The Research on the Nanjing Guozijian in Ming Dynasty (Part 2) : Architectural Layout and Its Transformation Within the Inner Compound

This study reconstructs the plan of the inner precinct of the Nanjing Guozijian using textual and visual sources to clarify its spatial characteristics and historical transformation. In the early-Ming peak, the precinct comprised large-scale educational buildings embodying the curriculum, functional administrative and residential facilities, a relatively simplified Confucian temple complex, and student dormitories including privileged quarters for foreigners, with topography enhancing visual monumentality. In the mid-Ming, after the capital relocation and institutional decline, dormitories collapsed, facilities were reduced and reorganized, and farmland was reclaimed. By the Jiajing period, ritual reforms led to the reconfiguration and expansion of ceremonial architecture.