Jixia Academy

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The Jixia Academy ( Chinese  稷下 學 宮  /  稷下 学 宫 , Pinyin Jìxià Xúegōng ) from the ancient state of Qi in the area of ​​today's Shandong Province in China was from the end of the 4th century BC. u. Z. to 221 BC u. Z. (when Qi was conquered by the Qin State ) the spiritual center of the Warring States Period .

Its name "below Ji" comes from the western city gate Ji, near which it is in the city of Linzi ( Chinese臨淄 / 临淄Pinyin Línzī, today the city district and seat of the city administration of Zibo, Chinese淄博 市 Pinyin Zibó Shì), the capital of the country, had its seat. The king entertained scholars from various schools there, who received comfortable salaries and were awarded honorary degrees. The institution played the role of a think tank to help improve the government and the prestige of the ruler. Its members included Song Jian , Yin Wen , Peng Meng , Shen Dao , Tian Pian , Huan Yuan , Jiezi , Tian Ba , Ji Zhen , Chunyu Kun , Zou Yan , Lu Zhonglian and a number of famous travelers such as Mencius and Xun Kuang (resp . Xunzi). The political-philosophical work Guanzi is attributed to its members. The debates of Jixia found in all the courts of the Warring States Period and the early Han Dynasty echoed. The school played a particularly important role in the development of naturalism , the best-known building material of which is the theory of the five elements , as well as ordinary Huang-Lao-Daoism or legalism ( Chinese  黃老 學派  /  黄老 学派 , Pinyin Huáng Lǎo Xúepài , which can be traced back to the mythical figures Huangdi and Laozi ).

History and impact

Traditionally, the establishment of the Jixia Academy is attributed to the Tian Wu ( 田 午 ), Duke Huan of Qi ( 齊桓公  /  齐桓公 ; r. 375-357), a descendant of the Tian clan ( Chinese田氏Pinyin Tián Shì), who lived in 384 BC. u. Z. had just seized power from the House of Jiang ( 姜 ) and Qi came to the fore by defeating the neighboring state of Wei in 342 BC. u. Z. fought. Nevertheless, its actual founder seems to have been his son, King Wei ( 齊威王  /  齐威王 ; r. 356-320). According to the poet and philosopher Xu Gan ( 徐 幹  /  徐 干 ; 170-217), the author of the Zhōnglùn { Chinese中 論 / 中 论), he supported, encouraged by his chancellor Zou Ji ( 鄒忌  /  邹忌 ), at least seventy-two Scholars - who were hardly aware of the role the Chancellor played in it, for "they liked to discuss matters of government, but never missed an opportunity to show [him] a lack of respect". It is true that the material advantages (board and lodging, also for their students, cars, money) allowed the elect to lead a lifestyle comparable to that of the aristocracy, which they personally owed to the king. Under King Xuan ( 齊宣王  /  齐宣王 ; r. 319-301) the academy reached its zenith when he had a magnificent building built to hold the debates; his reign marks the high point of the academy. Mencius said of him that he had the skills to be a great sovereign, but that his potential had not unfolded because of his refusal to bring order to his leadership, that he had too much energy, property, womanly beauty and music loved (see Mengzi, Book I, Section B).

How the institution's pensioners were selected is not clear, but it is believed that they got there on recommendations from members of the nobility. They were invited to bring their students around and hold their lessons, which made Jixia an original educational establishment for the era, which, although supported by "public" funds, gave its teachers complete freedom of thought. In fact, in addition to their income, they received unique honorary titles such as the ceremonial function of "Master of the libations". Freed from political or administrative burdens, they had complete freedom to develop their ideas and hypotheses without fear of suffering the sanctions of reality. However, they were able to present candidates for public office to the ruler.

In the light of the Guodian bamboo texts

In 1993 , text fragments of the oldest version of Daodejing were found on bamboo strips in grave no. 1 at the Guodian site in Hubei , a place that once belonged to Chu state (see Guodian bamboo texts ).

According to Gao Zheng (researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), the majority of the bamboo texts discovered could have been teaching material written by the Confucian Si Meng scholars (( 思孟 學派  /  思孟 学派 ), a Confucian school which cites Zi Si ( 子思 ) and Mencius) of the Jixia Academy. Qu Yuan , who was sent to Qi as an envoy, could have it in 311 BC. u. Z. have taken back to Chu.

Small overview of the rulers of the House of Tian in Qi (Tian Qi 田 齊 / 田 齐)

  • Tian Wu 田 午, Duke Huan of Qi 齊桓公 / 齐桓公 ( Qi Huan gong , r. 374–357)
  • Tian Yinqi 田 因 齊 / 田 因 齐, King Wei of Qi 齊 威 公 / 齐威王 ( Qi Wei wang , r. 356–320), with the Chancellor Zou Ji 鄒忌 / 邹忌
  • Tian Pijiang 田 辟疆, King Xuan of Qi 齊宣王 / 齐宣王 ( Qí Xuān wáng , r. 319–301)

See also

Web links