The Yinyang Academies in Yuan China (1260-1368): Formation and Development

Abstract

This thesis studies a broad historical context of the yinyang academy system established during the Yuan dynasty (1260-1368). The Mongol rulers created the system in order to regulate and educate yinyang practitioners, a group of people who mainly practiced astrology, astronomy, fortune-telling, and geomancy. Examining the imperial astronomical institutions and mantic practice in China from ancient times to the early Ming (1368-1644) period, I argue that three groups shaped the establishment of the yinyang academy system: Mongol rulers who had long respected the power of Mongol shamans and attempted to prevent other royal family members from taking advantage of them and other yinyang practitioners; Chinese elites who presented their new rulers with the long-standing notion in China that the emperors in the middle kingdom should monopolize the study of astrology/astronomy in order to fulfill their duties and maintain their authority as the Son of Heaven (tianzi 天子); and Neo-Confucian scholars eager to restore and maintain public order by regulating mantic practices.