Shang Xiang ({{zh, c=上庠, p=shàng xiáng, w=Shang Hsiang) was a school founded in the Yu Shun (虞舜) era in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Shun (2257 BCE–2208 BCE), the Emperor of the Kingdom of Yu (虞, or 有虞/Youyu), founded two schools. One was Shang Xiang (shang (上), means up, high), and the other one was Xia Xiang (下庠, xia (下) means down, low). Shang Xiang was a place to educate noble youth. Teachers at Shang Xiang were generally erudite, elder and noble persons. The original meaning of Xiang (庠) is ''provide for'' (養), and Xiang, including Shang Xiang and Xia Xiang, were initially places to provide for the aged persons, and then became places for aged persons with their knowledge and experiences to teach youth. Shang Xiang is classified as a kind of Guo Xue (國學), meaning the National School in capital city, which is the imperial central school, the nation's supreme school in China, in contrast with regional schools. Cheng Jun (成均) is also a kind of ancient institution with educational function in the Five Emperors eras before Shang Xiang as recorded in literature.

Dong Zhongshu Dong Zhongshu (; 179–104 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Han dynasty. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state, favoring heaven worsh ...

: The Five Emperors named Daxue as ''Cheng Jun'' and it is similar to Xiang in Yu era (董仲舒：“五帝名大學曰成均，則虞庠近是也”。). The imperial school was called Dong Xu (東序, literally eastern school) in the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

, while Xi Xu (西序, western school) was equivalent to Xia Xiang. In the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

the upper school was You Xue (右學, literally right school) and the lower school was Zuo Xue (左學, left school). The imperial central school was named Taixue in

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. From

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

it was named

Guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the highest level academic and educational institution throughout most of imperial ...

. Shang Xiang was also one of the five imperial schools in the capital city of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. The other four were: Dong Xu (東序), Cheng Jun (成均), Gu Zong (瞽宗) and Pi Yong (闢雍). Pi Yong, also called Taixue at the time, was a central school, located in a central location, where the Son of Heaven may often prelect and also learn and ask for advisement (承師問道). Dong Xu was an eastern school. Cheng Jun was a southern school. Gu Zong was a western school and it is a music school. Shang Xiang was a northern school. The schools established by vassal states were called Pan Gong (泮宮). The schools in the Zhou dynasty mainly taught the

Six Arts The Six Arts formed the basis of education in ancient Chinese culture. These were made and practiced by the Confucians. History During the Zhou dynasty (1122–256 BCE), students were required to master the "liù yì" (六藝) (''Six Arts''): * ...

: Li (禮, rite), Yue (樂, music), She (射, archery), Yu (禦, charioteering), Shu (書, literature), Shu (數, maths).

References

Ancient China History of education in China