The Official Schools

·Great School

The Great School was founded by Emperor Wu in 124 BC.It was the highest level of schooling available，similar to today’s universities.Teaching materials included The Book of Songs，The Book of Changes，The Record of Rites，The Book of History and The Spring andAutumn Annals，which are now collectively called The Five Classics.Classes were large，often with several hundred students in each class.Higher class students taught the lower class students.Graduates from this school often found jobs in the government.

·Hongdumen School

Hongdumen School was an art academy，and was named after the place where it was founded.It was the first school of art in the world，and only prestigious people could enroll in it.

Students learned odes，novels，letters，calligraphy and painting.With the founding of Hongdumen School，the door was open for creation of other special schools.

·Noble Schools

The first Noble School was created midway through the first century.In 119，Deng Sui（81-121），the wife of Emperor He（79-106），founded the second Noble School，which was created exclusively for the Queen’s family.Later on，these schools expanded to accommodate every noble.

·County Schools

County Schools were actually official knowledge schools，but they did not have a formal system of education.Teachers could open classes certain days of the year，and students could approach the teachers personally to ask questions.

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