Chapter 34: The Imperial Academy

Seven li south of Chang'an's city wall lay a vast complex of solemn buildings — here stood the Imperial Academy.

In the Zhou dynasty the Academy was called the Circular Moat, forming a trinity with the Bright Hall and the Spirit Observatory, together known as the "Three Yong." They were the core of Zhou governance, for the great affairs of state lay in sacrifice and war.

Early in the Former Han, Confucian scholars repeatedly proposed rebuilding them, but Emperor Wu of Han was busy expanding the frontiers and building palaces and parks for his own pleasure. He had no feeling for Zhou governance and ignored these voices.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han that Confucian scholars began to be employed in earnest, and the rebuilding of the Three Yong was raised again by Liu Xiang and others. But the ancient Zhou institutions had long since crumbled beyond recovery — even Confucius himself probably never figured them out — and the old Erudites of the New Text school were locked in factional disputes. Thus they debated for decades and still had no consensus on how exactly the Three Yong should be built.

"In the end, the State Preceptor could bear to watch no longer…"

These past few days, everywhere he went someone brought up the "State Preceptor" who shared his name; Liu Xiu was growing rather sick of the old fellow.

"You dare call yourself Liu Xiu?" — that had been truly wounding.

Yet Liu Xiu showed no displeasure on his face. He continued listening to the "Supervisor" who was showing them around the Academy — this man was a disciple of the State Preceptor, named Zheng Xing, courtesy name Shaogan.

"My teacher, Liu Yingshu, was then Grand Palace Grandee. He wrote a 'Letter Rebuking the Erudites of the Grand Ceremonies,' bitterly denouncing the New Text Erudites for clinging to their rut, preserving the broken and clinging to the incomplete, envying the true Way, losing the Sage's intent, and sinking into the quibbles of clerks."

From that moment on, Liu Xin raised the banner of the Old Text classics and set himself against the already decayed and corrupt New Text school. After Emperor Ai of Han died and Wang Mang returned to power, he began to adopt Liu Xin's views wholesale.

Not only did he include the Old Text classics in the official curriculum, he also funded Liu Xin, enabling him, from the five Old Text classics collected from the people and the imperial archives — the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Mao Odes, the Lost Rites, the Old Text Book of Documents, and the Zhou Offices — to swiftly and cleanly find the sources for the Three Yong!

As for whether they were genuine, that was a matter of opinion.

Once you had a gourd to copy, drawing the ladle was much easier.

Zheng Xing said: "On the gengzi day of the eighth month that year, His Present Majesty, then Regent, arrived here bearing the edict. He shed his wide robes and broad sash, personally took to the ground to shovel earth and carry bricks. Word spread at once through the capital until every household knew of it. By the next day, the xinchou day, a hundred thousand people, drawn by his fame, came from the capital and the Three Adjuncts!"

"Among them were students, commoners, even merchants and live-in sons-in-law. Moved by His Majesty's act, they all came of their own accord to help. Under the leadership of His Majesty and the Chief Craftsman, in a mere twenty days the Three Yong were complete!"

Truly a miracle — in that age of moral decay, what people yearned for was a miracle.

Zheng Xing believed all of this from the bottom of his heart: "In ancient times, the Duke of Zhou, assisting King Cheng and holding the dignity of the highest duke, still took a full seven years to establish the Rites of Zhou. The Rites of Zhou fell into ruin and no one could revive them — even Confucius struck a wall. Yet His Present Majesty needed only four years to complete the creation of rites and music, his merit and virtue blazing bright. And in a mere twenty days, the Bright Hall, Circular Moat, and Spirit Observatory, abandoned for over a thousand years, stood anew upon this ground!"

"Gentlemen, such meritorious deeds and sagely virtue — from the rise of Tang and Yu to the founding achievements of Cheng Zhou, truly nothing surpasses this."

Zheng Xing spoke with passion. After all, they had studied the classics since childhood and regarded the restoration of Zhou governance as their mission. Now someone had truly realized it, building the Three Yong that symbolized the ritual and ethical order of Zhou — if Wang Mang was not a sage, who was?

Would it be justifiable for the Han realm not to abdicate to such a sage?

The Academy students from Nanyang nodded in agreement one after another. Only Liu Xiu felt ill at ease listening to this. He too studied Confucianism, but he still carried the bloodline of Emperor Gao of Han — how could he not feel grief for his fallen dynasty?

After the annual orientation ended, Zheng Xing let the new students familiarize themselves with the Academy on their own.

The Imperial Academy had five precincts: Chengjun to the south, Shangxiang to the north, Dongxu to the east, Guxue to the west, and Circular Moat at the center. Circular Moat was the largest, built by the water's edge, its walls shaped like a circular jade ring.

Directly north were the student dormitories, capable of housing ten thousand. Perhaps because Wang Mang had endured hardship as a young scholar, once he became Emperor he took great care over the living conditions of the Academy's teachers and students.

A market was set up within the Academy for their convenience, and a Changman Granary was established to supply grain, so that students need not go hungry. All buildings, near or far, were linked by covered corridors with eaves above, so that students' feet would not get wet in the rain nor their heads scorched in the summer heat.

Though most of the Academy students from the provinces and commanderies were not poor, their local official schools were relatively crude. Upon entering the well-appointed Imperial Academy, they were all quite satisfied, and listening to Zheng Xing's praise of the new policies, they were moved beyond words.

After all, Academy students were indeed the greatest beneficiaries of Wang Mang's reforms — for the first time, scholars were raised to the highest place.

Liu Xiu, however, knew exactly what he had come to the Academy to do. He went first to the Chengjun Hall in the south. He had a fellow townsman and close friend named Zhu You, courtesy name Zhongxian, who had entered the Academy a few years earlier and now stayed on as an "Attendant Lecturer."

When Liu Xiu arrived outside the Chengjun lecture hall, Zhu You was teaching a group of Academy students. He spotted the young man with the prominent brow and wide mouth outside the door and recognized him at once as Liu Xiu. In his youth, Zhu You had often visited the Liu family of Chongling and knew the two brothers all too well.

"Wenshu, come in quickly."

Ignoring protocol, Zhu You smiled and beckoned Liu Xiu inside, seating him in the spot closest to himself, drawing sidelong glances from the Academy students.

Halfway through the lecture, Zhu You told the class to recite on their own what he had just taught, then sat down beside Liu Xiu and said, very happily: "Wenshu, ah, Wenshu. A few years ago when Bosheng and I came to the Academy together, we asked you to join us, but you refused. Now you are a newly enrolled disciple while I am already an Attendant Lecturer — aren't you going to call me 'Master'?"

Liu Xiu laughed. "If Zhongxian is willing to take me, what harm is there in treating you as my teacher?"

Zhu You hurriedly waved his hand. "That was only a joke. Within this Academy, thirty Erudites are appointed. Under each Erudite are eight Supervisors, eight Senior Disciples, and eight Attendant Lecturers. No one but an Erudite may privately take disciples. I am merely a minor Attendant Lecturer, only occasionally filling in for my teacher to give lessons — I am not qualified to teach you."

The Academy was strictly hierarchical. Zheng Xing, who had just sung Wang Mang's praises before the new students, was a Supervisor; the one who had pressured Liu Xiu to change his name the day before was a Senior Disciple — both outranked Zhu You.

Zhu You added that he could introduce Liu Xiu to a teacher. Since Wang Mang took power and the Academy began expanding enrollment, a cumulative total of ten thousand eight hundred people had come to study here, and competition grew ever fiercer — one often needed connections to be accepted into a master's tutelage.

"The Academy has six classics, divided into twenty schools of study. Which one does Wenshu wish to pursue?"

Liu Xiu had already decided before coming. Without hesitation, he said: "I want to study the Book of Documents!"

Zhu You said: "Could it be because when Bosheng came to Chang'an back then, what he studied was the Book of Documents?"

That was indeed part of the reason. Although Liu Yan had secured an Academy student slot five or six years ago, his mind was entirely on making friends with bold heroes. The copy of the Book of Documents he had paid heavily to have transcribed was left discarded at home. It was Liu Xiu who, bored while supervising the slaves at farm work, had leafed through it a few times.

Nor had he come to the Academy purely to study the classics — he also aimed to see the wider world, understand court politics, and make broad connections. Choosing a classic in which he already had some grounding would save him a great deal of energy.

Beyond that, Liu Xiu also felt that studying the Book of Documents could illuminate the Way by which a benevolent ruler governs the people and the principles by which a worthy minister serves his lord. Given that his elder brother was bent on great undertakings, learning it might prove useful.

"Do you wish to study the Old Text, or the New Text?"

Zhu You said: "The Old Text Book of Documents is the prominent school of this dynasty, with disciples of the State Preceptor serving as Erudites. At the year-end examinations, many of them pass."

"I have no liking for the Old Text."

Liu Xiu shook his head. Right now he was steering clear of State Preceptor Liu Xin and his disciples — why would he want to join that crowd?

Zhu You continued: "For the New Text, there are three schools: the Ouyang Book of Documents, the Senior Xiahou Book of Documents, and the Junior Xiahou Book of Documents. Wenshu, pick one."

Liu Xiu indicated it did not matter. "Whichever school Zhongxian is familiar with, recommend me there."

In the end, Zhu You found for Liu Xiu an Erudite who taught the Ouyang Book of Documents: Xu Weng of Lujiang, courtesy name Ziwei.

On the day Liu Xiu went to deliver his tuition gift to Xu Ziwei, a great wind happened to blow. The moment he stepped out the door he felt a chill, and could not help but draw his fur coat tighter, shivering.

"This north — it really is cold!"

His hometown of Nanyang belonged to Jingzhou, where the climate was warm — nothing like the northern land of Chang'an, where as soon as winter set in the cold wind cut the flesh like a knife, and after nightfall you had to keep a fire burning indoors just to stay.

Zhu You led Liu Xiu to the Shangxiang Hall north of the Academy. When they found Xu Ziwei's residence, they discovered a long queue already formed outside the courtyard where he lived and lectured — other new students who had come to pay their respects to the master.

Liu Xiu held the tuition gift in his hands. At his waist already hung the tally that every Academy student was issued, inscribed with their place of origin and name.

His gaze was caught by the name of the person ahead of him — the surname was truly rare.

"Liewei Commandery, Diba Jiao?"

Ahead of him, Diba Jiao also turned to glance at the wide-mouthed young man with the fine beard and brows, then looked down at the wooden tag on Liu Xiu's waist.

"Qiandui Commandery, Liu Jiao?"

…

After paying respects to the master, there were no classes that day, so Diba Jiao made a trip back to Chang'an. He had to bid farewell to Diwu Lun and the others — from now on, Diba Jiao would be living at the Imperial Academy.

He had just entered the residence in Xuanming Ward when he found it bustling with activity — not only Jing Dan, but Wang Long had also come to stay, and was now bent over his desk, frantically copying out Sima Xiangru's rhapsodies. This was the "assignment" Yang Xiong had left him. The weather was so cold his hands were red and chapped.

"This cold is truly bitter. Jizheng, come in quickly."

Diwu Lun told Diba Jiao to come inside. The heated brick bed had already been lit — an invention dating roughly to the Qin–Han transition. Without this thing, winters in the north would be absolutely unbearable.

Although Diwu Lun had given up his Imperial Academy place, he was still rather curious about it, so he asked Diba Jiao how he was finding his studies. The answer, however, surprised him greatly.

First he listened as Diba Jiao recounted the officials in charge singing Wang Mang's praises. When he heard that a hundred thousand students and commoners had been mobilized to build the San Yong halls, Diwu Lun could not help but stare in astonishment.

"That scoundrel Wang Mang really does have a knack for propaganda and mass mobilization."

He also recalled an inscription on a bronze mirror his family owned.

He fetched it and looked — sure enough, there were two lines: "Newly raised the Circular Moat, built the Bright Hall; thus arrayed the lands and enfeoffed the marquises and kings."

"What the General and Prefect decree, the people carry out; the myriad student lodgings stand in the north, rejoicing in the center…"

It was probably a commemorative piece made when the San Yong were completed.

As he listened further to Diba Jiao describe the layout of the Imperial Academy, Diwu Lun could not suppress a smile.

"Isn't this just a university town of later ages? Not only are there over ten thousand students, but it even has its own market and dining halls inside."

As for the Academy's five sections — Circular Moat, Chengjun, Shangxiang, Dongxu, and Guzong — they were uncannily like those buildings on later university campuses with their classically elegant names.

After Wang Mang and his State Preceptor completed the Classic of Music, adding it to the Odes, the Documents, the Rites, the Changes, and the Spring and Autumn, the Imperial Academy possessed all Six Classics — exactly like six great colleges.

Each classic, depending on differences in master lineage, exegesis, and chapter-and-verse commentary, further splintered into many minor schools — things like the Zuo Tradition of the Spring and Autumn, the Gongyang, and the Guliang — which closely resembled departments and specializations branching off from a college.

The thirty Erudites were equivalent to specialized advisors, while the officials below them — the Directors, Senior Disciples, and Lecturers — looked exactly like counselors, adjunct lecturers, postdocs, and the like.

A pity, Diwu Lun thought with a private laugh, that they were all humanities.

Just then, Jing Dan, who had also studied at the Imperial Academy for several years, returned and added: "Apart from the Six Classics, back when His Majesty completed the Academy, he also cast a wide net to gather men of extraordinary ability from across the realm — those versed in astronomy, geography, prognostic charts, pitch pipes, numerology, monthly ordinances, yin-yang, and military strategy were all summoned by public carriage. Over a thousand came in succession and were gathered in the Dongxu Hall."

Diwu Lun was stunned again. "So it was a comprehensive university?"

Diwu Lun immediately felt that later ages, when debating "the world's oldest university," always traced it back to Europe — the Xin dynasty Imperial Academy would beg to differ!

He knew these were surely all coincidences, but he was growing more and more curious about the man Wang Mang. It was only a pity that, given his current station, meeting the Xin Emperor even once was nearly impossible.

Once he calmed down, Diwu Lun did not regret withdrawing from the Academy. After all, an Academy student had to study bitterly for several years, even a decade, and only after obtaining the Erudite's permission could he sit the Shece examination and compete for those hundred placement spots. The top forty of the first rank were appointed as Palace Gentlemen — only then would one reach the position Diwu Lun now held.

In times of peace, Diwu Lun would already have won the race from the starting line. It was only a pity that these were troubled times; sooner or later, the cards would be reshuffled.

All Diwu Lun could do was gather more cards into his own hand before that happened.

He simply asked Diba Jiao: "Every year, one or two thousand Academy students hurry to Chang'an — it is a place where talent gathers. You've been there several days now. Have you met any men of insight?"

Diba Jiao shook his head. He was solitary by nature and single-mindedly devoted to reading the sages' books; he had put no effort into socializing, and his circle was limited to fellow townsmen from Liewei Commandery.

And so Diba Jiao received a scolding from Diwu Lun, who told him not to study dead books and not to neglect social connections. Diba Jiao immediately acknowledged his fault and said that he had now become a disciple of Xu Ziwei in the New Text tradition of the Documents and would interact more with his fellow disciples.

For instance, while queuing to pay respects to the master, that man from Qiandui Commandery, Liu Jiao, Liu Wenshu, who had treated him with great kindness — he seemed an honest fellow.

The scene made Jing Dan, watching from the side, unable to hold back a smile. Diba Jiao was clearly several years older than Diwu Lun, so why did it seem as if Diwu Lun were the elder clan brother? But on second thought, he realized he himself had unconsciously begun treating Diwu Lun as a peer, without the slightest sense of dissonance.

"Perhaps this is what they call being young but mature beyond one's years."

Just then, the courtyard gate opened. Diwu Fu came driving the donkey cart back, and as soon as he entered the yard, he ran over shouting: "Young master, the yellow earth and coal you wanted — I've found them!"

…

PS: From the Hou Han Ji, juan 8 — "Earlier, when His Majesty (Liu Xiu) was studying in Chang'an, he once visited 【Zhu】 You. You was in the middle of a lecture and detained His Majesty; only when the lecture was finished did they share a leisurely conversation together."

Thanks to Alliance Leader Yu Feng Yuan Zou and all other readers for the tips.