Elite scholarly institution founded in the 8th century in China to perform secretarial, archival, and literary tasks for the court and establish the official interpretations of the Confucian Classics (see Five Classics ).
By the time of the Ming dynasty , admittance was granted only to those who did exceptionally well in the Chinese examination system . Hanlin scholars functioned as the emperor's close advisers and confidential secretaries. The academy was closed when the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1911.