In China Development Watch, Chen Zhonghai pointed out that the modern think tank has only been 100 years since its birth, but in a broad sense, it actually has a longer history, and China's ancient "think tank" thought and practice are very rich.
Gathering smart people and listening to their opinions and suggestions is actually the construction of think tanks. In the early days of civilization, people paid more attention to and relied on the wisdom of the elderly. Xunzi said that "providing for the elderly" is to apply the wisdom of the elderly to governing the country, which is very important and related to the survival of the country.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the system of cultivating scholars was generally established in various vassal States. During the Warring States Period, Xinlingjun, Meng Changjun, Ping Yuanjun and Chunshenjun each had 3,000 diners, including a "think tank" composed of military strategists.
The most famous think tank in this period is Xia Ji Gong Xue, which was founded in the early years of Qi Weiwang. This is a government-run institution, named because it is located near Jimen in Linzi, the capital of Qi State. Jixia Xuegong has the function of teaching, but it emphasizes "recruiting talents". Thousands of sages gathered in the world, including Mencius, Xunzi, Chunyu Kun, Zou Yan, Shen Buhai, Ji Zhen, Yin Wenzi, Lu Zhonglian, etc. Among them, Xunzi served as the dean of the Academy for three times. Everyone debated and argued together and put forward a general plan for governing the country. Qi respected these intellectuals and allowed them to "talk about it after death", which made the academy have the dual functions of education and think tank, and many intellectuals enjoyed the "luck of being a doctor".
The doctor system was established in the Qin Dynasty and perfected in the Han Dynasty. According to Hanshu, the main condition for becoming a doctor is to "know the past and present", and his duty is to "ask about state affairs", with a rank of 600 stone, which is equivalent to a county magistrate. Under normal circumstances, there are dozens of doctors in the imperial court, and the "think tank" composed of them has already reached a considerable scale.