Influential Moves in Developing Han Academics

The rulers of the Han Dynasty tried to establish rules over people’s minds, so they took a series of important moves that heavily influenced academic development. During the Earlier Han, the first move was Emperor Wen’s (reigned 179–157 BC) resumption of the boshi institution of the Qin Dynasty. The second move was Emperor Wu’s (reigned 140–87 BC) esteeming Confucianism only while deposing all other schools of learning according to Dong Zhongshu’s suggestion. The third move was Emperor Wu’s building the Tai Xue (or the Imperial College) in 135 BC and allowing only the Confucian 5-Classics to be taught in it. The fourth move was Emperor Xuan’s (reigned 73–49 BC) holding meetings on the Confucian 5-Classics at the Shiquge (or Stone Canal Hall) in 52 BC. The fifth move was that in 26 BC, Emperor Cheng (reigned 32–7 BC) ordered Liu Xiang and his son Liu Xin to collate books preserved in the imperial libraries. The rulers of the Later Han continued these measures and made them deeper and wider. Emperor Guangwu (reigned 25–57 AD) even talked about the Confucian 5-Classics himself in the imperial court, so Confucianism reached its peak time thereafter. Emperor Zhang (reigned 76–88 AD) summoned the meeting at the Baihuguan (White-tiger Pavilion) to discuss the meaning of each Confucian Classic. The collation of books and the local school system were both institutionalized in the Later Han.