| Provincial academies first appeared in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).They were high-level academies established spontaneously in the provincial capital by provincial officials.Only outstanding students selected from across the province were allowed to study.The main builders of provincial academies in the Ming Dynasty were Education Intendants.They chose to rectify the shortcomings of official schools by building provincial academies.Some officials in official schools were hired as Teachers of the Five Classics(五经教读).This model was a compromise between the power and responsibilities of Education Intendants and the official education system.After the mid-Ming Dynasty,the scholars of Yangming took advantage of the opportunity to serve as Educational Intendants to spread new academics through the construction of provincial academies,and introduced the lecture institutions into the official academies.They impacted the order in the official school in thought and institution,and formed groups by participating in lectures.This situation was not allowed by the imperial court.In the third year of Wanli(1575),Zhang Juzheng(张居正,1525-1582)implemented the reform of the education system by replacing the emperor’s edict issued to Education Intendants.The first rule was"Prohibiting the Construction of Academies"(不许别创书院).After this reform,Education Intendants lost the educational function derived from the establishment of academies and strengthened their responsibility for presiding over the imperial examinations.However,with the death of Zhang Juzheng,the reforms he promoted quickly failed.Education Intendants continued to build the provincial academies,and lecture became an important institution of these academies in the late Ming Dynasty.After the Qing Dynasty(1636-1912)replaced the Ming,the provincial academies entered a new stage of development.The policy of"Prohibiting the Construction of Academies"in the nine years of Shunzhi(1652)was the result of inheriting the Ming Dynasty education supervision institution.The actual meaning of this policy was not to prohibit everyone from creating academies,but only to restrict Education Intendants.Because of this policy,the main builders of the provincial academies became Governors,and this process was consistent with the process by which the Governors became the actual supreme governor of a province.Under the auspices of the Governors,the provincial academies created in the Ming Dynasty were restored and new provincial academies were established.These academies were distributed in 15 provinces during the Shunzhi(1644-1661)and Kangxi(1662-1722)periods.The development of provincial academies was still connected with academics.The Aofeng Academy(鳌峰书院)founded when Zhang Boxing(张伯行,1651-1725)was the governor of Fujian was mainly engaged in lecturing and compiling books.It was a product of the trend of thought in the early Qing Dynasty that"criticized Yangming studies and admired Zhuzi studies"(辟王崇朱).When Yinzhen(胤禛,1678-1735)became Emperor Yongzheng(1723-1735),the state’s policy towards academies began to change.In the first year of Yongzheng(1723),the emperor issued a decree prohibiting the creation of"the academies to commemorate the living officials”(生祠书院).This action marked the change from"non-intervention"to"limited intervention"in the state’s policy towards academies in the early Qing Dynasty.Regarding the construction of provincial academies generally promoted by localities,Emperor Yongzheng adopted two diametrically opposed attitudes.On the one hand,Emperor Yongzheng repeatedly criticized the construction of local provincial capital academies;on the other hand,he personally participated in the construction of academies such as Zhongshan(钟山),Xuancheng(宣成),Wuhua(五华),Duanxi(端溪),and Yuexiu(粤秀).The emperor’s behavior seemed contradictory,but his policy philosophy was consistent.In summary,the position of Emperor Yongzheng was that the construction of local academies should not violate his policy of"advocating real governance and real learning".His attitude towards academies could not be interpreted simply in the framework of"support-against".When Emperor Yongzheng believed that the construction of local academies would help his rule,he would strongly support it.When he believed that the establishment of local academies was only for the pursuit of reputation,he would undisguisedly oppose it.In the 11th year of Yongzheng(1733),the emperor ordered provincial Governors to establish provincial capital colleges,marking that the provincial capital academies were officially included in the national education system.The basis for the implementation of this policy was the great development of provincial academies,the reform of the financial system with the main content of"haoxian guigong"(耗羡归公),and the new Provincial System.The great development of the provincial academies provided early practical experience.The reform of the new fiscal system provided a guarantee for local governments to handle public affairs.The new provincial system determined how the provinces would build provincial academies after receiving the order of Emperor Yongzheng.On the basis of the Ming Dynasty,the provincial system was adjusted in the early Qing Dynasty,and the concept of"eighteen provinces"was formed during the Yongzheng period.The answer to the question"What is a provincial capital"experienced a change from"place where buzhengshi are stationed"to"place where dufu are stationed".The Governors of Jiangsu and Guangdong were stationed in two cities respectively,so these two provinces established two provincial academies each,forming the only"model of two provincial academies in one province",while others followed the"model of establishing a provincial academy in one province".Under such circumstances,the number of provincial academies established in the 11th year of Yongzheng should be 20,not the 23 that people had previously advocated.After implementing this policy,Emperor Yongzheng did not continue to formulate the next step to standardize the institution of provincial academies.The development of provincial academies in each province showed diversified characteristics.After Qianlong(1736-1795),the provincial academy system entered a stage of adjustment and improvement.During the transition from Yongzheng to Qianlong,the court put forward a number of suggestions for further improvement of the provincial academy system.These suggestions included the selection and appointment of the deans of the academies,increasing the number and expanding the scope of the academies,abolishing the teaching of Eight-part Essays(八股文)in the academies,and introducing the"Regulations of Taixue"(《太学条规》)formulated by Sun Jiagan(孙嘉淦,1683-1753).In the first year of Qianlong(1736),the emperor issued an edict to regulate provincial academies,which clarified the position of provincial academies in the national education system.Provincial academies were regarded as similar to the official schools at the provincial level,supplementing the vacant links between the Imperial College and local schools in prefecture,zhou and county(府州县).Since then,the provincial academies were officially included in the national education system.During this period,the teaching and management institution of the provincial academies were gradually improved and detailed,and the institutions of the provincial academies in each province tended to be unified.Under the new rules and regulations,the purpose of teaching in provincial academies was to participate in the imperial examination.At the same time,they were also required to teach classics,history,and methods of governing the country.The dean was the host of the academy’s teaching and was well paid.When hiring the dean,there were no restrictive conditions such as scholarly honour or official rank,place of origin,etc.in name.But in fact,these factors were actually taken into consideration.The dean’s teaching method was through examinations,and some academies retained the institution of ordering students to explain the classics in public.The dean served for six years with outstanding achievements,the Governors could suggest to the emperor that the dean be rewarded with"yixu"(议叙).According to the“yixu”regulations,officials who had been dismissed could give him an eighth rank,a person who already had an identity but had not obtained an official position could get him two"jilu"(纪录)awards after obtaining an official position.In addition to the dean,the Governors and other officials were not only responsible for the management of the provincial academies,but also organized and participated in the teaching work of the academies.The way they participated in teaching was by means of"guanke"(官课),an examination organized by officials.guanke had a more important position than the shike(师课)organized by the dean.For example,guanke could better determine the grade of students,and guanke rewarded students more.The Governors could also formulate learning rules and regulations for provincial academies and guide the teaching goals and methods of the academies.The government’s management responsibilities for provincial academies included daily management,fund management,and selection of deans and students.The daily management was in charge of"jianyuan"(监院),who were officials selected from official schools in provincial capitals or other places.The management of funds was first handed over to Fu-level officials in the provincial capital.In the 9th year of Qianlong(1744),after discussion by the central government,the affairs of the provincial academies were handed over to the directors of Circuit Intendants stationed in the provincial capital.There were two common ways to select students.One was recommended by local official schools,and the other was recommended by Education Intendants when conducting examinations in various places.A way for students to go to the provincial capital to sign up for the academy’s examination was added later,but it was not common.After these selected students came to the provincial capital,they had to be evaluated by the provincial officials,and only after they passed were they allowed to enter provincial academies.Students who entered provincial academies were classified into different levels,such as zhengke(正课),waike(外课),fuke(附课),or neike(内课),fuke(副课)and waike.These levels have different names in different provincial academies,and different funding will be given according to the level.Admitted students could choose to live in the academy or not.If the students at provincial academies were very talented,Education Intendants could recommend one or two to the emperor after his three-year term ended.The standard for rewarding them was based on the example of the imperial court rewarding"yousheng"(优生),but it was not common for academies students to be recommended.Regarding the establishment,adjustment,and improvement of the provincial academy system,official compilations of laws and regulations during the Qing dynasty did not accurately record.Daqing Huidian(《大清会典》)did not record the provincial academy institution in time.It was not until the fourth compilation in the Jiaqing(1796-1820)period that Daqing Huidian recorded the provincial academies institution in detail.After the adjustment of the Qianlong,the provincial academy institution during the Jiaqing period was different from that of the Yongzheng.For these differences,the editors during the Jiaqing period did not pay much attention.Their method of compilation was to record the new and old institutions together.In this way,they completed the supplementary records of the old institution and at the same time completed the ratification of the new institution.However,this method was not rigorous,and there were omissions and errors.When the Daqing Huidian was edited for the fifth time in the Guangxu(1875-1908)period,although the editor corrected some mistakes,similar problems still existed.Compared with the provincial academies in the Ming Dynasty,the biggest difference between the provincial academies included in the national education system in the Qing Dynasty is that they were supported by Tangjin(帑金)and Gongxiang(公项).The funds of provincial academies were therefore included in the zouxiao(奏销)system.Although zouxiao’s procedures were very cumbersome,the funds of the provincial academies had since been guaranteed.The provincial academies used tangjin in two ways:buying farmland and charging commercial interest.In the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns,the provincial academies were standardized,a quantitative and high amount of funding was needed every year,and the traditional funding model that relied on agricultural income could not meet the new situation.Therefore the funding structure of the provincial academies changed significantly,the economic model of purchasing farmland for academies declined,and the funding structure became diversified.The central government adopted a"limited liability"governance policy.The methods adopted by the provincial academies for collecting commercial interest,allocating gongxiang,and donating official yanglianyin(养廉银)all required the provincial government to organize.The educational power and responsibilities of the provincial government in the Qing Dynasty were expanded.After provincial academies were generally established in every province,they formed an advantage over private lecture academies and fu,zhou,and county academies.The construction of provincial academies took advantage of the resources of the whole province,but the proportion of students from different regions was not balanced,with the most students from the provincial capital.This situation made the provincial academies a cultural and educational resource of the provincial capital.Across the country,the funding gaps of various provincial academies were very obvious,forming different tiers.The total amount of funds directly determined the educational quality of the academies,and the educational level of each provincial academy was directly affected by the provincial finance.Some provinces would establish new provincial academies in addition to the old provincial academies,which made the educational resources between provinces even more unbalanced.Provincial academies in the mid-Qing Dynasty were still closely related to academic development,and provincial academies became an important channel for Qianlong-Jiaqing Academic development and dissemination.Through the selection and appointment of deans,a nationwide scholars exchange network was formed.In this network,regions south of the Yangtze River,which had cultural advantages,was the export place of scholars,and the prevailing local academic and culture were also spread to other provinces,and gained a wide audience with the help of the provincial academy as the regional cultural center.After the provincial academy institution developed and took shape,it gave birth to the possibility of change.Especially when Qianlong-Jiaqing Academy became the mainstream of academics,a new form of academy organization adapted to the new academic came into being.In the past,people mostly considered the reason for the birth of Gujing Jingshe(诂经精舍)and Xuehaitang(学海堂),which had an important influence in the 19th century,from the perspective of academic development.In fact,we should also consider the reasons for the provincial academy institution and the expansion of cultural and educational powers by the provincial government,this was a kind of institutional basis.Since the Xianfeng(1851-1861)and Tongzhi(1862-1874)reigns,this foundation became the system prerequisite for Governors to set up various types of education. |
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