Confucian higher education in the Sinosphere
Looking into the history of higher education in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Biyong, the imperial lecture hall in Beijing Guozijian. Source: The awakening of China by WAP Martin (1907)
April 25, 2021
Before the emergence of higher education in the West, older institutions were already teaching across the globe. Amongst them were the Confucian academies within the Sinosphere, which inherited the ideals of China’s Guozijian and were scattered across Vietnam, Japan and the two Koreas. These ancient temples of learning offer both an alternative to Western conceptions of scientific education, and a cautionary tale for meritocratic reforms elsewhere.