The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

by Emperor Xuanzong in

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to decide on an interpretation of the

Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confuci ...

. This formed the basis of the

Imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s, which aspiring government bureaucrats had to pass to attain higher-level government posts. Painters working for the court were also attached to the academy.

Academy members

Some of the more famous academicians of Hanlin were: *

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

(701–762) – Poet *

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

(772–846) – Poet * Yan Shu (991–1055) – Poet, calligrapher, (prime minister, 1042) * Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) – Historian * Shen Kuo (1031–1095) – Chancellor *

Zhang Zeduan Zhang Zeduan (; 1085–1145), courtesy name Zhengdao (), was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. He lived during the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Song, and was instrumental in the early history of the Chinese l ...

(1085–1145) – Painter *

Zhao Mengfu Zhao Mengfu (; courtesy name Zi'ang (子昂); pseudonyms Songxue (松雪, "Pine Snow"), Oubo (鷗波, "Gull Waves"), and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren (水精宮道人, "Master of the Water Spirits Palace"); 1254–1322), was a Chinese calligrapher, pa ...

(1254–1322) – Painter, calligrapher, poet (rector, 1314–1320) * Huang Zicheng (1350–1402) – Imperial scholar *

Li Dongyang Li Dongyang (, 1447–1516) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician during the Ming dynasty. Born in Beijing, Li began writing since 4 years old. He was invited by the Jingtai Emperor to the court for testing and requested his presence t ...

(1447–1516) – Imperial officer, poet, served as 'Grand Historian' * Ni Yuanlu (1593–1644) – Calligrapher, painter, high-ranking official *

Wu Renchen Wu Renchen (吳任臣, ) ( 1628 – 1689), with courtesy names of Zhiyi (志伊), Erqi (爾器) and Zhenghong (征鴻), and an art name of Tuoyuan (託園), was a Chinese historian, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Qing dynasty. Or ...

(1628–1689) – Historian and mathematician *

Chen Menglei Chen Menglei (; 1650-1741) was a Qing dynasty scholar-writer known for being the chief editor, compiler, and author of the Gujin Tushu Jicheng Chinese encyclopedia. In 1670, he became a Jinshi. Chen Menglei conducted research for over 50 years, c ...

(1650–1741) – Scholar, writer (Editor in Chief of the ''

Gujin Tushu Jicheng The ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng'' (), also known as the ''Imperial Encyclopaedia'', is a vast encyclopedic work written in China during the reigns of the Qing dynasty emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng. It was begun in 1700 and completed in 1725. The wor ...

'') *

Zhang Tingyu Zhang Tingyu (, October 29, 1672 – May 19, 1755) was a Han Chinese politician and historian who lived in the Qing dynasty. Biography Zhang Tingyu was born in Tongcheng in Anhui province. In 1700, he obtained a ''jinshi'' position in the ...

(1672–1755) – Politician and historian *

Ji Xiaolan Ji Yun (; 1724–1805), also known as Ji Xiaolan () or Ji Chunfan () was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer. He was an influential scholar of Qing dynasty China and many anecdotes have been recorded about him. Ji Yun left behind a bo ...

(1724–1805) – Scholar, poet (Editor in Chief of the '' Siku Quanshu'') *

Yao Nai Yao Nai (姚鼐, pinyin: Yáo Nài; 1731–1815) was a scholar of the Qing Dynasty. Born in Tongcheng (), Anhui province, Yao Nai achieved the degree of Jinshi in 1763, and was appointed to the Hanlin Academy (). Later he worked as official of se ...

(1731–1815) – Scholar * Gao E (1738–1815) – Scholar and editor *

He Changling He Changling () (March 18, 1785—July 6, 1848), courtesy name Ougen (), was a Chinese scholar and official of the Qing dynasty from Changsha, Hunan. In 1808, he obtained the highest degree in the imperial examination and the following year he e ...

(1785–1848) – Scholar and official *

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

(1811–1872) – Scholar and later key military official *

Chen Lanbin Chen Lanbin (; 1816–1895), courtesy name Li Qiu (), was the first Chinese Ambassador to the United States during the Qing dynasty. Born in Wuchuan City, Guangdong, he passed the Chinese imperial examination in 1853 at the age of 24, and entere ...

(1816–1895) – Diplomat (ambassador to the U.S., Spain and Peru) *

Weng Tonghe Weng Tonghe (; 1830–1904), courtesy name Shuping (), was a Chinese Confucian scholar and imperial tutor who lived in the Qing dynasty. In 1856, he obtained the position of ''zhuangyuan'' (or top scholar) in the imperial examination and was subs ...

(1830–1904) – Imperial Tutor *

Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...

(1868–1940) – Educator *

Qu Hongji Qu Hongji (; 1850–1918), style name Zijiu (), and art name Zhi'an (), was a politician of the Chinese Qing Dynasty who served in several ministerial positions, most notably being the first Minister of Foreign Affairs. Biography Qu Hongji was b ...

(1850–1918) – Politician

Bureau of Translators

Subordinated to the Hanlin Academy was the Bureau of Translators (). Founded by the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

in 1407, after the first expedition of

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

to the Indian Ocean, the Bureau dealt with the memorials delivered by foreign ambassadors and trained foreign language specialists. It included departments for many languages such as the Jurchen, "Tartar" (

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, Ryukyuan,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Tibetan, " Huihui" (the "Muslim" language,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

)

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

and Burmese languages, as well as for the languages of the "various barbarian tribes" (''Bai yi'' 百夷, i.e., Shan ethnic groups on China's southwestern borders), "Gaochang" (people of

Turfan Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015). Geonyms The original name of the cit ...

, i.e.

Old Uyghur language Old Uyghur () was a Turkic language which was spoken in Qocho from the 9th–14th centuries and in Gansu. History The Old Uyghur language evolved from Old Turkic after the Uyghur Khaganate broke up and remnants of it migrated to Turfan, Q ...

), and ''Xitian'' (西天; (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, spoken in India). In 1511 and 1579 departments for the languages of ''Ba bai'' (八百; Lao) and Thai were added, respectively. A

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

vocabulary (Manlajia Guan Yiyu) 滿剌加館譯語 (Words-list of Melaka Kingdom) for the Malay spoken in the

Malacca Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate ( ms, Kesultanan Melaka; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parames ...

was compiled. A

Cham language Cham (Cham: ꨌꩌ) is a Malayo-Polynesian languages, Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian family, spoken by the Cham people, Chams of Southeast Asia. It is spoken primarily in the territory of the former Kingdo ...

vocabulary 占城館 was created for the language spoken in the Champa Kingdom. When the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

revived the Ming ''Siyiguan'' 四夷館, the

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

, who "were sensitive to references to barbarians", changed the name from ''yi'' 夷 "barbarian" to ''yi'' 彝 "

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Numbering nine million people, they are the sev ...

", and changed the Shan

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

from ''Baiyi'' 百夷 "hundred barbarians" to ''Baiyi'' 百譯 "hundred translations". The later

Tongwen Guan The School of Combined Learning, or the Tongwen Guan () was a government school for teaching Western languages (and later scientific subjects), founded at Peking (Beijing), China in 1862 during the late-Qing dynasty, right after the conclusion o ...

set up by the Qing dynasty for translating western languages was subordinated to the

Zongli Yamen The ''Zongli Yamen'' (), short for Office for the General Management of Affairs Concerning the Various Countries (), also known as Prime Minister's Office, Office of General Management, was the government body in charge of foreign policy in imp ...

and not the Hanlin.

1900 fire

The Beijing Hanlin Academy and its library were severely damaged in a fire during the

siege of the International Legations The siege of the International Legations occurred in 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers; an anti-Christian anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilian ...

in Peking (now known as

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) in 1900 by the

Kansu Braves The Gansu Braves or Gansu Army was a unit of 10,000 Chinese Muslim troops from the northwestern province of Kansu ( Gansu) in the last decades of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Loyal to the Qing, the Braves were recruited in 1895 to suppre ...

while fighting against the Eight-Nation Alliance. On June 24, the fire spread to the Academy: Many ancient texts were destroyed by the flames. The Academy operated continuously until its closure during the 1911

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

References

External links

Foreign language vocabularies

* wikisource:zh:華夷譯語 – 達達館（蒙古語）Mongol language
華夷譯語(一)
– 暹羅館（泰語）天文門。 Thai language
華夷譯語(二)
– 緬甸館譯語緬甸館來文（緬甸語）通用門。Burmese language
華夷譯語(三)
– 百夷館（雲南傣語）天文門。Baiyi ( Dai, Shan)
華夷譯語(四)
– 百夷館（雲南傣語）天文門和地理門。Baiyi ( Dai, Shan)
華夷譯語(五)
– 回回館《回回館雜字》（波斯語）天文門。Persian language
華夷譯語(六)
– 回回館《回回館雜字》（波斯語）天文門和地理門。Persian language
高昌館來文
– 高昌館來文（高昌）回鶻語 (畏兀兒館（回鶻語）。Old Uyghur language
譯文備覽
– 譯文備覽西番館（藏語）。Tibetan language

– 《西番譯語》西番館（藏語）Tibetan language * wikisource:zh:華夷譯語/朝鮮館譯語 Korean language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (陳侃)#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E.EF.BC.88.E9.99.84.EF.BC.89 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (蕭崇業)/附#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E – 使琉球錄夷語夷字 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:使琉球錄 (夏子陽)/卷下#.E5.A4.B7.E8.AA.9E.E3.80.90.E9.99.84.E3.80.91 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:中山傳信錄/卷六#.E9.A2.A8.E4.BF.97 Ryukyuan language * wikisource:zh:重修使琉球錄 Ryukyuan language
使琉球录三种-夷语（附）_国学导航
Ryukyuan language

Ryukyuan language

Ryukyuan language
《女直館》（女真語）《女真譯語》《女真館雜字》在 ''Die Sprache und Schrift der Jučen'' by Wilhem Grube by Wilhem Grube 《女真文和女真語》作者：葛祿博
Jurchen language {{Authority control 8th-century establishments in China 1911 disestablishments in China Confucian education Education in Beijing Government of Imperial China History of education in China History of Imperial China Song dynasty Tang dynasty