Reasons for the gradual decline of Confucianism in the Eastern Han Dynasty
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the rulers strongly advocated the education of Confucian classics. Confucianism was widely spread among the people through politics, education and etiquette, which further consolidated its position as a feudal orthodox thought and profoundly influenced people's behavior habits and customs. In this process, imperial academy played an irreplaceable role. As the highest government-run institution of higher learning, imperial academy has not only made positive contributions to the spread of Confucianism, but also played a positive role in national politics and social life. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, everything was in ruins, and social order was in urgent need of stability. At this time, Confucianism has developed for more than one hundred years after the advocacy of the Western Han regime, which laid the ideological foundation for the construction of imperial academy in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The establishment and development of imperial academy in the Western Han Dynasty provided valuable experience for imperial academy in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu believed that Confucianism was conducive to maintaining the ruling order of a unified country, vigorously advocated Confucian classics education, built imperial academy, and trained governance talents for the country. Imperial College London has entered the heyday of its development. Since then, imperial academy has risen and fallen with the change of political situation, and its rise and fall is regarded as the yardstick of political clarity.