Nanjing Lu Xun Memorial Hall (Ruins of the Mining Road School)

Nanjing Lu Xun Memorial Hall (Ruins of the Mining Road School)

The Nanjing Lu Xun Memorial Hall (Ruins of the Mining Road School) is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

The former site of the Jiangnan Army Officers' School and the Mining Road School is a remnant of late Qing Dynasty educational architecture, located at No. 283 Zhongshan North Road and No. 37 Chaha’er Road in Nanjing. The Jiangnan Army Officers' School was established in the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign (1896) upon the approval of Zhang Zhidong. It faces Mia’er Mountain to the south, covers an area of 2 hectares, and includes 230 traditional Chinese-style buildings and 15 Western-style buildings, among which the general office building and the German instructors' building are Western structures, while the rest are single-story buildings. Revolutionary leaders such as General Zhao Sheng, General Wu ?, and anti-Japanese general Fang Zhenwu studied at the Jiangnan Army Officers' School.

On March 23, 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty), Zhang Zhidong obtained approval to establish the Jiangnan Army Officers' School in Nanjing. During the process of organizing the Self-Strengthening Army, Zhang Zhidong observed that "those who graduate from schools grasp concepts more easily and make much faster progress than those without formal education—this proves that schools are indeed beneficial." He concluded that "training soldiers must go hand in hand with training officers, and training officers relies entirely on schools," and thus decided to set up the Jiangnan Army Officers' School to cultivate military leadership.

On September 14, 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu reign), Liu Kunyi, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, submitted a memorial to Emperor Guangxu proposing, due to the ongoing mining operations at the Qinglong Mountain Coal Mine, to "add a Mining Road course within the Army Officers' School, selecting students to study subjects such as gravity, vaporization, and geology." The proposal was approved by the emperor on the 28th. The Mining Road School hired German instructors and offered courses in Chinese, German, Japanese, mineral surveying, geology, chemistry, metallurgy, science, mathematics, and drawing. The school only enrolled one class of 24 students in 1898, attached to the second intake of the Army Officers' School. In January of the 25th year of Guangxu (1899), the Mining Road School affiliated with the second intake of the Army Officers' School opened, enrolling 24 students including Lu Xun, and graduated in January 1901.

After the Xinhai Revolution, the eastern part of the former school site was converted into a military barracks; the western part became the Jiangsu Higher Agricultural School, later transformed into the specimen forest of the Forestry College of Central University. After 1946, the Affiliated Middle School of Central University (predecessor of the Affiliated High School of Nanjing Normal University) moved in. The surviving general office building on Zhongshan North Road, originally the fourth structure behind the main gate, is a two-story brick-and-wood building currently managed by the Jiangsu Provincial Government Offices Administration. Building No. 2, formerly the German instructors' building, was destroyed by fire on April 29, 2011. The surviving instructors' building at Chaha’er Road, located west of the general office building, is a two-story brick-and-wood structure facing south, measuring 21.8 meters wide and 7.2 meters high, with a roof covered in red-painted iron sheeting, arched windows and doors, and an interior corridor. It now belongs to the Affiliated High School of Nanjing Normal University and has been converted into the Lu Xun Memorial Hall.

In April 1898, Lu Xun enrolled in the engine class of the Jiangnan Naval School but dropped out in November of the same year due to dissatisfaction with the school’s poor environment. In December, he entered the Mining Road School and graduated first-class with third place in January 1901. During his time at the Mining Road School, Lu Xun was exposed to new ideas and wrote the poem: "My heart can find no way to escape Cupid’s dart; / Dark is my homeland under storms and stress. / I send my yearning thoughts to the cold stars, but they heed me not, / And I offer my blood to my forefathers." In March 24, 1902, Yu Mingzhen, the head of the Mining Road School, led government-sponsored students Lu Xun, Zhang Banghua, Gu Lang, Wu Chongxue, and Liu Naibi, along with self-funded student Chen Hongshou, to study in Japan.

In April 2006, the Nanjing Lu Xun Memorial Hall was established on this former site to introduce Lu Xun's life (with a focus on his time in Nanjing); showcase his works, primarily those included in primary and secondary school curricula; and commemorate him to promote his spirit, patriotic education, and revolutionary traditions.

Transportation Guide

Location: No. 37 Chaha’er Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (within the campus of the Affiliated High School of Nanjing Normal University)

Transit options: 1. Take bus routes 100, 16, 31, 32, 34, or 168 and get off at Sanpailou or Sajia Wan; 2. Take Tourist Route 4, 21, 67, or 132 and get off at Dingshan Hotel; 3. Take bus routes 143 or 72 and get off at Chaha’er Road.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units