Prosperity, Dilemma and Penetration of Provincial Seowon of Pre-Modern Period (1733-1840) of China : Focusing on Universities of the West
Authors:   Institute of Korean Cultural Studies Yeungnam University, Zhao Wei 
Published: October 2024

Since its commencement in the Tang Dynasty, Seowon of China had made popular advancement outcome in the Qing Dynasty after going though unyielding development in history of Song Dynasty, Won Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. King Sejong in the 51st year of Qing Dynasty’s Ongjeong (17 33) decreed to establish Seonghoe Seowon in each province in a way of supporting the development with financial resources. In the reigns of Geonryung (1736-1796), the Qing Dynasty established the multi-level Seowon systems officially in province, Do, Bu, Ju, Hyeon and Hyangchon as well as the clans. Among them, those provincial-level was the highest position and these Seowons was modified as the Daehakdang (grand academic facility) at the end of the Qing Dynasty as the previous universities established in modern China.
As such, those provincial-level Seowon of China had conspicuous advancement from the previous modern era, but due to a number of factors, it could not advance into the modernized higher education organization.
Compared to the western universities, the provincial level Seowon of the early modern China had sufficient financial and monetary funds, but did not secure sufficient and appropriate self-autonomous authorities. Because of this attribute, they could not make independent work decisions based on the objective demand for educational and academic advancement. Furthermore, the scholars invited to Seowon could not establish the academic community in administrative level, and most of them just followed the administrative measures manually devised from government authorities. As such, the government authorities at the time exercised the absolute control over the provincial-level Seowon, for example, they established the education regulations of Seowon with the past national examination system as the major point of implication, and at the same time, they involved in the evaluation programs of the applicable Seowon. Furthermore, it had the restrictions in the academic competence level for the head of Seowon. Therefore, in the event of those provincial Seowon that had secured substantial scale of funds, they continuously recruit the students to expand the scale while it continuously implemented the education on the past national examination.
However, following the expansion of the recruitment scale of students, the expenses of Seowon tightened more and it caused the situation more difficult to invite scholars for even more specialized education. Therefore, regarding Seowon in the Qing Dynasty, the development concept of the measures implemented thereto promoted the dispersion of education, but at the same time, it could be deemed to interfere with the enhancement to the one-notch higher level for the education system.
In between the time of Gagyeong (1796-1820) and Dogwang (1821-1850), Wanwon established Gogyeongjeongsa and Hakhaedang to develop a development model of another provincial-level Seowon. In particular, for the case of Hakhaedang, it did not have the ‘head’ but had 8 deans to take in charge of Seowon education while structured to manage the office affairs as well. Furthermore, the right to appoint the dean was not in the government authority but made through the nomination from the internal group of deans that it had the feature of academic community in its structural level. Because of this attribute, Hakhaedang could be considered to have the relative independence.
The development model of Gogyeongjeongsa and Hakhaedang presented one of the directions with respect to the reform of Seowon in China at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1840-1911). However, under the influence of various shocking events inflicted from overseas, these institutions could not attain the opportunity to develop into ‘modernized’ or Chinese-style ‘university’ thereafter.