imperial examinations by three. In the fifth year of the Tiansheng era (1027), Fan Zhongyan was in mourning for his mother and stayed in Yingtianfu. Yan Shu, the acting governor of the prefecture, asked Fan to take charge of the academy. Fan Zhongyan disciplined and guided the students, adhering to rules, teaching the classics tirelessly. "As a result, scholars from all over the country flocked to study. Many scholars in the imperial examinations and court who were famous for their literary talent were taught by him." In the ninth month of the sixth year of the Tiansheng era, Yan Shu proposed that Wang Zhu be appointed as the academy's lecturer, which was approved. In the eleventh month of the second year of the Jingyou era, the academy was made the prefecture's school and granted 10 acres of land. In the fourth year of the Qingli era, when the new policies were implemented, the Nanjing prefecture school was changed to the Nanjing Imperial Academy. During the Zhizong era, Zeng Gong's younger brother Zeng Zhao served as the prefect of Yingtianfu and also valued the development of the academy.
2. Bailudong Academy Located southeast of Wulaofeng on Mount Lu in Jiangxi (now Jingxi County). In the first year of the Taiping era (976), the Southern Tang's academy on Mount Lu was abolished after the Song Dynasty conquered Jiangzhou, becoming a school run by local people. In the third month of the second year of the Taiping era, Zhou Shu, the prefect of Jiangzhou, said: "There are thousands of students at the Baihudong academy (likely referring to the total number of students over the years since the establishment of the academy by the Southern Tang). Please grant them the right to study the Nine Classics. The emperor agreed, and the books were sent by post. In the fifth year of the Xianping era, an edict was issued to have the authorities repair it and sculpt the images of the Ten Philosophers of Confucius. In the fifth year of the Huangyou era, his son Chen Juan built a ten-room schoolhouse on the former site, named it "Bailudong's Study Hall," and allowed children to live and study there. Guo Xiangzheng wrote a memorial for it." The next year, the study hall was destroyed by fire. In the sixth year of the Chunxi era (1179), Zhu Xi became the military governor of Nankang. He rebuilt the Bailudong Academy. The next year, the academy was completed, and Zhu Xi gave lectures. In the tenth year of the Jiading era (1217), Zhu Zai, Zhu Xi's son, became the Vice Minister of Justice and military governor of Nankang, inheriting his father's will and completing the reconstruction of the Bailudong Academy. Huang Gan, in his Memorial on the Reconstruction of the Bailudong Academy in Nankang, said: "Its scale is magnificent, unmatched by other prefectural schools, and it matches the extraordinary views of Kanglu very well. It is very suitable for scholars to study." Since Zhu Xi rebuilt the Bailudong Academy, it continued throughout the Southern Song Dynasty, cultivating many talents.
III. The Causes of the Emergence of Schools During the Song Dynasty
The flourishing of academic thought during the Song Dynasty had profound social backgrounds and complex reasons, which can be summarized as follows:
(1) Class and National Conflicts Provided Opportunities for the Emergence of Schools
During the Song Dynasty, China was in a turning point of its feudal society from prosperity to crisis, and the various shortcomings of society had become exposed: First, the contradiction between the peasant class and the landlord class in the feudal society had become increasingly acute. Feudal land consolidation intensified, the bureaucracy expanded, the military forces grew rapidly, and various expenses increased, causing many farmers to "lose their homes and livelihoods" and their "anger and resentment surged to the heavens." Peasant uprisings occurred continuously, and soldiers mutinied frequently, leading to political instability and the feudal ruling class being in danger. Second, the Song Dynasty had persistent national conflicts, which were sometimes even quite sharp. Facing national conflicts and struggles, the Song rulers were willing to spend large amounts of silver and silk every year to buy temporary peace at the borders. This policy of kowtowing and surrender further fueled the ambitions of the rulers of Liao, Jin, and Western Xia to covet the Central Plains, leading to the Southern Song's retreat and the establishment of a humiliating situation of partial dependence, and ultimately its destruction in national wars. Third, due to the existence and exposure of these two conflicts, some scholars with a strong sense of national crisis in the ruling class lamented the fragmentation of the land, condemned traitorous surrender, criticized the corruption and incompetence of the ruling group, and sympathized with the suffering of the people under the iron hooves. They demanded to face reality, change it, focus on practical benefits, and advocate for reforms. However, the ruling class, for their own selfish interests, always praised the past's governance and military achievements, ignored or blamed current problems on the violation of tradition, thus clinging to outdated customs, avoiding practical benefits, and opposing reforms. As a result, fierce struggles broke out within the ruling class. Due to differing political views and opinions on academic issues closely related to politics, disagreements arose, leading to the formation of different schools. It can be said that the times create heroes, and the times create groups of talents.
(2) Economic Development Provided Material Basis for the Emergence of Schools
The Song Dynasty was a new stage in the development of China's feudal society, and agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce all showed signs of continued development, greatly promoting the development of science and technology in the Song Dynasty. The development of science and technology, in turn, greatly boosted the prosperity and growth of agriculture, handicrafts, and commercial trade in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the overall economy of the Song Dynasty had further developed compared to the Tang Dynasty. For example, in agriculture, due to changes in exploitation methods and forms, farmers had shifted from being slaves or clients to tenant farmers, with relatively reduced personal dependence on landlords and increased production enthusiasm. They opened up land, improved farming techniques and crop varieties, and thus made significant progress in agricultural production. Research shows that the annual total grain output in the Tang Dynasty was 59.5 billion jin, with an average of about 1,000 jin per person. In the Song Dynasty, the annual total grain output reached 128.4 billion jin, with an average of about 1,300 jin per person. "The people regard food as heaven," and the increase in grain production and supply provided the necessary conditions for a group of talents dedicated to academic research to engage in academic activities. The reason is simple: people can only study and learn when they have enough to eat and wear. Only then can they cultivate a group of talents with profound knowledge. Conversely, if people lack food and clothing, facing uncertainty each day, it would be extremely difficult to cultivate academic talents. In addition, the invention of movable type printing, one of the three major inventions that marked the highest level of science and technology in the Song Dynasty, was widely used to print books, providing an important medium and channel for the transmission of academic thought, allowing the ideas and views of different schools to be stored, accumulated, and spread. In summary, the developed material civilization of the Song Dynasty provided a rich material foundation for the development and promotion of spiritual civilization.
(3) Ideological Foundations Provided Opportunities for the Emergence of Schools
The Song Dynasty implemented a policy of coexistence between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, making the extensive exchanges of the three cultural thoughts, which had been in contact since the Eastern Han Dynasty, open and legal. These different ideological systems, shaped by different historical and geographical factors, in the complex interweaving and competition in the specific social environment of the Song Dynasty, inevitably led to cultural changes, both unilateral or mutual. Especially Confucianism, with over a thousand years of tradition, not only maintained its "genetic code" but also absorbed the philosophical nourishment of Buddhism and Taoism, thereby constructing the ideological system of Neo-Confucianism and the schools of Lian, Guan, Luo, Min, Hunan, and Xinxue, making Song Dynasty academia colorful and reaching an unprecedented level. In addition, after the Jin Dynasty occupied the northern and central plains, it forced the Southern Song to retreat, and a large number of northerners and intellectuals moved to the south from the Central Plains, supplementing the labor force lacking in the south and bringing advanced culture and technology. This forced migration objectively enhanced cultural vitality. They scattered the seeds of Central Plains culture in the economic and political soil of Jiangnan. This not only meant the accumulation and concentration of talent and information but also, through political, economic, cultural, and life connections and frictions among people from different regions and levels, gave birth to a new cultural seed with both the characteristics of Central Plains culture and the charm of Jiangnan water towns. The Central Plains literature school, or Lü School, is a typical representative of this culture.