Periodic Official Schools

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Because of wars，the official schools in the Wei and Jin Period and Southern and Northern Dynasties only prospered periodically.In fact，some official schools could only exist for ten years or so.However，local schools were more prosperous in some dynasties.

Schools in the Three Kingdoms Period

During the Three Kingdoms Period，there were local official schools and the Great School.

The students tended to be landowners’children，and the teaching material was similar to that of the Han Dynasty.

·Schools in the Jin Dynasty

The Jin Dynasty can be divided into two dynasties:the Western Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty.In the Western Jin Dynasty，there was the Country’s Son School and the Great School.The Country’s Son School only permitted nobles，whereas anyone could enroll in the Great School.What they taught was the same as in the Han Dynasty.Near the end of theWestern Jin Dynasty the Country’s Son School was closed.After its closure，Emperor Yuan（317-323）of the Eastern Jin Dynasty reopened it，but there were not many students who attended it，whereas previously it had several thousand.

·Schools in the Southern Dynasties

After the Song Dynasty（420479）was founded in the Southern Dynasties（420-589），four schools were established:Confucianism School（Metaphysics School，History School and Literature School.The Country’s Son School opened in 442 and closed in 450.In 470，Zongming School（总明馆）was founded，and it established five subjects to be taught:Confucianism，Metaphysics，Literature，History，and Yin-Yang.The Song Dynasty perished in 479，and the Qi Dynasty（479-502）immediately began.A Qi emperor established an official school for students 15 to 20 years of age，but it had to be stopped because of war.In the Liang Dynasty（502-557），many Confucianism Schools emerged，only teaching The Five Classics.The Chen Dynasty had the Great School and the Country’s Son School.

·Schools in the Northerm Dynasties

The Northern Dynasties（386-581）included the Northern Wei（386-534），Eastern Wei（534-550），Western Wei（535-556），Northern Qi（550-577）and Northern Zhou（557-581）Dynasties.Of the five，the Northern Qi Dynasty was the most educationally prosperous.The Northern Wei Dynasty established the Great School and the Country’s Son School.Later on，it founded the Emperor’s Family School，and Emperor Xiaowen（467-499）founded Simen Elementary Schools.The Northern Zhou Dynasty founded Linzhi School and Lumen School.