Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall

Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall

Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall is a cultural tourism attraction.

Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall

Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall: The Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall is one of the main buildings of the Former Sages Academy. In the 48th year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1709), at the request of Xiong Shibai, a professor at Nankang Prefecture, Zhang Xiangwen, the prefect of Nankang, constructed this hall to exclusively enshrine Zhu Xi. The hall houses a stone engraving of Zhu Xi’s self-portrait, with Zhang Xiangwen’s “Inscription for the Exclusively Dedicated Ancestral Hall of Master Wen and Zhu Zi” on the left, and the stone tablet of the “Regulations of the White Deer Grotto Academy” on the right. Serving as a memorial museum for Zhu Xi, the interior also exhibits nine sections on the life and deeds of Zhu Xi. Above hangs a golden plaque inscribed with the words “Scholarship Reaches Nature’s Heaven,” bestowed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. The couplet on the pillars reads: “Ranged peaks form a wall, forever guarding the relics of the Venerable Examination Hall” and “Encircling streams serve as a schoolyard, remotely connecting to the true source of the Water of Enlightenment.”

Memorial Hall of Meritorious Officials: Located to the west of the Zhu Zi Ancestral Hall, it was originally called the Former Sages Shrine or the Three Sages Shrine. It was used to enshrine various figures who made significant contributions to the White Deer Grotto Academy, including Li Bo, Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, Chen Liaoqian, Tao Yuanming, the father and son Liu Xi, and others. As a memorial, the hall displays the “Exhibition on the History of the White Deer Grotto Academy,” which is divided into five sections.