Academy: A paradise for readers
——Reading Deng Hongbo's Millennium String Song: A Brief History of the Academy
Text/Hu Yu
How many years has traditional Chinese academies been around since the moment they were born? How many academies have there been in China since ancient times? Why do Chinese academies keep singing? Regarding the many questions about the college, the research and writings can be described as a vast sea. For the general lovers of traditional colleges, or readers and friends who are interested in exploring the culture of the college, Professor Deng Hongbo's new work "Millennium String Song: A Brief History of the College" is a rare work. With a humorous and relaxed tone, the author leads the reader to knock on the door of the Chinese academy.
Academies arose out of the book. In the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Ming's "Suiyuan Essays" volume 14 recorded that "the name of the academy, starting from the Tang Xuanzong Shi Lizheng Academy and the Jixian Academy, were all built in the chao province, as the place of revision", although academically debatable, but at least expounded one of the original functions of the ancient academy, similar to today's publishing institutions. This definition in the development process of the college has long broken through the original framework. In the academy, a cultural tension is presented to the greatest extent. This tension, inspired by the participants, builders, advocates and even visitors of the Academy, has allowed the Academy to achieve breakthroughs again and again. This also shows the tolerance of the academy as an ancient cultural place.
The academy provides a spiritual smelting ground for the readers. The ancients paid attention to self-cultivation, in the group of readers, many people prefer to visit the famous mountains and rivers, such as every time they find a paradise or a quiet place, they want to build a lulu here to teach, becoming the prototype of the academy. The reader first built these shelters with his own ability, and then re-forged himself in such places. Some take the academy as a dot to continuously expand the radius of culture and radiation area, and educate one party.
The academy is also an ethical stabilizer in the traditional Chinese social structure. The academy's identity in ancient times was sometimes awkward. When official education is popular, academies will also follow the "dipping light", because these academies also teach orthodox doctrines established by the state. When the dynasties change, the academy is like an "abandoned son", allowing it to fend for itself, but this "extinction" may be the destruction of the tangible buildings of the academy, but the ethical value system promoted by the academy has long been hidden in the hearts of the people. Because there is a college, it gathers the cultural core that can help the people around it, or stabilize people's hearts and correct human nature in some special historical periods.
The rise and fall of the academy is one of the tests of whether an era or society is enlightened. Although the academy has experienced a period of "confucianism", it has gradually accepted the Tao and Shi families, and let the three cultures gather in the academy, is this not a manifestation of cultural tolerance? From form to content, it is a very firm display of the ancient "college self-confidence".
In the late Qing Dynasty, the gates of China were forced to open, and church academies were established in some coastal areas according to relevant unequal treaties. The existence of such academies has deeply stimulated traditional Chinese culture, allowing traditional culture to be abandoned again under stress.
Today, the academy does not have as "sacred" as it was in ancient times. I am in some scenic spots, even in the downtown, occasionally look up, you may see a card hanging high, on the book "XX Academy", walk in to see, in fact, is a "silly" venue - there are dozens of books, there is a tea house, the four walls hanging a few paintings that may be celebrities, in fact, it is our ordinary people's study. Of course, the function of the academy as a study room has actually been resurrected in part under the care of individuals in the folk. But on another level, the college is also gradually being "generalized", which leads to the mission of the college in modern society, especially the college with some official background, how to do something slow in this era of everything is anxious, but can reflect the cultural dignity of the college itself, rather than the "market prospect"?
Anyone who pays attention to China's excellent traditional culture will not ignore the important role played by the academy in ancient times and today. Professor Deng Hongbo edited the "Chinese Academy Culture Construction Series" and the series of "Millennium String Songs: A Brief History of the Academy", which summarizes the essence of the traditional college from the aspects of the history of the college, the education of the college, the funds of the college, the spirit of the college, and the architecture of the college, discusses the reasons why the string songs of the college have been endless for thousands of years, and interprets the era value and cultural education mission of the college in the new era. That is, it is named after the "culture construction of the academy", which focuses on the word "construction", which always reminds us that in today's era of rapid changes, some of them are in decline, and they still need to work hard to "build".
No matter how people evaluate the status, role, and future development trend of Chinese academies, at the moment, we can sit down and open this "Millennium String Song: A Brief History of colleges" and reorganize our hearts that have long been overgrown with weeds.
("Millennium String Song: A Brief History of the Academy" by Deng Hongbo published by Haitian Publishing House)
Source: Hunan Daily (2021.12.31"Reading Weekly")