Simultaneously with the progress thus made in art and industry, learning received a great impetus. The Emperor Tenchi was the first to appoint officials charged with educational functions. A university was established in Kyōto, as well as public schools in the various localities throughout the provinces. The subjects chiefly taught in the university were history, the Chinese Classics, law, and mathematics. These were called the _shidō_, or four paths of learning. In the succeeding reign, education continued to receive powerful encouragement, but the principal object in view being the training of government officials, instruction for the masses still remained in an unsatisfactory state. Learning in that age virtually signified a knowledge of the Chinese Classics. Hence, in the Nara epoch, scholars versed in that kind of erudition were very numerous, conspicuous among them being Awada-no-Mahito, Ō-no-Yasumaro, Kibi-no-Makibi and others. Intercourse with China being then tolerably close, there were frequent instances of priests and students proceeding thither by order of the government, the former to investigate religious subjects, and the latter to study Chinese literature. Even in China some of these men obtained a high reputation for learning. The names of Kibi-no-Makibi and Abe-no-Nakamaro are best remembered. The former, on his return to Japan, was appointed a minister of state, but the latter never saw his native country again. Encountering a violent gale on his homeward voyage, he was driven back to China, where he received an important official position and remained until his death, constantly hoping to return to Japan but always unable to realize his hope.