Ancient
Beijing Imperial College
The Second Biggest
Heritage Site
in the Heart of Beijing
17
November 2006
The second
biggest heritage site in the heart of the
Chinese capital after the Forbidden City
is set to open to public by next year.
Beijing Guozijian (国子监), the imperial
college built during the early Ming
Dynasty about 600 years
ago, has been closed for over a half
century.
The
gate to the Imperial College
During a major
repairing work sometime ago, 14 tablet
pavilions (御碑亭) were
identified, and among them, the oldest
one was found to be created 500 years ago
during the reign of Emperor Zhengtong (正统). This precious Ming
tablet recorded the details of the
initial construction and the subsequent
renovations of the college.
The
Ming tablet pavilion
Previously the
site was occupied by various district
organisations and the Ming pavilion had
been, pathetically, used as storage.
Guozijian is the
highest official institution of learning
in the imperial China. Once a young
scholar was selected to study in the
college, he was entitled to receive free
tuition, accommodation, meal and
allowance, and guaranteed a civil servant
position upon graduation. Emperors
routinely went to the college to give
lectures, thus all the college students
were considered as the disciples of
emperor, and automatically elevated to
the elite class regardless of their
original background.
Pre: The
Bachelar's Day
Nex: Unemployment
Upon Graduation?
Related News:
List of All Articles
|
