EHu Academy

An academy in the last period of Chinese history. Located in Qianshan County, Guangxin Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, many scholars have gathered here during the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. It was once a cultural center. In particular, the meeting between Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan at Ehu Lake became a far-reaching event in the history of Chinese Confucianism. According to the "Guangxin Prefecture Chronicle", "The Four Sages' Poems are on the left of Dayi Temple." This is actually the left of the affiliated temple of Dayi Temple, that is, the left of Renshou Temple, which is the "Four Sages' Shrine". The shrine was built by Yang Ruli, the governor of Xinzhou at that time, and this was the beginning of Ehu Academy. After that, it was repeatedly repaired. During the Chenhao Rebellion in the Ming Dynasty, the school buildings of Ehu Academy were all destroyed by war. In the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1683), the local official Pan Shirui repaired it. In the 54th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1715), Ling Yin Shi De carried out extensive construction. At that time, Li Guangdi wrote "Records of the Reconstruction of Ehu Academy" saying: "The construction of the academy is actually a national school, which is the inside and outside of each other. Li Bo is a noble man. Zhu Zi is still tired of it. Now the ruins of the sages are renovated. There is an old place of Neo-Confucianism in Jiangnan, and there must be people who travel here and rise up to inherit the sages of the past." Ehu Academy was rebuilt without official support. The former glory has never reappeared, so it has become a historical relic. Ehu Academy is on the left side of Ehu Temple, that is, Renshou Temple, and Ehu Tower is on the left side of Ehu Academy. The gate of Ehu Academy is not in the middle, but on the left, so it faces Ehu Tower. The academy is surrounded by mountains and streams, and the environment is elegant. Ehu Academy is much larger than Ehu Temple, and the scale of the building is quite similar to Confucius Temple. Entering from the main gate, passing two rows of peach trees, there is a large round gate. Inside the round gate is a large courtyard. Opposite to the large round gate is another large round gate with three rows of palaces on top. From here, you can climb the stone steps and enter another courtyard with a half-moon pond inside and stone railings around the pond. After crossing the ancient bridge, there is the first row of palaces. After passing another courtyard, there is the second row of palaces. The row of palaces behind it is the Four Sages Temple. There is also a courtyard in front of the temple. Behind the temple is a fairly high platform with a small pond below it. Behind it is a high wall facing the high wall at the north end of the two large round gates. These three rows of palaces are the main house. On both sides of the main house, there are rows of houses in a staggered manner. In the Four Sages Ci behind the Ehu Academy, there are four tablets for Zhu, Lu, and the two Lu, and there is a plaque with the words "sudden and gradual return to the same destination". This is opposite to the imperial plaque "the ancestor of Taoism" hanging in the front row of buildings of the academy. This shows the grand occasion of the meeting between Zhu and Lu at Ehu in the Song Dynasty. During the Anti-Japanese War, Ehu Academy became the garrison camp of the Southeast Training Corps. This academy has been destroyed by war for more than 800 years from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, and has been rebuilt several times. Among them, the renovation and expansion project in the 56th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1717 AD) was particularly large-scale: the mountain gate, memorial archway, lobby, floating pool, arch bridge, stele pavilion, and imperial library were newly built; dozens of side rooms were built on both sides as a place for scholars to study. Emperor Kangxi also wrote an inscription for the Imperial Library, with the door plaque titled "穷理居敬" and the couplet "章岩月亮中天镜,石井波分太极泉". To this day, the memorial archway, Panchi, rear hall, side rooms and other buildings are still well preserved; in the side rooms on both sides of the Panchi, there are still 13 ancient steles from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which are precious materials for studying the history of this academy.