Former Site of Qingliu Community School

Former Site of Qingliu Community School

The former site of Qingliu Community School is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The former site of Qingliu Community School is located south of Pengzhuang Village, Fanpo Township, about 9 kilometers southeast of Yuzhou City. In the eighth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1529), it was renamed from San Guan Temple to Qingliu Community School. It lies east of the Ying River, west of Baishan Mountain (noted in Commentary on the Water Classic as Qishiting), faces Mishan Mountain to the south, and leans against Jun Tai Slope to the north, with the ancient Nai River (now called Xiao Nihe, which has dried up) in front of the gate. There were two stone slab bridges spanning it (only one remains today), commonly referred to as “Seven Steps, Two Bridges and One Step, Two Wells.”

According to records: In the seventh year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1370), Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang “issued an edict for all prefectures and counties to establish community schools.” The Chronicles of Yuxian · Monuments Section states: “The former site of Qingliu Community School is located at the eastern foot of Baishan Mountain. It was built by Magistrate Liu Kui during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty.” “Liu Kui, Magistrate of Junzhou, styled Huanyu and also known as Qingchuan, was a native of Taihe, Jiangxi. He passed the local imperial examination during the Zhengde era and studied under Wang Shouren. In the early Jiajing reign, he was appointed as Tongpan of Baoqing Prefecture, later becoming Magistrate of Junzhou. Upon taking office, he lectured on Confucian teachings. He suppressed Buddhism and Taoism, ordering monks and nuns to return to secular life. His governance started lenient and then became strict. Land surveys and equitable grain taxation were carried out systematically. He abolished illicit temples, built temples for Yu and Tang, shrines for ancient sages, the Eight Sacrifices Shrine, and institutions such as academies and community schools, and established community granaries. During his seven-year tenure, moral education flourished, and both children and commoners regarded him as a parent. He was promoted to Vice Prefect of Chaozhou, then served as an External Clerk in the Ministry of Works. Remembered fondly, he was enshrined in the Legacy of Love Shrine. Later, he remonstrated with Emperor Shizong over the construction of the Thunder Temple in Taiye Pool, was caned in court and imprisoned. He was jailed with the censor Yang Jue and the imperial censor Zhou Yi for several years. In the 24th year of the reign, moved by divine words, the emperor pardoned them. Soon after, they were rearrested. In the 26th year, when the Gaoyuan Hall caught fire, the emperor prayed in the open. Amid the flames, voices were heard calling the three men loyal officials, prompting the emperor to issue an urgent decree for their release. Liu Kui died shortly after. In the early Longqing reign, he was posthumously honored as before.” (Biography in the History of Ming). A Qing-era poem by Zhao Jian about the former site of Qingliu Community School reads: “The legacy of Qingchuan spreads through the Central Plains; the famed community site invites leisurely tours. Teaching flourished here, showering grace like rain; nurturing people through ages, Qingliu’s virtue remains. Towering trees shade the steps, clouds ever watch; mountain springs circle the house, veins flowing forever. Broken steles still remain in fragments; who will rise to continue the sage magistrate’s ways?”

In the seventh year of the Jiajing reign, Liu Kui “firmly governed our Jun (present-day Yuzhou)” (Eulogistic Stele for the Late Liu Gong, Magistrate of Ming Junzhou, the Esteemed Qingchuan). In the year following his appointment (1529), Liu Kui began establishing schools. Within a few years, “he built ninety-five community schools and five academies such as Xiantang” (Chronicles of Yuxian · Epigraphy Section). He vigorously promoted education, fostering a thriving literary culture in the Central Plains. Regular lectures and rituals were held throughout the prefecture on the first and fifteenth of each month, attracting many scholars. Guo Xueshu, a notable scholar and successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Junzhou at the time, was among his famous students. “Guo Xueshu, styled Daobo, extensively studied the classics and histories. He studied the philosophy of Yangming under Magistrate Liu Qingchuan Kui and passed the local imperial examination in the year of Wuyin (1528)” (Stone Inscription in the Ming Ritual Hall: Examination and Poems on the Eight Scholars of Junyang). Liu Kui, a disciple of Wang Shouren, inherited Wang Yangming’s ideas of opposing tradition and emphasizing education. At a time when Buddhist and Taoist cultures were prevalent, he boldly converted temples into school buildings and ordered monks and nuns to return to secular life (among the famous “Three Wu and One Zong” Buddhist suppressions by ancient emperors—namely, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou—Liu Kui was one such official who took such action). This move had a significant impact at the time.

Qingliu Community School is a Ming Dynasty structure. The academy has a three-courtyard layout with an intact historical configuration, covering an area of over 4,000 square meters. On the coffered stone pillars of the corridor, there is an engraved couplet in regular script. The granite walls surrounding the courtyard are well-preserved. There are three rows of school buildings, each separated by pathways, mostly consisting of structures with three bays connected side-by-side. Two rows of buildings face south within the courtyard, while classrooms along the street face north. Along the central axis of the gate, there are, in sequence, the coffered hall, front hall, and rear hall. To the east of the central axis buildings is a connecting pathway, and to the west, a pathway runs along the western courtyard wall. The front main hall and coffered hall both have three bays with a flush-gable roof. The front eaves columns of the coffered hall are round wooden ones, while the rear eaves columns are flat square bluestone ones. The rear eaves columns of the coffered hall bear an engraved couplet in regular script: “Commanding the north, the heroic spirit shines bright as sun and moon; dividing the waters, the fierce energy shakes heaven and earth.” On the west wall of the coffered front main hall are embedded five stelae recording the reconstruction and founding history of Qingliu Community School.

The rear hall of Qingliu Community School has three bays with a hanging gable roof, featuring front and rear corridors, bracket sets, and flying eaves. The eaves columns, corridor columns, gable columns, and interior columns are all flat square bluestone. The four central interior columns of the main bay have a circumference of 1.4 meters and a height of 3.45 meters, all intricately carved with coiling dragons along their entire height. These are unique within Yuzhou and hold high historical and artistic value.

The buildings within the community school compound have undergone multiple renovations. According to inscriptions on stelae in the courtyard: the coffered hall was renovated in the 15th year of the Kangxi reign, and the main roofs of Qingliu Community School were renovated in the first year of the Jiaqing reign. During the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, as well as after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the site was used as public school buildings. In 1958, additional school buildings (two structures totaling 16 rooms, one south near the road and one each to the east and west) were added. After the reform and opening-up period, due to the age and dilapidation of the buildings, the school was relocated. Currently, six relatively intact Ming and Qing buildings with over 20 rooms remain. Qingliu Community School is the only fully preserved ancient academy among the 100 schools established in Junzhou during the Ming Dynasty. It serves not only as a physical representation of the Daoist educational philosophy of the renowned Ming educator Wang Yangming but also as valuable material for studying education in the Central Plains. The tops of the columns in front of the rear hall are inscribed with the names of ancient li (administrative units) and guan (observatories) of Yuzhou at the time, as well as personal names. The west wall of the coffered hall contains five well-preserved stelae documenting the founding of the academy, all of which hold high artistic and historical research value, providing precious historical material for studying the social, political, and cultural aspects of Yuzhou during the Ming Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province