Heshan Academy

Heshan Academy

Heshan Academy is now Heshan Primary School. It was originally founded as Jingzhou School by Wei Wenjing (Wei Liaoweng), also known as Wei Liangong, who served as the Assistant Minister of Works during the Song Dynasty. Wei Liaoweng (1178–1237), styled Huafu and also known by his pseudonym Heshan, was a native of Pujian in Qiongzhou (present-day Sichuan). He passed the imperial examination in 1198 during the Qingyuan era and was appointed as an official in the Secretariat of the Jinnan Xichuan Military Circuit. In the first year of the Kaixi era (1205), he was appointed as a Corrector in the Palace Library. The following year, he was promoted to Proofreader and later appointed as Prefect of Jiaxing. He returned home to care for his parents and built a house at the foot of Baishe Mountain, where he taught students. In the early years of the Jiading era, he served as Prefect of Hanzhou. He successively held positions as Prefect of Meizhou, Luzhou, and Tongchuan Circuit. In the early years of Emperor Lizong’s reign, he was impeached for deceiving the public and claiming undeserved fame, and was exiled to Jingzhou. Scholars from Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang came to study under him. In 1231, during the Shaoding era, he was reinstated. In 1232, he was promoted to Grand Master for Glorious Happiness and served as Pacification Commissioner of Tongchuan Circuit and Prefect of Luzhou. After Shi Miyuan’s death, he was summoned to serve as Acting Minister of Rites and concurrently as a Direct Academician of the Hanlin Academy. In 1235, during the Duanping era, he served as Concurrent Signatory of the Privy Council, Supervisor of the Jinghu Military Forces, and Pacification Commissioner of Jianghuai. He ultimately served as Prefect of Fuzhou and Pacification Commissioner of Fujian. He died in 1237 at the age of 60 and was posthumously honored with the title "Wenjing." He is recorded in the History of Song. In the later years of the Southern Song Dynasty, academic schools became sects, and poetic schools became the Jianghu School, but Liaoweng alone dedicated himself to classical studies and was equally renowned with Zhen Dexiu. His collected works, Heshan Quanjí, consist of 109 volumes, including three volumes of ci poetry, nineteen of which are birthday odes — a rare genre in Song ci collections. Huang Sheng, in his work "Selections of Exquisite Ci Poems Since the Revival," Volume 7, commented that "these are all well-composed birthday odes." Zhang Yan, in his "Origins of Ci," Volume 2, stated: "There is nothing more difficult than composing a birthday ode. If one speaks entirely of wealth and honor, it becomes vulgar; if one speaks only of achievements and fame, it becomes flattery; if one speaks solely of immortals, it becomes far-fetched and absurd."

Before 1958, Heshan Academy retained its original appearance. In 1966, the academy was destroyed, and its famous stone steles were smashed and used to pave roads. In 1979, the site was rebuilt as the auditorium of Heshan Primary School.

Source: Jingzhou Local Chronicles Office