China Beijing Guozijian

The Guozijian was the highest government office in charge of education during the Ming and Qing dynasties (similar to today’s Ministry of Education) and a high institution of higher learning established by the state, also known as the “imperial university”.Currently, the Imperial College and the Confucius Temple next door have unified ticketing. After purchasing a ticket, visitors enter the Confucius Temple and enter the Imperial College through the “Zhijingmen” next to the Beiting.The Imperial College adopted the traditional Chinese architectural pattern of “facing south, with symmetry along the central axis”. The main buildings along the central axis include the Gate of Gathering Worthies (the main gate), the Gate of Imperial College (the second gate), the glazed brick archway, the Hall of the Big Pond, the Hall of Rites, and the Pavilion of Solemn Respect.Among them, the main building of the National Imperial College is the central building of the entire National Imperial College.The Hall of the Big Pond: where the emperor gave lectures. The Hall of the Big Pond is a very unique building, a square hall built in the center of a circular pool.This architectural form has a very deep meaning: the circular pool surrounding the Biyong, surrounded by water, symbolizes perfection (yong), and the circular shape resembles a bi (a bi is a jade ritual vessel used exclusively by the emperor), symbolizing the endless perfection of the king’s teachings.Other main buildings: to the north of the Hall of the Big Pond is the Hall of Rites, which was used by the emperor to give lectures in earlier years. After the construction of the Hall of the Big Pond, it was converted into the National Imperial College’s book depository.To the north of Yiluntang is Jingyi Pavilion, built in the seventh year of the Jiajing reign (1528) of the Ming dynasty, where officials of the Imperial College worked.The glazed archway of the Imperial College is a glazed archway in Beijing that is not part of a temple. The horizontal inscriptions on both sides of the archway are written by the Qianlong Emperor with his own hand, which shows the importance placed on culture and education in ancient China.There are permanent exhibitions such as the “Ancient Chinese Imperial Examination Exhibition” and the “Guozijian Original Exhibition” at the Guozijian, which visitors interested in the imperial examination system can visit.Compared to the hustle and bustle of some of Beijing’s attractions, the Guozijian is surrounded by ancient forests and not many tourists, so the environment is very peaceful.The hutong area around the Imperial College is also very nice, with tree-lined streets, grey walls and blue bricks of the quadrangles, and along the street there are many teahouses, shops selling the four treasures of the study and Buddhist items.