Early Modern Guangdong Academies and Their Academic Ethos: A Case Study of Zhu Ciqi’s Early Education Experience

Li Chen

Abstract： In the early Qing dynasty， the academies in Guangdong were still under the influence of Baisha xinxue and Yangming xinxue. During the Kangxi and Yongzheng period， when Cheng–Zhu lixue became the orthodoxy， the Xuehai Academy was established by governor Ruan Yuan， and Han Learning was introduced， creating a new situation where Han Learning prevailed over Song Learning. In his early youth， Zhu Ciqi studied in the Yangcheng Academy and the Yuehua Academy under the tutorship of Chen Jichang， a Cheng–Zhu scholar， and Xie Lansheng， a Han–Song Learning scholar. He also enrolled at the Xuehai Academy as one of the first batch of students under the guidance of Ruan Yuan and Zeng Zhao， two Han Learning scholars. As a result of this educational background， Zhu Ciqi was well-versed in both Han and Song Learning， and his intellectual transitions reflect the complicated connections between the academic ethos and the zeitgeist in the early modern period.

Keywords： Qing dynasty scholarship， academies， Han and Song Learning， Zhu Ciqi

Zhu Ciqi 朱次琦 （1807–1882， style name Zixiang 子襄， also known as Master Jiujiang 九江先生） was a renowned Confucian scholar in the late Qing dynasty. He pursued his scholarship by emulating the Cheng–Zhu schools teachings and tracing his learning back to Confucius. During the reigns of the Qianlong emperor （r. 1736–1795） and the Jiaqing emperor （r. 1796–1820）， Han Learning prevailed. Zhu argued that Confucian studies could not be divided into Han Learning and Song Learning. He further held that the achievements of Han and Song Learning should be conceived within an academic vision unconfined by factionalism. While exegesis ran wild in the late Qing， he uniquely inculcated his students with the cultivation of the Four Conducts （i.e.， filial piety， integrity， refined temperament， and dignified manner） and reading the Five Learnings （i.e.， Confucian classics， histories， biographical records， Neo-Confucianism， and poetry and prose）， advocating the approach of Practical Learning thought concerning statecraft and pragmatics. His disciples included Kang Youwei 康有為 （1858–1927）， Jian Chaoliang 簡朝亮 （1851–1933）， and Liang Yaoshu 梁耀樞 （1832–1888）， and his second generation disciples included Liang Qichao 梁啟超 （1873–1929）， Deng Shi 鄧實(shí) （1877–1951）， and Huang Jie 黃節(jié) （1873–1935）， all of whom exerted a great influence on both political and academic arenas in the late Qing and the early Republic of China periods.

Zhu Ciqi grew up in the Jiaqing period， when the academic circle in Guangdong was mainly under the influence of Chen Xianzhangs 陳獻(xiàn)章 （1428–1500， also known as Master Baisha 白沙） and Wang Yangmings 王陽明 （1472–1528） learning of the mind （xinxue 心學(xué)）， along with the Cheng–Zhu learning of principles （lixue 理學(xué)） led by Feng Chengxiu 馮成修 （1702–1796） during the reigns of the Kangxi emperor （r. 1662–1722） and the Yongzheng emperor （r. 1723–1735）， and the academic education was oriented toward imperial examination. Although Hui Dong 惠棟 （1697–1758）， Qian Daxin 錢大昕 （1728–1804） and other Han Learning scholars had successively supervised the education in Guangdong， Han Learning had little influence on its academic ethos as a whole， and within Guangdong academia there was also little understanding of the achievements of Han Learning. In 1817， Ruan Yuan 阮元 （1764–1849）， then governor of Guangdong， established the Xuehai Academy to introduce the cutting-edge achievements of Han Learning in the regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. As a result， the academic tradition in the Guangdong was broken， and its academic focus shifted from Cheng–Zhu lixue and exam-oriented rote learning toward textual research on the Confucian classics and the histories.

Zeng Zhao 曾釗 （1793–1854）， one of Zhus early tutors， was a Han Learning scholar who was held in high regard by Ruan Yuan. Having been recommended by Zeng Zhao， Zhu Ciqi was ushered into Ruan Yuans office to study in his adolescence. He was among the first batch of students of the Xuehai Academy， and in his youth socialized with Lu Kun 盧坤 （1772–1835） and Qian Yiji 錢儀吉 （1783–1850）， two disciples of Ruan Yuan. Zhu Ciqi studied in the Yangcheng Academy and then the Yuehua Academy， with Cheng–Zhu lixue dominant in the former and Han Learning dominant in the latter. Unraveling Zhu Ciqis early academic pursuits， we can discover that， when Qing scholars received education at an academy， they would encounter the complicated array of influences exerted by the juxtaposition of academic ethos and the zeitgeist. Besides catering to the requirements of the imperial examination， the choices made by scholars reflected their fundamental concerns， as well as the conflicts and tensions between their thought and the academic ethos of the period.

Geographical Traits of Early Modern Guangdong Academia：

From Baisha Xinxue to the Rise of Qian–Jia Han Learning

[Refer to page 73 for Chinese. Similarly hereinafter]

Guangdong is located to the south of the Five Ridges （Lingnan 嶺南） and borders on the South China Sea. Due to its remoteness from the inland as the political and cultural seat， it was underdeveloped in terms of the scaled and degree of Confucianism until the Han dynasty （206 BCE–220 CE）， when Confucian influences gradually emerged. In the early Eastern Han dynasty， Chen Yuan 陳元 （fl. 25–31）， a famous exegete of the classics who specialized in the study of Zuos Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals; and Yang Fu 楊孚 （fl. 77） who wrote the Records of Novel Things [異物志] emerged. In the Tang dynasty， scholars in Guangdong further expanded the scope of their studies and made great progress in Buddhism and poetics， as well as in Confucianism. Among them， Liu Ke 劉軻 （772–840）， a scholar of the Mencius， the Buddhist patriarch Huineng 慧能 （638–713）， and Zhang Jiuling 張九齡 （673–740）， a noted poet of Lingnan， were prominent. When it came to the Song and Yuan dynasties， Lian–Luo Learning （i.e.， that of Zhou Dunyi and the Cheng brothers） began to influence Lingnan academia. In the Ming dynasty， after a hundred years of accumulation， academic studies in Guangdong witnessed the successive teachings of “One Origin and Two Threads” forged by Chen Xianzhang and his student Zhan Ruoshui 湛若水 （1466–1560， style name Ganquan 甘泉）， which were as eminent as the Yangming xinxue in Yaojiang. In the late Ming dynasty， influential scholars included Qiu Jun 丘濬 （1418–1495） and Chen Jian 陳建 （1497–1567）， who focused on Cheng–Zhu lixue， Xue Kan 薛侃 （d. 1545）， who continued Yangming xinxue， and Ou Daren 歐大任 （1516–1595）， Li Suiqiu 黎遂球 （d. 1646）， and Kuang Lu 鄺露 （1604–1650）， who were well-versed in the histories and poetry. In the early Qing dynasty， Guangdong academia still followed the path of lixue from previous dynasties and displayed the residual influence of late-Ming xinxue， and was thus on a par with the rest of the country with no significant changes.

The influence of Han Learning on Guangdong academia in the Qing dynasty began in the reign of Kangxi until， during the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing， the academic methods of Ruan Yuan and the Jiang–Zhe region moved southward. This was closely connected with the shift in early modern Lingnan academia. Ruan Yuan was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces for two terms spanning from 1817 to 1826. During this period， Guangdong academia was still immersed in Baisha xinxue passed down from the Ming dynasty， and all the academies remained oriented toward the imperial examination. When Ruan Yuan arrived in Guangdong， he committed himself to the following two tasks： “to break down the dreams of rote-learning scholars and usher them into the realm of classics， histories， principles， and literature，” and “to recommend Chen Jians Comprehensive Analysis of Learning Obscured [學(xué)蔀通辨] with the purpose of persuading some scholars to give up their fragmented Neo-Confucian learning and turn toward more practical studies.” After Ruan Yuan left Guangdong， his disciple Qian Yiji succeeded him in charge of the Xuehai Academy. According to the Chronicle of the Xuehai Academy [學(xué)海堂志]， Lu Kun， then governor of Guangdong–Guangxi provinces in 1834， co-established the system of elective courses for the Xuehai Academy together with Qian Yiji， stipulating as follows：

Students are required to select one classic to read from Commentaries and Subcommentaries on the Thirteen Confucian Classics [十三經(jīng)注疏]， Records of Grand Scribe [史記]， History of the Former Han Dynasty [漢書]， History of the Later Han Dynasty [后漢書]， Records of the Three Kingdoms [三國志]， Selections of Refined Literature [文選]， Poetry of Du Fu [杜詩]， Collected Works of Han Yu [昌黎先生集]， and Complete Works of Zhu Xi [朱子大全集]， to note the title of their chosen work on the first page of their routine notebook， and to keep a running diary on it on a daily basis.

As can be seen， in terms of both academic ethos and the reform of the local academy system， the academies in Guangdong under the supervision of Ruan Yuan were conducive to the spread of Han Learning of the Qianlong and Jiaqing period in the Lingnan region.

The Educational Characteristics of Early Modern Guangdong Academies： From Neo-Confucianism to Han Learning [74]

From the Song dynasty （960–1279） onward， the development of the academies in Guangdong followed the general trend of shifting from civil to official. As a result， they were gradually relocated from remote areas to urban areas. For example， in the Song dynasty， the academies in Guangdong were mostly situated on Mount Luofu. In the Ming dynasty however， Mount Xiqiao， Mount Luofu， and Mount Zong in Chaozhou were the seats for academies， with Mount Xiqiao as the most developed in academic culture. In this period， the academies were relatively free in their manner of running themselves and able to keep in line with the academic ideals of their founders， among which Baisha xinxue and Yangming xinxue were the mainstream. When it came to the Qing dynasty， these academic commitments shifted and became dominated by the state authorities， as in the cases of the Yuexiu Academy and the Duanxi Academy， both of which were administered by the government， with their governing philosophies in accord with Cheng–Zhu lixue. The orientation of the academies also shifted from reading and self-cultivation to preparation for the imperial examination. Inferring from the records of the Yuexiu Academy， Liu Boji 劉伯驥 （1908–1983） noted， “The academies in the Qing dynasty were facilitative in nature， in the sense that they facilitated their students to pass the imperial examination.”

During the Qianlong and Jiaqing period， with the prosperity of the coastal economy and the authorities increase in the quota of commercial candidates for the imperial examination， great support came to the academies in Guangdong from the local gentry and the merchant community. Thus the academies soared in number in the urban areas. By the end of the reign of Jiaqing， the newly established academies numbered as many as 225 in Guangdong. Besides the Duanxi Academy in Zhaoqing， renowned academies among these included the Yuexiu Academy （1710）， the Yuehua Academy （1755）， the Xihu Academy （1803）， the Yangcheng Academy （1820）， and the Xuehai Academy （1821）， all of which were situated in Guangzhou. Before the establishment of the Xuehai Academy under Ruan Yuans supervision， the academies were entrusted to great Confucian masters as their heads， who were invited to run the academies as a means of attracting students. Despite the fact that the running of the academies was managed by the authorities and aimed at the imperial examination， Chinese scholarship always valued tutorship， and hence the scholars and literati of the time vied for admittance into such academies. Owing to the head it employed， each academy stood out uniquely with its own characteristics.

Zhu Ciqi received education in the Yangcheng Academy in 1824 and in the Yuehua Academy in 1832， both of which were among the four prominent academies in Guangzhou. The Yangcheng Academy had the Suicheng Academy and the Yangshi Academy as its precedents and was established by Jiang Yi 蔣伊 （1631–1687）， a Tax Circuit Intendant， in 1683. In 1821， more than two thousand examinees took part in the entrance exam， but fewer than forty were admitted. The Yuehua Academy used to be an institution exclusively intended for students from merchant families. Owing to the financial support from merchants， it was superior in facilities and earned high fame. The Yangcheng Academy and the Yuehua Academy in the Jiaqing and Daoguang period shared almost the same mode of operation， with students conducting their routine study by themselves while tutors were responsible for answering questions. The most important academic activity was two regular exams respectively focused on the tutors teachings and the official courses. The heads of the academies set out questions for the exams concerning tutors teachings， and the local officials for the exams concerning official courses. For example， the routine exam given by the Yuehua Academy included an article from the Four Books and a shitie 試帖 poem （Tang-style poems written especially for the imperial examination）. Influenced by the Xuehai Academy， studies of classics and histories were added to the content of the exams during the reign of the Guangxu emperor （r. 1875–1908）.

Zhu Ciqis Academic Lineage and the Han–Song

Academic Ethos in the Late Qing [76]

When he studied in the academies in his youth， Zhu Ciqi was most prominently influenced by three figures： Zeng Zhao， a Han Learning master from Lingnan， Xie Lansheng 謝蘭生 （1760–1831）， the head of the Yangcheng Academy， and Chen Jichang 陳繼昌 （1791–1849）， the head of the Yuehua Academy. By unraveling the academic interactions between Zhu Ciqi and these three figures， the unique aspects of Lingnan academia in this period can be revealed and a line of thought can also be provided for understanding his academic pursuits.

Zeng Zhao was called “the forerunner of Han Learning in Guangdong.” His talent in phonology and exegesis were affirmed by Ruan Yuan. According to the extant literature， Zhu Ciqi paid a visit to Ruan Yuan for the first time at the age of thirteen， with Zeng Zhao， who was twenty-seven. Zhus expansion of his academic vision as well as his scholarly interactions were mostly achieved through the assistance of Zeng Zhao. As recorded in Wang Yuns 王筠 （1784–1854） “On Zhu Zixiang” [記朱子襄]， Zhu Ciqi spent six years studying in Ruan Yuans office. His The Words and Acts of Eminent Ministers of the Country [國朝名臣言行錄]， the most ambitious work of his life， resulted from the influence of Ruan Yuans practice of compiling national histories. In addition， after Ruan Yuan left Guangdong， Zhus interactions with Lu Kun， the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces， and Qian Yiji， a Han Learning scholar from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and the head of the Xuehai Academy， can also be attributed to introductions from Zeng Zhao.

Xie Lansheng was successively lecturer for the Yuexiu， Yuehua， and Yangcheng academies.

[Xie Lansheng] emulated Su Shi in versification and was well-versed in the poetry of Du Fu and Han Yu. He was of high moral integrity and began to love Neo-Confucian studies in his late years， claiming that although Zhou Dunyi was devoted to field work， Cheng Yi was immersed in silent meditation， and Zhu Xi was committed to illuminating the mind， all could be subsumed under one origin.

As shown by his thought in his later life， Xie Lansheng aspired toward the learning of the mind and inherent nature， while he also held an equal attitude toward Buddhism and Daoism. His inclusiveness， openness and impartiality were especially prominent in facilitating his addressing the significant issue of Han Learning hindering the development of the Neo-Confucian learning of moral principle. Xie Lansheng creatively mediated textual research and the learning of moral principle with originality using the ideas that the mind and things are one， that inherent nature is inseparable from things， and that inherent nature subsumes things. Nevertheless， any new idea inevitably encountered conflicts when entering into an old tradition， and in this respect， Lingnan academia with its long-standing traditions was no exception. Although Han Learning came southward to Guangdong during Ruan Yuans governorship， Lingnan scholars needed time to digest its views concerning learning. Xie Lansheng undoubtedly belonged to the scholars who initially showed an inclusiveness toward Han Learning， as shown by his interactions with the scholars of the Xuehai Academy， as well as his use of the exam questions from the Xuehai Academy in his teaching routines at the Yangcheng Academy.