The ruins of Liushan Academy

The ruins of Liushan Academy

The ruins of Liushan Academy are a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

Liushan Academy was built on an open plateau halfway up a mountain, where the fields are flat and waterways meander; it is surrounded by overlapping peaks and lush green mountains, adjacent to a temple. The academy is constructed with brick and wood, featuring a rectangular exterior approximately 389 meters in length and 98 meters in width, with a total floor area of 38,000 square meters. All four walls are built from laid blue bricks, with front and rear multi-tiered rooftops resembling residential buildings, and the firewalls have tiles sloping inward from different directions. The academy has five interior sections, progressing from the outside in, which are respectively the teaching area, the library area, the teachers’ dormitory, the students’ dormitory, and the living area. According to local residents, the academy can be divided into three main halls: the front hall, which follows the contour of the mountain wall and is divided into upper and lower levels, with eight wing rooms on each side downstairs. Passing through the large central courtyard from the front hall and ascending the steps on either side leads to the middle hall. The middle hall has eaves ten point two meters high. From the middle hall, one passes through small courtyards on both sides to reach the rear hall, which was dedicated to Confucius and also called the shrine. During the Cultural Revolution, Liushan Academy was repurposed as a national grain depot. In 1973, after the grain depot was relocated, the academy was destroyed.

Further reading:

· Sixth batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units