Abstract: Lianghu Academy during the late Qing dynasty was an important field where many influential events took place. Students there experienced the academy’s reform and such situational changes as the Jiawu Sino-Japanese war and Boxer Indemnity. They either chose to join in the revolution，quietly studied other countries，criticized imperial officials，or left school to look for ways of making a living. Some were optimistic about the new changes，others were conservative，but they all somewhat jumped out of the traditional value of excelling themselves for the imperial examinations. All these choices were their responses to the situational trend of the time. The students’states of mind and behaviors，either nostalgic or longing for the new things to happen，represented the general attitudes of intellectuals towards the changing circumstances. The ecology of education in the late Qing dynasty was a mirror reflecting the fact that no won can remain traditional and stay alone away from the times of change，academy students，modern students，or overseas students.

Key words: Jiawu Sino-Japanese War and Boxer Indemnity, academy reform, Lianghu Academy, late Qing dynasty academies