section_path: Culture and society/Education, literature, and philosophy
section_name: Education, literature, and philosophy
paragraph_text: Education, literature, and philosophy
  
  The early Western Han court simultaneously accepted the philosophical teachings of Legalism, Huang-Lao Taoism, and Confucianism in making state decisions and shaping government policy. However, the Han court under Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive patronage. In 136 BC, he abolished all academic chairs not concerned with the Five Classics, and encouraged nominees for office to receive a Confucian education at the imperial university he had established in 124.
  
  Unlike the original ideology espoused by Confucius (551–479 BC), Han Confucianism in Emperor Wu's reign was the creation of Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BC). Dong was a scholar and minor official who aggregated the ethical Confucian ideas of ritual, filial piety, and harmonious relationships with five phases and yin-yang cosmologies. Dong's synthesis justified the imperial system of government within the natural order of the universe.
  
  The Imperial University grew in importance as the student body grew to over 30,000 by the 2nd century AD. A Confucian-based education was also made available at commandery-level schools and private schools opened in small towns, where teachers earned respectable incomes from tuition payments. Schools were established in far southern regions where standard Chinese texts were used to assimilate the local populace.
  
  Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophy written by Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD), Huan Tan (43 BC – 28 AD), Wang Chong (27–100 AD), and Wang Fu (78–163 AD) questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal order. The Records of the Grand Historian started by Sima Tan (d. 110 BC) and finished by his son Sima Qian (145–86 BC) established the standard model for imperial China's tradition of official histories, being emulated initially by the Book of Han authored by Ban Biao (3–54 AD) with his son Ban Gu (32–92 AD), and his daughter Ban Zhao (45–116 AD). Biographies on important figures were written by members of the gentry. There were also dictionaries published during the Han period such as the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (c. 58 – c. 147 AD) and the Fangyan by Yang Xiong. Han dynasty poetry was dominated by the fu genre, which achieved its greatest prominence during the reign of Emperor Wu.