is coming on November 11th again. In recent years, with the development of the Internet, this date of each year is labeled as a "shopping carnival" in addition to "Single's Day". However, in the "Bald Year" in 1111 AD, a literati of the Song Dynasty founded a college and gave a lesson, which influenced China for more than 800 years.
In the middle and late Ming dynasties, there was a very famous couplet. The first couplet said: The sound of wind and rain sounded and read less and less. The second couplet said: The affairs of the country and family matters were concerned about everything in the world. This couplet came from Donglin Academy. Donglin Academy was popular in the court and the country during the Ming Dynasty. At first it was the largest "Qingliu" school in the Ming Dynasty, but later it evolved into an important force - the Donglin Party. Although Donglin Academy was well-known in later generations in the Ming Dynasty, it was founded in 1111 AD.
During the Yuanhe period of the Song Dynasty, "Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism" was popular. Among them, the "Cheng" in Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism refers to the brothers Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao, and Cheng Hao had a direct disciple named Yang Shi. After the "Second Cheng", Yang Shi became a famous Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty. In 1111 AD, Yang Shi went to Wuxi. Wuxi official Li Kui admired Yang Shi and invited him to give lectures in various places in Wuxi. When passing through Baoan Temple in Nanmen of Wuxi, Yang Shi felt that the ancient trees here were lush and green, and the scene was very similar to Donglin Temple in Lushan. It was a good place to preach. So with the help of Li Kui, Yang Shi founded Donglin Academy here and summoned students from Jiangnan to give a lesson here, which caused a sensation. From then on, Donglin Academy's influence remained high, and there were fixed student gatherings every month, becoming a gathering place for the "clear stream" students of the Song Dynasty. Many students traveled thousands of miles just to listen to classes here.
After the demise of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty suppressed Han culture, and Donglin Academy was abolished from then on. However, countless Han officials always wanted to restore this holy land. Until the middle of the Ming Dynasty, people with knowledge gradually gathered at the former site of Donglin. However, due to the lack of funds, although there were still gatherings here, they were not as large as they were back then. During the Wanli period, the chief assistant Zhang Juzheng was criticized by scholars in the opposition because he was greedy for the position of chief assistant and did not go home to observe filial piety. Among them, the literati gathered at the former site of Donglin was jealous of Zhang Juzheng, and the original grand occasion was suppressed to a certain extent. It was not until the arrival of the Qingliu leader Gu Xiancheng that Donglin Academy reached its peak: Emperor Wanli wanted to abolish the crown prince Zhu Changluo and changed Zhu Changxun. The Qingliu leader Gu Xiancheng was demoted for opposition. Gu Xiancheng retired to Wuxi and revived Donglin Academy with the help of local officials in Wuxi.
Donglin Academy achieved unprecedented success when Gu Xiancheng was in the past. Not only did "gentlemen" emerge in many places, but the eight gentlemen of Donglin also formulated some list of Donglin codes. The reason why Donglin Academy was powerful at this time was because it was a pure academic gathering. There was a large gathering here every year, a small gathering once a month, and a concentrated lecture at least three days at each gathering, which was quite like a literary salon today. However, as the ill-beaten politics became prominent in the late Ming Dynasty, the students of Donglin began to shift their direction and divided into two factions, among which the mainstream faction began to criticize current affairs and became the most powerful cluster of critics in that era.
Donglin students are all over the world and form a party. If the officials in the court are both from "Donglin", they will take care of each other. If they are not from "Donglin", they will be centrally excluded, so the Donglin Party is said. However, although the Donglin Party has been criticized, it also has many outstanding talents and cannot be denied.
When Emperor Xizong of Ming succeeded to the throne, the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and the wet nurse Ke were colluded with the power of the court and the opposition. In addition, Emperor Xizong of Ming liked carpenters and did not care about the government affairs, the Donglin Party began to criticize Wei Zhongxian for the eunuchs' interference in politics. As a result, the eunuch party and the Donglin Party had a deep hatred. As Yang Lian, a native of Donglin, was dealt with by the eunuch party, the Donglin Party was completely shattered in front of the powerful eunuch party. There were more than tens of thousands of persecuted people, and the national officialdom talked about Donglin. It was not until Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne and killed Wei Zhongxian that the Donglin Party was able to turn over. However, at this time, the Ming Dynasty was already terminally ill, and Donglin knew all over the government and the public, so there was a saying that the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Donglin Party, but the editor always believed that this statement was too one-sided.
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Donglin Academy received attention from several generations of emperors such as Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. Because this is a place that literati yearn for, the Qing Dynasty invested in the repair of Donglin Academy every year. It was not until the Guangxu period that Donglin Academy was "requisitioned" by the court and became the local academic and political education of the court. From then on, this civil organization changed its nature. From the "Bald Year" to the Guangxu Year, Donglin Academy rose and fell several times, and it was full of talents. Since Yang Shi opened the school to give a lecture, China has been affected by this for more than 800 years, which is of great significance.
Editor believes that: Looking at Donglin Academy requires dialectical treatment. Since its establishment, most members of this academy have followed the teachings of Confucius and Mencius and are role models for Chinese scholars and officials. However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it went to extremes and gradually collided with other forces, and eventually suffered heavy losses. Although there are different opinions on loyalty and treacherous people here, the strong influence of Donglin Academy has been widely recognized.
