The Hanlin Academy (Chinese: 翰林院; pinyin: Hànlín Yuàn; lit. 'Brush Wood Court') was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth-century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong.
Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to decide on an interpretation of the Chinese classics. This formed the basis of the Imperial examinations, which aspiring bureaucrats had to pass to attain higher level posts. Painters working for the court were also attached to the academy.