Abstract

The Southern Song Dynasty represented a pivotal period in which the Chinese academy system reached maturity and diverse intellectual schools flourished. Yang Jian (1141-1226), a direct disciple of Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193) and founder of the Cihu School, was a prominent thinker and educator of this period. He developed the School of Mind through the doctrines of “Xin ji Dao (the Mind is Dao)” and “Buqi Yi (No Arbitrary Mental Stirring)”. Guided by “Xin shi, Shi xiu, Shi zheng (Sincere Mind, Practical Self-cultivation, and Tangible Benevolent Governance)”, he engaged in educational practices including renovating local state-run schools, establishing academies, lecturing, and transmitting his intellectual tradition. This study examines the reciprocal relationship between Yang Jian’s philosophical thought and his academy-based educational practices in Leping (Jiangxi Province) and Cixi (Zhejiang Province). It finds that School of Mind thought shaped academy teaching and moral self-cultivation, while academies provided institutional settings through which these ideas were practised and transmitted. These activities contributed to the development and dissemination of the Cihu intellectual tradition in eastern Zhejiang. By integrating Yang Jian’s philosophical thought with his educational and institutional practices, this study highlights an underexplored relationship between the School of Mind and academy education in the Southern Song Dynasty and its significance in the histories of Chinese thought and education.

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