The Jixia Academy or Academy of the Gate of Chi[Joseph Needham. Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 1, pp. 95 f. Cambridge University Press, 1956. , 9780521057998. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.] was a scholarly academy during the Warring States period.[Kirkland, R. Taoism: The Enduring Tradition, pp. 64 f. Routledge, 2004. , 9780203688670. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.] named for the harvest god Houji or Hou Ji.
Establishment
Based on passages in the
Records of the Grand Historian,
[Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian.] the academy is generally credited to King Xuan and given a foundation date around 318 BC. However,
Xu Gan credited the academy to King Xuan's grandfather, Duke Huan of Tian Qi, not to be confused with Duke Huan of Qi.
Sima Qian's passages are consistent with King Xuan having restored rather than established the institution.
[Makeham, John. Name and Actuality in Early Chinese Thought, pp. 249 f. SUNY Press, 1994. , 9780791419847. Accessed 2 Nov 2012.]
The academy has been characterized as "the first time on record a state began to act as a patron of scholarship out of the apparent conviction that this was a proper function of the state",[Peerenboom, Randall. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao, pp. 224 ff. SUNY Press, 1993. , 9780791412374.] and Duke Huan of Tian Qi execution of his brother, nephew, and mother.[ Bamboo Annals. "Annals of Wei". ]
Importance
Scholars including the most renowned of the era came from great distances to lodge in the academy: the
Taoist philosophers
Tian Pian,
Shen Dao,
Peng Meng, and possibly
Zhuang Zhou;
, the founder of the School of Naturalists; the
Mohist philosopher
Song Xing; and the
Confucian philosophers
Mencius,
[Foster Stockwell. A History of Information Storage and Retrieval. McFarland & Company, 2001. .] Xun Zi,
[Sato, Masayuki. The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi. Brill (Boston), 2003.] and
Chunyu Kun. The famous scenes of the
Mencius dealing with King Xuan arose from the philosopher's time at the academy. The Jixia Academy was also the original center of the
Huanglao school and was involved with the compilation of the
Guanzi essay
Neiye "Inward Training" that is the oldest received writing concerning "cultivation of qi" and meditation.
[Harper, Donald & al. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1999.] Some have argued it was the probable location for the editing and redaction that produced the current
Tao Teh Ching.
The academy was popular not only because of the mansions[ From Discourses on Salt and Iron]
Legacy
The Jixia Academy thrived until the reign of King Min. In 284 BC, it was scattered by Yan's sack of Linzi. However,
Sima Qian credited its example with the creation of other academies, particularly those of the Four Lords:
Lord Mengchang's within Qi, as well as
Lord Pingyuan's in Zhao,
Lord Chunshen's in Chu, and
Lord Xinling's in Wei.
[Kim, Hongkyung. The Old Master: A Syncretic Reading of the Laozi from the Mawangdui Text Onward. SUNY Press, 2012. , 9781438440118.] In Qin, the chancellor Lü Buwei supported thousands of scholars between 250 and 238 BC.
Archaeology
In February 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of the ruins of the academy in
Zibo city,
Shandong province. The excavation, which had been going for 5 years before the announcement, turned up four rows of building foundations that belonged to the academy complex, along with architectural components that "would glow with colorful lights when the sun shines on them". The site measures about 210 m from east to west at its widest and 190 m long from north to south, shaped roughly like a right-angled trapezoid from above, with a total area of nearly 40,000 square meters.
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