Qiyang Wenchang Academy

Qiyang Wenchang Academy

The Wenchang Academy is located in Qiyang, Hunan. In the twelfth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1584) (some sources say the sixteenth year), Deng Qiu, a native of the county and magistrate of Tongren, initiated the construction of the Wenchang Pagoda on the riverbank at the southern foot of Tianma Mountain (overlooking the Xiang River), and built an academy in front of the pagoda—hence the name. The complex includes a stone memorial archway, lecture halls, and more. Three bays of halls were constructed in front of the pagoda as study spaces for students, where lectures were held daily, with one bay on each side. In front were three shrines: one dedicated to the Wenchang deity, one to Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi, and one to former eminent scholars and local distinguished figures. Further forward was a stone memorial archway inscribed with “Wenchang Academy.” Students gathered here for daily lectures. During the Tianqi era, Chen Chao’nai, a native of the county, “erroneously believed in superstitious theories advocated by feng shui practitioners, incited the public to destroy the pagoda, and the academy was also abandoned.” In the ninth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1670), Magistrate Wang Yi built a Wenchang Pavilion on the site of the ruined pagoda, “and behind the pavilion, reconstructed the academy as a place for study.” Later, due to “a lack of continued investment,” the pavilion remained but the academy became a Buddhist monastery. By the tenth year of the Qianlong reign (1745), Magistrate Chen Dashou rebuilt the Wenchang Pagoda on its original site and relocated the Wenchang Pavilion to a hill beside the pagoda. Its layout was altered: the pavilion was surrounded by courtyard buildings, with a three-bay entrance hall in front, three bays of lecture halls at the back, ten bays on each of the east and west sides, designed to be bright and airy, using sturdy materials, with lofty beams and high pillars. In the fourteenth year (1749), Magistrate Li Yingdai rebuilt the academy next to the new pavilion, featuring a lecture hall, the Hall of Great Achievement, the Wenchang Shrine, the Hall of Righteous Principle, official quarters, and a rain shelter. In the twenty-seventh year (1762), Magistrate Li Shi established the “Regulations,” setting rules for hiring teachers, enrolling students, and conducting examinations. Students were divided into three categories for management: internal students, external students, and those attending lectures. In the twentieth year of the Daoguang reign (1840), Magistrate Yi Xuechao rebuilt the academy and, since Qiyang was historically known as Yongchang, renamed it “Yongchang Academy,” expanding its scale further: one lecture hall, the Hall of Great Achievement in the center (with the left side used for lectures and the right for official quarters), one rain shelter, one Hall of Righteous Principle, one main gate (with two side rooms), a terrace, the Wenchang Shrine (with five study rooms), one row of rooms on the left (with seven study rooms), two corridors (each with three study rooms), and four kitchens/bathrooms (placed at the four corners). It upheld the principles of “following the regulations of Yuelu and Bailudong Academies, embodying the teachings of Master Zhu and Master Nanxuan, rejecting vanity in favor of practical learning, and promoting filial piety and friendship to uphold human relations,” aiming to promote moral philosophy and revive culture and education. In the ninth year of the Xianfeng reign (1859), troops of Shi Dakai were stationed here. In the twenty-eighth year of the Guangxu reign (1902), it was converted into an elementary school, then into the County’s First Higher Elementary School two years later, and renamed a regular school in 1912. In 1930, it became a rural normal school. In 1982, it was allocated to Qiyang Normal School. After several renovations, aside from a few remaining old rooms on the right side and an old osmanthus tree in the courtyard, everything else had disappeared. It now serves as the site of Qiyang Normal School.