Hanlin Academy

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The Hanlin Academy (Chinese: 翰林院, pinyin: Hànlín Yuàn, literally "brush wood court") was founded in China by Emperor Xuanzong in the 8th century during the time of the Tang dynasty.

It was an institution meant to perform, among others, secretarial and literary tasks for the court. Only the most elite scholars were allowed to join the academy. One of its main tasks was to decide on an interpretation of the Confucian classics. This formed the basis of examinations that gave access to the higher levels of bureaucracy.

The famous Chinese scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) was once the leading chancellor of the Hanlin Academy.

The Academy operated continuously until its closure during the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.

The Academy and its library were severely damaged in a fire started by Boxers during the siege of the Foreign Legations in Beijing in 1900. Many ancient texts were either destroyed by the flames or looted/rescued in their wake, including the last surviving volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Diana Preston (1999). The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900, 138-140. 

[edit] See also

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