In the Ming dynasty, the academy was an educational institution with freedom to give lectures, but the development of the academy was not ideal in the early Ming dynasty, and it did not begin to develop rapidly until Wu Zongzheng was virtuous. During the period of Zheng De, 153 academies were newly built. During the reign of Sejong Jiajing, there were as many as 657 new academies. There are many learned people who set up academies and give lectures in them. For example, Wang Yangming, a famous scholar, gave lectures in several academies such as Bailudong, and Zhan Ruoshui, another scholar, also set up several academies in Guangdong and Guangxi. As a relatively free educational institution, the academy played a very important role in the development of education in Ming Dynasty, especially in local education. Although the teaching content is not much different from that of official schools, there are obvious differences in the way of teaching organization and assessment of students.

In terms of teaching content, the content of academy education, like imperial academy, the highest institution of higher learning, and official schools around the country, is still limited to Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics and some historical books. However, in terms of teaching methods, college teaching is mainly based on students' self-study. Although the practices of different colleges are not exactly the same, "talking" is a widely used way. The so-called "ability to speak" refers to the teaching or lecturing activities organized in the form of parties. Including lectures as a daily teaching method in universities, there are several different forms: some are organized by some scholars, and academic gatherings are held regularly, and some are held regularly by families. The content of the lecture is different in different colleges. The college also tests students' learning effect through organized regular examinations, and the specific assessment forms mainly include "articles to be learned" and "examinations". Essay writing is an informal examination in which students are regularly called to write articles. Examination is a unified examination for all the students in the college. It is a way for the college to test the students' academic performance at the stage, and it belongs to the formal examination. The specific operation of papers and exams is not exactly the same in each college. The rise and fall of academy education in Ming Dynasty was related to both academics and politics. Donglin Academy, in particular, abandoned the old creed that "two ears don't listen to things outside the window, but only read sage books" and replaced it with "the sound of reading in the wind and rain, the sound of hearing and hearing; The new creed of "national affairs, family affairs and everything in the world" makes students fully care about social practical problems, criticize political darkness and attack official corruption, so it is called "Lindong Party" with political color.