National Academy

For the National Academy of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, see National Academy (Ryukyu).

• Chinese: 国学 (guóxué),　国子監 (guózǐjiàn), 國子學 (Guózǐxué)

The National Academy, also known as the Imperial Academy or by a variety of other English translations, was the chief educational institution in Imperial China. Existent in various forms since the Sui Dynasty or perhaps even the Jin Dynasty, it was originally known as the Guóxué, and later came to be known as Guózǐjiàn. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties in particular, those who passed the provincial-level imperial examinations (known as jǔrén) were able to enter the Guózǐjiàn to study for the metropolitan and palace level exams, in order to earn the jìnshì degree. A small number of students and scholars from Ryûkyû, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Siam studied at the National Academy as well; only the Ryukyuan students, however, had a separate section of the Academy (known as the Liúqiú guānxué) dedicated for their use.

A Confucian temple was located nearby, in accordance with the Chinese tradition of Zuǒ miào yòu xué ("to the left, [Confucian] temple; to the right, academy"). Students visited here twice a month.

References

• Benjamin Elman, A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China, University of California Press (2000), 144-145.