The Academy was abandoned in the Yuan Dynasty, but in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Gu Xiancheng, a native of Wuxi, and his younger brother Gu Yuncheng, with the support of local officials such as Changzhou Magistrate and Wuxi Magistrate, restored it and invited some like-minded people to give lectures, thus forming the famous Lindong School.
Donglin Academy was an important cultural and academic center at that time, which formed a complete conference system. . The system of giving lectures in academies came into being in the Southern Song Dynasty and was gradually institutionalized in the Ming Dynasty. The lecture of Donglin Academy is an outstanding representative of the lecture system in Ming Dynasty.
The lecture will be held regularly, with a general meeting once a year and a short meeting once a month for three days. A person will be selected as the host. A grand ceremony must be held on the day of the lecture, and the contents of the lecture are mainly four books. During the lecture, participants will listen to the lecture with an open mind, discuss with each other at the end of the lecture and make peace with each other during the meeting. In addition, the organization of the seminar also made specific provisions on matters such as notification, inspection, refreshments and lunch. This shows that Lindong College has been institutionalized. ?
Another important feature of Donglin Academy is that it pays attention to social politics and closely combines lecture activities with political struggles. This feature is reflected in a couplet inscribed by Gu Xiancheng: "The sound of wind and rain, everything cares about family affairs, state affairs and the world." This pair of couplets is still engraved on the stone pillars of the former site of the academy. In addition to giving lectures, Donglin Academy criticized politics, tried powerful people and put pressure on the court with the power of justice.
This discussion has had a great social impact, and many people of insight come here. But in the end, Lindong party member was persecuted by eunuchs in Wei Zhongxian, and the academy was banned. Chongzhen six years, recovery, higher reputation. Donglin Academy was not only an important cultural and academic center at that time, but also an important political activity center, which had a special position in both the Ming Dynasty and the history of Chinese academies.