During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the development of academy education can be said to have experienced several ups and downs. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, because of the restoration of the Han regime, imperial examinations were advocated and official studies were emphasized. Scholars are also keen on orthodox research, while colleges are left out.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, because the imperial examination became more and more rigid, official learning existed in name only, and some Neo-Confucianists set up more academies to cure the current disadvantages, so academies flourished.