Nanjing Chongzheng Academy

Nanjing Chongzheng Academy

Nanjing Chongzheng Academy is located at the eastern foot of Qingliang Mountain, facing the Sweeping Leaves Tower in the distance. It was built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty as a lecture hall by the imperial education inspector Geng Dingxiang. It is also said that the physical body of Kṣitigarbha (Earth Store Bodhisattva) once meditated here. The academy was restored in 1980. It was built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty as a lecture hall by the imperial education inspector Geng Dingxiang, and it is also said that the physical body of Kṣitigarbha (Earth Store Bodhisattva) once meditated here.

This place was originally built by Geng Tiantai (courtesy name Dingxiang), Minister of Revenue during the Ming Dynasty, when he served as the imperial education inspector in Nanjing (around 1544). Geng once gave lectures here. After his death, the academy was destroyed, and his younger brother converted it into an ancestral hall. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, a monk named Zhanxi transformed the ancestral hall into a Buddhist temple.

The academy is laid out in three tiers along the mountain slope. The first and second halls are connected by corridors on both sides, with various decorative windows on the corridor walls. Two stone tablets are embedded in the eastern corridor wall. Between the second and third halls lies an open bluestone platform, with a small landscape scene to the east. The third hall is the highest point in the park. From here, the surrounding lush greenery spreads out as far as the eye can see, and on a clear day, the view stretches for miles. Entering the main hall, four large murals vividly depict the four seasonal scenes of Nanjing: spring at Niushou Mountain, summer at Zhongshan Mountain, autumn at Qixia Mountain, and winter at Stone City. The main academy building now houses the "China Exotic Stones Museum," displaying rare stones from across the country.