Jishan Academy

Jishan Academy

Jishan Academy is a cultural relic protection unit of Rui'an City.

Jishan Academy is situated on the south bank of Shangqiao in Baishu Village, Gexiang Office, Feiyun Town, Rui'an City. It was first built in the early Yuan Dynasty as a quadrangle-style architectural complex comprising a mountain gate, front hall, main hall, and left and right corridors. The current main hall was reconstructed in the late Qing Dynasty, with a width of five bays (measuring 18.40 meters in total) and a depth of seven bays (measuring 12 meters in total), featuring a post-and-lintel structure and a flush-gable roof.

The Gao Zhi Cheng Memorial Hall, adjacent to and connected with Jishan Academy on its western side, is a hip-and-gable roof-style building. Covering an area of about 230 square meters, it features a plaque inscribed with the name “Gao Zhi Cheng Memorial Hall” by Ba Jin. The hall houses many wooden couplets, most of which were composed and written by contemporary notable figures.

Jishan Academy was originally established by Chen Zeweng, a loyalist official who survived the fall of the Song Dynasty, along with others, to enshrine the spirit tablets of the emperors of the Song Dynasty. Chen Zeweng, also known as Rui Zhou, once served as Vice Commissioner of Guangdong. After the fall of the Song, he retired to his hometown and initiated the construction of this academy. Together with Lin Jingxi from Pingyang and others, he held memorial ceremonies on the first and fifteenth days of each month to mourn the lost dynasty. After the successive passing of Chen, Lin, and others, the site was converted into a Buddhist temple, with a private school also operating within its premises. Gao Zhi Cheng studied here during his childhood.

Source: Wenzhou Museum