White Deer Grotto Academy
Encyclopedia
Mount Lushan
Mount Lu , also known as "Kuanglu" in ancient times, is situated in the northern part of Jiangxi province in southeastern China, and is one of the top ten famous mountains in the country...
, now in Jiujiang
Jiujiang
Jiujiang , formerly transliterated Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city in Jiangxi province, the largest one being Nanchang...
, Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
province. It was one of the Four Great Academies
Academies (Shuyuan)
The Shūyuàn , usually known in English as Academies or Academies of Classical Learning, were a type of school in ancient China...
of China.
History
The academy had its beginnings as a place for the pursuit of learning by the Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
poet Li Bo (李渤 Lǐ Bó, d. 831
831
Year 831 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* In this year, an Uyghur Turk sues the son of a Chinese Tang Dynasty grand general who had failed to repay a debt of 11 million government-issued copper coins...
, not to be confused with the more famous Tang poet Li Po or Li Bai) when he was living in retirement. As Li Bo kept a white deer, he was known as the White Deer Teacher and the school premises themselves as the White Deer Grotto. Between the years 937—942, when the area was under the control of the Southern Tang
Southern Tang
Southern Tang was one of the Ten Kingdoms in south-central China created following the Tang Dynasty from 937-975. Southern Tang replaced the Wu Kingdom when Li Bian deposed the emperor Yang Pu....
, a school was officially established here under the name "Lushan Guoxue" or "Lu-san Goet-hok" (庐山国学, meaning "Mount Lu National School").
In the early years of the Northern Song dynasty, which began in 960, the Lushan Guoxue was transformed into an academy, known as the White Deer Grotto Academy. The academy was the recipient of imperial favour from the Emperor Taizong
Emperor Taizong of Song
Emperor Taizong , born Zhao Kuangyi, was the second emperor of the Song Dynasty of China from 976 to 997. He was the younger brother of Emperor Taizu. His temple name Taizong means "Grand Ancestor".-Overview:...
(r. 976-997), who bestowed on it books and awarded official rank to the academy's head. However, it later fell into disrepair.
In 1179-80, during the Southern Song dynasty, the academy was rebuilt and expanded by Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi
Zhū Xī or Chu Hsi was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China...
, later to become the most preeminent of the neo-Confucianist
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism is an ethical and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty....
s. Zhu Xi, who was serving as prefect of Nankang Prefecture (now Nankang City
Nankang, Jiangxi
Nankang is a county-level city in China under the administration of Ganzhou Municipality, in southern Jiangxi province.-Administration:...
), rebuilt the academy based on the layout of the Temple of Confucius
Temple of Confucius, Qufu
The Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province of China, is the "original", largest and most famous of the temples of Confucius in China and East Asia....
at Qufu
Qufu
Qufu is a city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is located at 35° 36′ northern latitude and 117° 02′ east, about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefecture seat at Jining...
. The new academy opened its doors to students and scholars in 1180. It was involved in instruction, the collection and preservation of books, religious sacrifices, the development of curricula, and lectures by famous scholars, including such notable names as Lu Jiuyuan
Lu Jiuyuan
thumb|200px|Lu JiuyuanLu Jiuyuan was a Chinese scholar and philosopher who founded the school of the universal mind, the second most influential Neo-Confucian school...
, Lü Zuqian, and later Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming was a Ming Chinese idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist and general. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, with interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox...
. The academy continued to flourish for eight centuries. The rules of the Academy as set down by Zhu Xi had a profound and lasting influence on the subsequent development of Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
.