The Study Of Lujiang Academy

Lujiang Academy was built by Guan Le,the magistrate of Liling County in 1753,the 18th year of Qianlong Reign,Qing Dynasty.It was in 1829,the 9th year of Daoguang Reign,that the academy was relocated in Xishan Mountain.As a school for Liling scholars,the scale of Lujiang Academy was increasingly enlarged.In 1904,the 30th year of Guangxu Reign,with the development of academy transformation in late Qing Dynasty,Lujiang Academy was first transformed into a primary school under the influence of the trilateral dynamics of the government,the gentry and the revolutionary party.In the next year,it was promoted to a middle school,which has become a exceptional case in the process of academy transformation in late Qing Dynasty.The institution of Lujiang Academy has been gradually perfected in the process of academy running,with academy masters as the core of teaching management system.Before Xianfeng Reign,the master-employment right belonged to local government represented by the county magistrate.In Xianfeng Reign,as the masters' employment right was downward,local gentry got the chance to share that right with government through the position of Shoushi.Besides,local gentry also exerted their influence on the academy at the level of economy.After Qiaqing and Daoguang Reign,the academy farmland donation launched by local gentry was more and more frequent,and their request to participate in the farmland operating management was stronger and stronger,which was finally attained.With local characteristics,the academy sacrificing objects included not only six Confucianism scholars,such as Zhu Xi,Lv Zuqian,Wu Lie,Pi Longrong and Yang Dayi,but also Li Jing in Tang Dynasty and Chen Xinbin,a county magistrate in Qing Dynasty.Book collection of Lujiang Academy was not quite developed,and two book purchasing activities in large scale were both in Guangxu Reign.There was not so much book printing either,and the most outstanding achievement was the printing of Records of Lujiang Academy.The number of masters in Lujiang Academy having been verified is 50,but it is not enough.There found 6 more masters in some local chronicles and genealogies.“Academy masters" had been a kind of vocation and become a temporary option for the scholars with nowhere to live in Qing Dynasty.Those scholars were not reconciled to settle down here.As a result,their terms as masters were generally short.Meanwhile,making friends with local gentry,bringing relatives to study here,and immersed in academic study,the masters in Lujiang Academy enjoyed a plentiful and rich life.There was a close connection between Lujiang Academy and Liling local society.On one hand,the government and gentry shared the responsibility to maintain the academy development,which the government strictly controlled the academy in every levels and the gentry strived for farmland operating management right and master-employment right through financial donation.On the other hand,Lujiang Academy's influence on local society was mainly reflected in its involving in local public affairs.