The Rise of Academies in Southwest China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Historical Sites Associated withConfucian Worthies

Wang Shengjun and Zhou Yan

Abstract： The significant emerging norm of building academies on the pre-existing sites associated with Confucian worthies， to a great extent， has determined the spread of Confucianism and the geographical distribution of academies. In the Ming and Qing dynasties， academies emerged on a great scale in southwest China， especially following the excavation of historical sites associated with worthy scholars. These sites， were meaningful as cultural symbols， being not only tangible epitomes of Confucian culture and local history， but also serving as a psychological expression of the intention to integrate southwest China into the system of central authority， and of the need for rejuvenation through preserving and carrying forward traditional culture.

Keywords： academies， historical sites， Confucian worthies， southwest China， experience， emerging norm

The sites related to historical worthies （mingxian 名賢）， as the epitomes of the Confucian traditions and pivots of local history and culture， serve as the historical provenance that legitimizes academies and the spread of Confucian culture. In southwest China （in a narrow sense， including todays provinces of Sichuan， Yunnan， and Guizhou， and the municipal region Chongqing）， this emerging norm can be discovered occurring to a greater or lesser extent in several areas. All the way through human history， the flow of time has swallowed up the tangible culture bit by bit. Despite this， the historical sites are like fertile seeds， on which many academies can grow root and bud， and then send forth ripples of social repercussions. The present research is intended to examine the emerging norm of academies being built on significant historical sites in southwest China in the Ming （1368–1644） and Qing （1644–1911） dynasties and the historical phenomenon of their generation and being passed down.

The Multi-Layered Significance of Historical Sites and

Academy Culture [Refer to page 92 for Chinese. Similarly hereinafter]

The term mingxian refers to the historical figures who are judged as living consistently with Confucian values and who are acknowledged in their locality. Over a long period， the ideal of a Confucian has been to attain sagehood and become a worthy. There are exclusively three ways to achieve this ideal： （1） receive guidance in presence， （2） read Confucian canons and think of the author， and （3） set foot in places transformed by the presence of a historical worthy and experience （gange 感格） their spirit. The idea of “passing， transforming， and leaving spirit behind” （過化存神） comes from Mencius 7A：13： “Where the noble person passes he transforms; where he resides he exerts a spiritual influence. Above and below， heaven and earth， are all parts of the same stream.” The sites， through their connection with a historical worthy figure， are considered to be endowed with their everlasting spirit.

In the first place， the site are tangible remains， including sites such as mountains， rivers， trees， buildings， or tablet engravements， which have witnessed the activities of a worthy figure （including events such as birth， growing up， teaching， living as a recluse， or participating in official travel）. The institute of the academy can be traced back to the Tang dynasty （618–907） and flourished in the Song dynasty （960–1279）. When it came to the Ming and Qing dynasties， its development reached as long as more than one thousand years. Through the processes of conflict， migration， and the natural effects of erosion， much of what has been left behind are durable structures such as caves. The topology in southwest China is characterized by the frequent appearance of caves. For example， Li Jians 李見 （fl. 1017–1021） Duyi Cave where he read the Book of Changes was located in Fushun District of Sichuan. In 1525， Zhou Kui 周夔 （fl. 1487–1525）， then the Fushun magistrate， built the West Lake Academy in front of the cave. Two years later， on the next magistrate Hou Zhi 侯秩 （fl. 1517–1527） rebuilt the academy and made an inscription for it. In the reigns of Qianlong （r. 1736–1795） and Daoguang （r. 1821–1850） of the Qing dynasty， the Duyi Pavilion was built. In another example， at the Baita （White-Tower） Mountain in Langzhong of Sichuan， there was a cave where Chen Yaosou 陳堯叟 （961–1017）， Chen Yaozuo 陳堯佐 （963–1044）， and Chen Yaozi 陳堯咨 （fl. 1000）， three ministers of the Song dynasty， used to study in their early years. Since they were all successful candidates in the highest imperial exams （jinshi 進(jìn)士） with Chen Yaosou and Chen Yaozi even winning revered first place （zhuangyuan 狀元）， the cave became named Zhuangyuan Cave. During the Chenghua reign （1465–1487） of the Ming dynasty， it was built into an academy.

The ancestral hall is another site which is frequently refined by the presence of a historical worthy. Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤 （1017–1073， pen name Lianxi 濂溪）， when in his term as an official in Hezhou， mentored a man called Zhang Zongfan 張宗范， who built the Heart-Nurturing Pavilion， for which Zhou wrote “A Record of the Heart-Nurturing Pavilion” [養(yǎng)心亭記]. In the reign of Emperor Lizong （r. 1225–1264） of the Song dynasty， the pavilion was rebuilt into the Heart-Nurturing Hall to commemorate Zhou Dunyi， which eventually would become the Lianxi Academy. In 1531， Qiu Daolong 邱道隆 （fl. 1514–1531）， an imperial censor in the Ming dynasty， had the academy reconstructed and moved to Nanjin Street of Hezhou， and renamed it the Hezong Academy. It is yet to be proved conclusively that Zhou Dunyi ever resided in the Nanjin area. However， the purpose of rebuilding the academy there is explicitly stated as follows， “Heyang is the place that Zhou Dunyi had left traces. Master Zhang Zongfan， a native of Hezhou . . . built an academy in Nanjin and named it the Hezong Academy to commemorate Zhou.” Geng Dingli 耿定力 （fl. 1571） even assumed that the whole Sichuan area was indebted to Zhou Dunyis transformation effect. It is the same case with the Yangming Academy. The site of the original Wenming Academy， the venue where Wang Yangming 王陽明 （1472–1528） taught， was restored by Jiang Xin 蔣信 （1483–1559）. The Yangming Cave is more representative as an historical site. Wang Xing 王杏， when acting as a patrol official in Guizhou， chose the White Cloud Monastery as the site to build an academy. Despite not being a place where Wang Yangming had taught in the past， the White Cloud Monastery had indeed been visited by Wang Yangming， as evidenced by his poem titled “The White Cloud Hall” [白云堂]. As a result， it is believed that this too is a site of transformation.

Besides these， the location of many historical sites are hard to identify， among which there are Li Bais 李白 （701–762） birthplace and Du Fus 杜甫 （712–770） thatched cottage， namely Du Fu Caotang， and they can only be found in legend. For another example， exact site of the Heshan Academy built by Wei Liaoweng 魏了翁 （1178–1237） in the Song dynasty was unknown， and during the middle of the Ming dynasty there were some possible sites identified. With reference to these various alternative sites， several namesake academies have already been built： one in Zhicheng of Qiongzhou， built in 1518; one in the north of Pujiang District， built in 1471. In the ensuing more than five hundred years through the Ming and Qing dynasties， the Heshan Academy found its way into Luzhou， Meizhou， and Cangxi. Some scholars， through evidential investigation， argue that in the Song dynasty there were only two Heshan Academies， respectively located at the Yuzhi Mountain of Pujiang in Sichuan and Jingzhou in Hunan. This suggests that the true location of the actual sites still necessitates subjective unearthing by scholars in the future.

Next， we examine historical sites that are significant through association， though not necessarily consistent with historical fact， but that have been accepted culturally and have survived for many generations. Among the nominally appointed sites the most famous one is the Ruxi Academy in Suiyang District of Guizhou. When then magistrate Feng Shiqi 馮士奇 （fl. 1607–1610） refurbished the academy， he clearly asserted， “The Ruxi Academy is said to be the relic of Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 （773–819）， which is not supported by evidence. . . . We do not need to dispute over its authenticity as long as the academy is still there.” The Ziyang Academy in Zhenyuan District of Guizhou， is still putative. Now it has been rebuilt. When visiting the academy， the present author was told， as expected， that Zhu Xi 朱熹 （1130–1200） once taught here. This implies that it is trying to live up to a historical fact in narration as the Ruxi Academy， only differing in that its narrated factuality is yet to be established.

Finally， the relationship between historical sites and academies deepens with time and keeps changing in significance. The establishing of a new academy is important， but the restoration and rebuilding on the site of an old one is similarly important. After the wars and chaos at the turn from the Ming to Qing dynasties， a majority of academies were rebuilt on old Ming sites. Many of them were frequently restored. Quite a number of academies that failed to be restored simply disappeared into the dust of history. It can be seen that the rise of academies did not occur overnight. Instead， it is a process of recurrence and continuation. For this reason， the cultural orientation and psychological support behind this phenomenon have become more vital. Historically speaking， the historical sites and academies interrelate more than once， and their relationship continues to deepen throughout constant restorations， reconstructions， as well as the tributes that the people of the upcoming generations paid to them. Each tribute paid to a relic is in fact a reminiscence， narration and reconstruction of local culture. Therefore， we should dynamically explore the significant relationship between the historical sites and academy culture. For example， the Ink-Pool Academy was built out of the site of Yang Xiongs 揚(yáng)雄 （53 BCE–18 CE） Brush-Washing Pool in 1821 by education commissioner Nie Xianmin 聶銑敏 （fl. 1805）. However， when it came to the Xianfeng reign （r. 1851–1861）， the then surveillance commissioner intended to change it into a provincial exam office. In order to protect Nie Xianmins relic， the local people renamed it the Lotus Academy， which could serve as an office building. In this sense， historical sites can be both temporally and spatially significant. The concept of an historical site is not a fixed one. Whether or not an individual could become a celebrity and grow into a spiritual cult that draws attention from local people is still determined by the development of a particular kind of scholarship and local culture. Such a coming to prominence is mostly arbitrary.

An Overview of the Historical Sites and Academies

in Southwest China [94]

As far as the historical sites in southwest China are concerned on a local level， the Sichuan area boasts more cultural celebrities than Yunnan and Guizhou. According to my statistics， in Sichuan there were seventy-seven academies in and before the Jiajing reign （1522–1566） of the Ming dynasty， among which twenty were built on the sites of historical significance， accounting for one quarter of the total， implying that the historic sites performed a leading function in creating academies. The cultural significance of historical site-based academy simply cannot be surpassed by those academies related only toward civil examinations. Based purely on data in the records of local history， the distribution of the site-based academies in Sichuan during the Ming and Qing dynasties is illustrated as follows：

As shown in the table， the locations of the relic-based academies are characterized as follows： （1） a place where scholars learned and taught naturally developed into an academy， which could continue its function as a venue of education and， at the same time， commemorating the late scholar; （2） a place which a famous official visited during his term in office developed into an academy; and （3） the birthplace or sometime residence of a worthy developed into an academy.

Guizhou， due to a relative shortage of cultural celebrities， boasts not as many academies. But its local people strongly aspired for association with such worthy figures， so much so that many fictionalized sites have appeared. According to the records of local history， the academies in Guizhou are listed as follows：

Besides the Ruxi Academy， the Longbiao Academy is the most typical， which Wang Changling was supposed to have passed by and transformed by his presence. However， whether it is located in Longli of Jinping District in Guizhou， or in Qianyang of Hunan， is still a matter of some controversy. Some scholars contend that it has been a figment occurring sometime in the middle to late Ming. However， over a long period of time， the locals in Longli have taken this idea as a fact. In addition to the academy， there are many other sites of historical significance such as Longbiao Montain， Zhuangyuan Hall， Zhuangyuan Bridge， Zhuangyuan Pavillion， and even Wang Changlings tomb. Once a geographical symbol is established， it would soon be projected onto the historical narrative， as Luo Hongxian 羅洪先 （1504–1564） assumed the Longbiao Academy to be in Longli in his An Illustrious Record of Broad Territory [廣輿圖記]. As to the Nangao Academy and the Longyuan Academy， there is no doubt about their genuineness and they have really undergone the transformation of a worthy figures presence. As recorded in history， “Zou Yuanbiao had left Yun for fifteen years and his disciples in Yun missed him. They then built the Nangao Academy on the venue where he used to teach to honor him.” The Longyuan Academy used to be the place where Lu Yao， a local worthy in Huangping， once taught and devoted himself to the free school. In the Qianlong reign of Qing， Zhu Dingyuan 朱定元 （1686–1770）， a local， named it the Longyuan Academy.

The Yunnan area also lacked historical worthy figures. Limited by the data at hand， only the main academies are listed as bellow：

Yunnan owes its historical and cultural relics to persons from outside the region. Zhuge Liang， though living long before the Ming and Qing dynasties， has a good number of relics concerned with him in Yunnan. As shown in the statistics of the Records of Yunnan [滇志]， there are thirteen Wuhou Temples; Zhuges Camp， Zhuge Tablets， and Zhuge Wells are dotted here and there. As recorded in the Records of Chuxiong District [楚雄縣志]， “The Wolonggang Hillock is fifteen li away from the district. Zhuge， the prime minister in the Three Kingdoms， marched his troops southward and had them stationed here.” It is therefore called Zhuge Camp. In 1527， the local governor built the Wuxian Temple and turned it into an academy， for which Yang Shiyun 楊士云 （1477–1554）， a Bai ethnic jinshi from Xizhou of Dali District， made an inscription：

Zhuge Liang， whose posthumous title is Wuhou， was second to none among three generations. It was once suggested that he should be ranked among the sagely paragons. Is he not qualified for this？ His residence in Longzhong was made into a temple and then an academy to educate Confucian scholars. This place， as transformed by Zhuge Liang， enjoys the same fame as Longzhong. Can it not be a place to commemorate the paragon as an exemplar for the coming generations？ . . . Zhou Dunyi once said， a common person hopes to learn from the worthy， and the worthy to learn from the sagely. Then we should take Zhuges intent as our own and study what he learned.

Inferring from historical records， the Longgang Academy is not located at the Zhuge Camp in the Longgang Mountain. Taking it as a place of transformation actually results from the enlargement of the transformed area. For another case， in 1524， Yang Shen arrived in Yunnan for guarding the border and ended up dying in Yongchang. Yang Shen wrote “A Record for Biyao Cottage” [碧峣精舍記]， which was built by Mao Yi 毛沂 （fl. 1073） especially for Yang Shen and rebuilt into the Shengan Temple. When he lived in Biyao Cottage， Yang Shen had received many locals， monks， and commoners coming for his instructions. Fan Chengxun 范承勛 （1641–1714）， the general governor of the Yunnan and Guizhou precinct， had this cottage rebuilt into an academy and composed a eulogy for it. The Jingxian Academy was built by administration commissioner Han Yike and administration vice commissioner Wang Jingchang， both from Shanxi Province， who were dispatched down here for guarding the border. They “collaborated to give lectures” and “served as the exemplars for the local people.” Then “the academic ethos started to change and the cultural enlightenment came to prominence.” “Many examinees succeeded in the civil examination and saw one another in the imperial court.” In 1526， Dai Shu 戴書 （fl. 1502–1527）， then vice commissioner， had it rebuilt and an academy constructed in front of it.

The Internal Correlations between the Historical Sites and Academies in Southwest China [97]

The academy is essentially intended to transmit Confucian culture and to testify to its position， function， and meaning in the traditional culture. In this way， cohesiveness and identity can be brought to people in a community. The historical sites can provide the elements as required for this and serve as the conducive power to propel the rise of academies. The academies thus built are important spiritual fodder for people to trace back to the steps of the historical worthies.

Most importantly， historical worthies are symbolic of Confucian tradition and the continuance of its cultural ideas and personality， and in addition， they summon up and unite the scholars of the academy to shape a community for transmitting Confucian culture. Ever since the middle of the Tang dynasty， the emergence of Neo-Confucianism as the response to reinvigorate the tradition of Chinese national community took as its spiritual prop paragons such as Yao， Shun， Yu， Tang， Wen， Wu， Duke Zhou， Confucius， and Mencius. Historical worthies also entered the sacrifice rituals of Confucian temples， the compilations of local history， and household stories， and the sites associated with them served as the vehicle for reifying their spirits. For instance， the Weiren Academy in Guizhou， where Li Wei used to teach， finds itself in the Zhenwu Monastery and is called the Ren Hall. In the Ming dynasty， prefect Tian Ren 田稔 （fl. 1556） had it built into an academy. When under reconstruction in the Qing dynasty， Wu Ruizheng 吳瑞徵 wrote an explication for the idea of “practicing benevolence” （weiren 為仁） and admonished his disciples：

A person cannot live without benevolence for one day and benevolence must be practiced each day. Any reader can talk about it but perhaps cannot put it into practice. I say that benevolence unties Heaven， Earth， as well as the myriads of things， whose interactions carry on infinitely. A person embodies benevolence， and then the Heavenly principle cycles onward. The alternations between failure and success constantly present themselves.

Thus， historical worthies are a crystallization not only of historical figures， but also of cultural notions and the vehicle for their transmission. He is even a conception， such as intuitive knowledge and practicing benevolence.

Second， the historical site as a cultural field is characterized by imagistic historical culture and geographical traits and endows the related academy with distinct appeal. Cultural field has no definition. However， since the Song dynasty， Confucian scholars believed that the phenomenal world is subject to the constant mutations of the vital energy of the Supreme Void （太虛之氣） and that the human interplays with the human as well as with the supernatural in specific times and spaces. Zhu Xi once said to his disciples：

A human dies eventually to disperse， but fails to disperse exhaustively. Thus， the sacrifice ritual has the effect of evocation. Our ancestors are remote from us and their vital stuff is unknowable. But the sacrifice ritual performers are their offspring and have the vital stuff to resonate with them.

It is the same case when we experience the spirit of a historic worthy at a specific moment. In “A Record of Founding the Ink-Pool Academy” [創(chuàng)建墨池書院記]， Nie Xianmin noted： The spirits of ancestral worthies hovers between heaven and earth， lingering between the places for mental and physical cultivation， and failing to disperse because of their great personality; even after millennia， it still survives and is capable of impacting us with its integrity， and finally lending us its reinvigorating power.

The Longgang Academy in Xiuwen is allegorically concerned with Wang Yangmings response to the landscape and plants as well as the association with the significance of the place name. At the end of the East Han （25–220）， Zhuge Liang lived as a recluse in Wolonggang， where he absorbed himself in tilling and reading， and in this way Long Gang interrelates with Zhuge Liang. In the Records of the Jiajing Reign [嘉靖志]， Zhuge Liang was said to hide a drum in a cave at the Copper-Drum Mountain to the east of Guiyang. Therefore， this site is also called the “Copper-Drum Site.” It is not impossible that Zhuge Liang had once visited Longgang in Xiuwen. In the end， Wang Yangming stood on the Longgang Mount and found the river flowing， the birds flying， and the grass rustling in the wind， which reminded him of Zhuge Liang. This association is also a kind of evocation at a specific moment and place. In the early Qing dynasty， then Guizhou governor Tian Wen 田雯 （1635–1704） refurbished the Yangming Academy and described the scenery of the Longgang Mount as follows：

The academy erected again among the precarious rocks and luxuriant bamboos. With the Non-Shabby Veranda， the Guest-Greeting Hall， the Junzi Pavilion， and the Wanyiwo Studio， the academy was revived as if the old ethos still remained. Whoever passed by it， firewood choppers or hunters， would be moved and respect arose in their hearts， and they lingered with admiration for his personality.

In this sense， the relics of the Longgang Academy and the Yangming Academy in Guiyang are connected， for they originated from the same historical figure.

In addition， the historical sites are the accumulations of symbols embodying images of personalities and classical texts， which can exert an influence on the internal structure of an academy and its ideas being transmitted. For instance， the Hezong Academy was built for the commemoration of Zhou Dunyi and the Lotus Pool affiliated with it is the expression of its spirit and lineage. The Lotus Pool originated from “On the Love for Lotus” [愛蓮說] by Zhou Dunyi， as shared among many Lianxi Academies. In addition to the Lotus Pool in the Hezong Academy， there are the Xunle Hall and the Guangji Studio. The Cheng brothers， that is， Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao， followed Zhou Dunyi in their early years. Zhou asked them to visit the place where Yan Hui 顏回 （521–481 BCE） indulged in his ascetic life， as praised by Confucius. This gives us the name of “Xunle” （seeking joy）. “Guangji” （literally dispersed light） is the term of praise given by Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅(jiān) （1045–1105） to Zhou Dunyi for his integrity. Similarly， as a result owing to the Brush-Washing Pool， the sites of Yang Xiong are usually represented by pavilions and pools.

Finally， a historical site is a process of construction of meaning and academies related to them are the result of the juxtaposition of spiritual visits to it. The residence of Du Fu in Santai once received a visit by prefect Shen Qingren 沈青任 （fl. 1752–1779）， who wrote “An Evidential Investigation into the Original Site of Du Fu Caotang” [草堂故址考]. The site of Yang Xiongs Brush-Washing Pool was identified through a great deal of efforts. In the summer of 1820， Nie Xianmin went to Chengdu as an examinee and happened to talk about Yang Xiongs story with one of his friends. The friend told him that Yangs residence at the corner of Chengdu was where the Brush-Washing Pool used to be. Then Nie purchased it with his savings， and restored the Tangwu Studio to the side of the pool. As a result， the Ink-Pool Academy came into being in the next year.

Conclusion： The Inheritance and Revival of Cultural Legacy [99]

The spirit of historical figures is an advanced cultural form of significant value， purifying peoples personality and soul. The association of their sites with academies manifests a revival of traditional culture and spirit. As a carrier of historical worthies spirits， the academies reify and transmit their spirit. A cultural site is formed through a constant process and requires the followers concerns to explore， enrich， or even reshape its meaning. In this way， the site is transformed into a resourceful cultural resource， a community memory and regional knowledge.

Imperial rulers through Chinese history have been channeling the spirit of historical worthy figures. However， the southwest region， remote from the central government， resorted more to the evocation of personality and spirit than to political administration and cultural education. The historical sites and related academies for teaching were oriented， to a greater extent， toward the central government in psychological identification and personality.

The cultural revival has to be specific rather than abstract， and the sites and academies are historical and cultural factors of practical significance. South Koreas success in their bid for their academies to be recognized by World Heritage is an encouraging sign for China. On the other hand， as the legacy of humanities， historical sites and related academies need to be preserved and carried onward. Only with the spirit of worthy figures can the academies become living entities to affect， move and inspire their visitors， serving as a cohesive force to inspire peoples intuitive knowledge in the national revival.

Bibliography of Cited Translations

Bloom， Irene， trans. Mencius. New York： Columbia University Press， 2009.

Hucker， Charles O. A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China. Taipei： Southern Materials Center， 1988.

Translated by Liu Huawen