A Thousand-year Learning Institution

Hu Qing

Hu Qing， Level 2 professor at Jiangxi Normal University， master tutor， provincial literary history librarian， State Council allowanced expert， vice-chairman of Chinese Academy Association， and president of provincial academy research association， has carried out more than twenty national and provincial projects and over ten monograph publications， published more than one hundred theses， and attained multiple prizes in social science and humanities.

In the history of China， Jiangxi has the largest number of academies， which have the most far-reaching influence and the most abundant heritage. This book focuses on the introduction of Bai Lu Dong Academy， “the first academy in the world”， narrating the story of the academy promoting the development of imperial examination from the aspects of academy teaching， development of folk education， and worship of literature and teachers. It also shows the vivid and gorgeous academy culture in the contemporary era from the aspects of protection， utilization， tourism research， and inheritance.

Culture Symbols of Jiangxi Series · Academy Culture

Hu Qing et al.

Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House

April 2021

60.00 (CNY)

During the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty (785--805)， Luoyang native Li Bo， who once held the official position of Taizi Binke (a learned servant of the Crown Prince)， and his brother Li She came to the foot of Wulao Peak at Mount Lu. It is here where they began to build a cottage which they could use to live in and study in seclusion. Local scholars often went there out of admiration for their reputation to talk about poetry and discuss knowledge. Li Bo tamed a white deer which came to understand the ways of humans; and the deer stayed by his side all day long. If Li Bo needed to buy any items of learning (paper， writing brushes， ink， or inkstones)， he would hang a bag of money on the deer’s antlers; the deer would then go by itself to Nankang， more than six miles (10 km) away， to buy everything in full and bring it back. This amazed the nearby villagers who all thought of it as a god of deer. This was how Li Bo gained the title “The White Deer Gentleman，” and why the place he lived was named “White Deer Grotto.”

During the Shengyuan era of the Southern Tang Dynasty (937--943)， the imperial court established Mount Lu National Academy， also known as White Deer Grotto National Academy， at this location. This was the national academy established by the Central Government of the Southern Tang Dynasty outside the capital， and it is as famous as Guozijian (the Imperial Academy) on the Qinhuai River in Jinling (Now Nanjing City). This is the only time in Chinese history that the imperial court established a national academy outside the capital.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty， local people set up an academy on the old site of the national academy， which taught dozens of students. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty， Zhou Shu， Zhizhou (prefect) of Jiangzhou， reported the academic situation to the imperial court. Emperor Taizong bestowed it with the Nine Classics printed by Guozijian which made a considerable name for it. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song， Sun Chen， a scholar of the Ministry of Rites， built more than ten buildings in White Deer Grotto for his disciples to study in: he called it “White Deer Grotto School.”

In the sixth year of the reign of Chunxi during the Southern Song Dynasty (1179)， the famous Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi， the magistrate of Nankang County， led hundreds of officials to visit the academy， only to see nothing but ruined walls and overgrown weeds. Zhu Xi was very sorry about this and determined to restore the academy. With his dedication and painstaking management， White Deer Grotto Academy became famous again after its restoration， with many cultured scholars attending.

In the third year of the Chenghua era during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty (1467)， Li Ling， an education official in Jiangxi， also advocated the establishment of academies， so he hired Hu Juren to preside over one. Hu Juren held a supervisory teaching position at White Deer Grotto twice. He formulated new academic rules for the academy and left behind a large number of poems and prose works.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties， White Deer Grotto Academy was renovated on numerous occasions. In the 29th year of the Guangxu era (1903)， the academy was closed. In the second year of the Xuantong era during the late Qing Dynasty (1910)， the name of White Deer Grotto Academy was abolished by the Qing court and the institution was renamed Jiangxi Higher Forestry School.

After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911， the remains of the academy were burned in a fire， and most of its books were lost. In the seventh year of the Republic of China era (1918)， Kang Youwei inscribed the words “White Deer Grotto Academy” above the gateway. In the 1930s， the Kuomintang Officer Training Corps occupied the college premises on one occasion. During the Anti-Japanese War， it was destroyed by the invading Japanese army， and many of the surrounding trees were also destroyed. After victory in the War Against Japanese Aggression， Chiang Kai-shek once stated that White Deer Grotto Academy should be taken over by National Chung Cheng University in Jiangxi at that time as the permanent campus of the university， but this plan was not realized.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China， White Deer Grotto Academy was well protected and properly used. Governments at all levels provided huge sums of money to carry out three major renovations that reinvigorated its prosperity. In 1959， it was listed as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit， and in 1988， it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In 1996， when Mount Lu applied for World Heritage status in “Culture and Nature，” White Deer Grotto was the first site the UN experts inspected.