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Former Site of Wuxi County School

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The Former Site of Wuxi County School, also known as the Confucian School or Temple School, was the only official school in ancient Wuxi. It was established in the third year of the Jiayou era during the Northern Song Dynasty (1058 AD). Currently, three structures remain: the Jimen (Pole Gate), Minglun Hall, and Lecture Hall, all rebuilt in the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi era (1874 AD). Nowadays, Minglun Hall and the Lecture Hall have been converted into the Wuxi Stone Inscription Exhibition Hall...

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The Former Site of Wuxi County School is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Former Site of Wuxi County School, also known as the Confucian School or Temple School, was the only official school in ancient Wuxi. It was established in the third year of the Jiayou era during the Northern Song Dynasty (1058 AD). Currently, three structures remain: the Jimen (Pole Gate), Minglun Hall, and Lecture Hall, all rebuilt in the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi era (1874 AD). Nowadays, Minglun Hall and the Lecture Hall have been converted into the Wuxi Stone Inscription Exhibition Hall. The Jimen, or Dacheng Gate, was originally the main gate of the Confucius Temple, featuring five bays and four rafters. Minglun Hall, the county school auditorium, has three bays and nine rafters. The Lecture Hall, used as classrooms, has three bays and six rafters. Most of the front and rear columns of Minglun Hall are square blue stone pillars from the Ming Dynasty. Above the screen door hangs a plaque inscribed with “Minglun Hall,” signed “Xin’an Zhu Xi” — a rare authentic handwriting of Zhu Xi rarely seen in China.

Wuxi County School has endured through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, maintaining its foundation and preserving over seventy ancient stone inscriptions. Their contents are divided into seven categories: imperial edicts, school regulations, lists of professors, lists of successful imperial examination candidates, memorial shrines for local worthies, records of school construction, and records of school fields. These stone tablets mostly serve as historical records, offering valuable insight into the local customs and conditions of the time. Each stone inscription is like a history book carved in stone, making it a “stone library” with significant historical, scientific, and artistic research value.

On June 5, 2006, the Former Site of Wuxi County School was designated as part of the sixth batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province.