TheGuozijian,^[1] sometimes translated as theImperial College,^[2]Imperial Academy,^[3]Imperial University,National Academy, orNational University,^[4] was the highest level academic and educational institution throughout most ofImperial China's history. It was created during the reign ofEmperor Wu of Jin and became the highest level academic institution in China over the next 200 years. After the demise of theSong dynasty, it became synonymous with the previous highest level academic institution, theTaixue. The Guozijian was abolished in 1907 during theQing dynasty.

TheGuozixue was founded underEmperor Wu ofJin (r. 265–289) to educate his sons.^[5] After thenine rank system was introduced for grading bureaucrats in the Chinese government, the Guozijian was created for persons rank five and above, effectively making it the educational institution for nobles, while the Taixue was relegated to teaching commoners. The Taixue was subsumed under the Guozijian and taught thegongsheng ("tribute students"), the top scorers of theimperial examination, while the Guozijian educated the nobility.^[6][7]

Over the next 200 years, the Guozijian became the primary educational institute in theSouthern Dynasties. TheSixteen Kingdoms andNorthern Dynasties also created their own schools but they were only available for sons and relatives of high officials. TheNorthern Wei dynasty founded the Primary School of Four Gates.^[6][7]

During theSui dynasty, a Law School, Arithmetics School, and Calligraphy School were put under the administration of the Guozijian. These schools accepted the relatives of officials rank eight and below while the Taixue, Guozijian, and Four Gates School served higher ranks. By the start of theTang dynasty (618–907), 300 students were enrolled in the Guozijian, 500 at the Taixue, 1,300 at the Four Gates School, 50 at the Law School, and a mere 30 at the Calligraphy and Arithmetics Schools.Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683), founded a second Guozijian inLuoyang. The average age of admission was 14 to 19 but 18 to 25 for the Law School. Students of these institutions who applied for the state examinations had their names transmitted to theMinistry of Rites, which was also responsible for their appointment to a government post.^[6]

Under theSong dynasty, the Guozijian became the central administrative institution for all state schools throughout the empire. Among its duties were the maintenance of the buildings, the construction of new facilities, and the promotion of students. The Guozijian itself was equipped with a library and printing shop to create model printing blocks for distribution.^[5]

Around 1103, the Guozijian established its School of Medicine (醫學,Yīxué).^[8] The institution legitimized the study of medicine among the empire's nobility and upper classes, who had previously considered it a mere craft.^[9] The medical school graduates were licensed for work within the Imperial Medical Bureau (尚藥局,Shàngyàojú) but also separately granted a formaltitle.^[9]

In 1104, the prefectural examinations were abolished in favor of the three-colleges system, which required each prefecture to send an annual quota of students to the Taixue. This drew criticism from some officials who claimed that the new system benefited the rich and young, and was less fair because the relatives of officials could enroll without being examined for their skills. In 1121, the local three-college system was abolished but retained at the national level.^[10] For a time, the national examination system was also abandoned in favor of directly appointing students of the Taixue to government posts. The Taixue itself did not survive the demise of the Song dynasty and ceased to exist afterwards,Taixue thereafter becoming a synonym for the Guozijian.^[6]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(October 2025)

During theMing dynasty, theHongwu Emperor promoted the study oflaw,math,calligraphy,equestrianism, andarchery at the Guozijian.^[11]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(October 2025)

The Guozijian was abolished in 1907.^[5]

The Guozijian was located in the national capital of each Chinese dynasty, such asChang'an,Luoyang,Kaifeng, andHangzhou. In early years of the Ming, the Guozijian was inNanjing. Afterwards, the Ming had two capitals, so there were two Guozijians: one in Nanjing (claimed as the parent institution ofSoutheast University,Nanjing University, andNational Central University) and one inBeijing. During theQing dynasty, the sole Guozijian was in Beijing.

TheBeijing Guozijian, located onGuozijian Street in theDongcheng District, was an or the imperial college during theYuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Most of the current buildings were built during the Ming dynasty.^[2] It was the last Guozijian in China and is reckoned as the predecessor ofPeking University.

In Vietnam, a year after the firstConfucian examinations established byLý Nhân Tông (李仁宗), the Guozijian (Vietnamese:Quốc tử giám,chữ Hán: 國子監) was built in 1076 on the site of theTemple of Literature.^[12] It was Vietnam's first university, it lasted from 1076 to 1779. In 1802, the Nguyễn dynasty founded the Huế capital where they established a newimperial academy in the new capital. Several notable rectors of the Quốc tử giám inHanoi wereChu Văn An,Nguyễn Phi Khanh, andVũ Miên.

• Beijing Guozijian
• Sŏnggyun'gwan, Seoul, &Kukchagam, the Korean equivalent
• Imperial Academy, Hue, the Vietnamese equivalent
• Ancient higher-learning institutions &National university
• Peking,Nanjing,Southeast, &National Central University
• Academies (Shuyuan)
• Yuelu Academy (now Hunan University)

• Ancient Chinese institutions
• Ancient universities
• Confucian education
• Imperial examination

• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles containing Vietnamese-language text
• Articles containing Korean-language text
• Articles to be expanded from October 2025
• All articles to be expanded
• CS1: long volume value