<span style='letter-spacing:-.1pt’>The Imperial Academy, also known as Guozijian, was the institute for educational management and the highest institution of learning in ancient China. It can be traced back to 278 ce (the fourth year of the Xianning reign of the Western Jin dynasty); because the number of students at the existing Imperial College, and their geographical origins, had grown, Emperor Wu set up a new institution for the children of noble families. During the Northern Qi dynasty, the college was renamed Court for Education, and in 607 ce (the third year of Daye reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty), it was changed to the Imperial Academy, which remained the name in later dynasties. The Tang dynasty followed the Sui dynasty in terms of its educational system, and the Imperial College, Simen College, Law College, Calligraphy College, Arithmetic College, and College of the Extension of Literature came under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Academy. During the Song dynasty, the Martial Arts College was added. In the Yuan dynasty, Imperial Central Schools were set up for the Han, Mongol, and Huihui nationalities, which were all named the Imperial Academy. In the Ming dynasty, its scale expanded greatly, and it was divided into two branches in Beijing and Nanjing. The subsequent Qing dynasty followed the same system until 1905 (the thirty-first year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), when the Imperial Academy was replaced by the Ministry of Education, and its students were called students of the Academy, students of the College, or Imperial students. Each dynasty had its own regulations for the admission qualifications and the number of students, as well as for the college’s strict management, such as the appointment of general directors, enforcing of managing systems, test systems for promotions and demotions, vacation policies, and so on.
