Description

The author of this work was Gu Xiancheng (1550–1612), a late-Ming grand secretary and renowned educator. In 1604, together with his brother and a friend Gao Panlong, Gu revived a defunct Song institution named Donglin Academy at his native Wuxi, which became a locally based educational institution that held lectures attended by thousands. Later it extended to loosely associated groups in other cities. The Donglin’s opposition to the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian resulted in the closure of the academy in 1622, but it reopened during the early Qing ...