Hanlin Academy

Hanlin Academy
翰林院
Active708 CE Tang dynasty, reign of Emperor Xuanzong
(June 23, 1900 set on fire by the Gansu Braves)
Shut down following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911
FounderEmperor Xuanzong
Location
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese翰林院
Traditional Chinese翰林院
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHànlín Yuàn

The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pencils."[1]

Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its primary duties was to decide on an interpretation of the Chinese classics. This formed the basis of the Imperial examinations, which aspiring government bureaucrats had to pass to attain higher-level government posts. Painters working for the court were also attached to the academy.[2]

  1. ^ Stevens, Keith (13 April 1996). "The Han Lin Academy and a Chinese Deity". Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 36: 231–233. JSTOR 23890208 – via JSTOR.
  2. ^ Chung, A. L. Y. (1966). "The Hanlin Academy in the Early Ch'ing Period (1644-1795)". Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 6: 100–119. ISSN 0085-5774. JSTOR 23881435.