Donglin Academy

Donglin Academy
Đông lâm thư viện
The stone memorial arch in Donglin Academy
Location	Wuxi
Created	1606

TheDonglin Academy(Chinese:Đông lâm thư viện;pinyin:Dōnglín Shūyuàn;lit.'Eastern Grove Academy', Wade–GilesTung-lin), also known as theGuishan Academy( quy sơn thư việnGuīshān Shūyuàn), was a former Chinese educational institution inWuxi,China.It was originally built in 1111 during theNorthern Song dynasty;theneo-ConfucianscholarYang Shi(Dương thời) taught there, but the academy later fell into disuse and disrepair. The name "Donglin" was inspired by theDonglin Templeat the base ofMount Lu,Jiujiang.Yang Shi visited the Donglin Temple and felt that it was a good place for teaching. When he finished his scholarship, he travelled to Wuxi and saw that the layout of the academy was similar to the Donglin Temple, so he taught at that site for 18 years. The academy was thus called "Donglin Academy".

History

In 1604, during theWanli eraof theMing dynasty,Gu Xiancheng(1550–1612), aGrand Secretary,along with the scholarsGao Panlong( cao phàn long; 1562–1626),Qian Yiben(Tiền nhất bổn),An Xifan(An hi phạm;1564–1621) andYu Kongjian(Dư khổng kiêm) restored the Donglin Academy with financial backing from the local gentry and officials such as Ouyang Dongfeng (Âu dương đông phong), the governor of Changzhou, and Lin Zai (Lâm tể), the county magistrate of Wuxi. The academy gave its name to the resultingDonglin movement.

In 1626, the academy was brutally destroyed, leaving only part of the stone memorial arch. The contemporary academy was a reconstruction during theQing dynastyby theYongzhengandQianlongemperors to win the support ofHan Chinesescholars living in Wuxi.

The government of the People's Republic of China redecorated the academy between 1981 and 1982.