Shigu Academy

Shigu Academy

Shigu Academy is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural heritage site protected by Hunan Province.

Shigu Academy was first built in the fifth year of the Yuanhe era of the Tang Dynasty (810 AD), boasting a history of 1,200 years. Originally located on Shigu Mountain in Hengyang, it began when Li Kuan, a renowned scholar of Hengzhou, built a hut next to Xianzhen Temple on Shigu Mountain to study. In the third year of the ZhiDao era of the Song Dynasty (997 AD), local resident Li Shizhen expanded the academy, turning it into a place for scholars of Hengzhou to give lectures. In the second year (1035 AD), the imperial court bestowed upon it the name "Shigu Academy," thus ranking it among the Four Great Academies of China alongside Suiyang, White Deer Grotto, and Yuelu Academies. The main structures of the academy included the Temple of Marquis Wu, the Shrine of Li Zhongjie, the Daguan Tower, the Shrine of the Seven Sages, the Jingye Hall, and the Hejiang Pavilion. In July 1944, Shigu Academy was destroyed by Japanese artillery fire during the Battle of Hengyang. In 2008, the local government rebuilt the academy following the layout of the Qing Dynasty version of Shigu Academy.

Built on Shigu Mountain in Hengzhou during the Tang Dynasty (now Shigu Mountain in Shigu District, Hengyang City), it derives its name from the location. In the early Tang Dynasty, Magistrate Qi Ying built the Hejiang Pavilion on the left side of the mountain. During the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong, local resident Li Kuan constructed a house atop the mountain to study there. In the second year of the Taiping Xingguo era of the Song Dynasty (978), Emperor Taizong Zhao Kuangyi bestowed a plaque inscribed with “Shigu Academy” and granted land for scholarly use (as noted in Zhu Xi’s “Record of Shigu Academy”: “It originated in the Yuanhe era of the Tang Dynasty, built by local resident Li Kuan, and was once granted an imperial plaque in the early Song Dynasty.” “The Chronicles of the Imperial Court on Shigu” Volume One, Achievements Section: “According to the Comprehensive Examination of Literature, the plaque was granted in the second year of Taiping Xingguo under Emperor Taizong, which aligns with Zhu Xi’s record of the early Song Dynasty.”). In the third year of the ZhiDao era of Emperor Zhenzong (997 AD), local resident Li Shizhen petitioned the prefect to establish a formal academy here to enroll students and deliver lectures. In the second year of the Jingyou era of Emperor Renzong (1035), Liu Hang, who had served as a proofreader in the Jixian Hall, was appointed as the prefect of Hengzhou. At that time, he reported the story of Shigu Academy to the emperor. After reading it, Emperor Renzong bestowed the name “Shigu Academy.” Because Shigu Academy uniquely enjoyed the honor of being granted plaques by two Song emperors, it entered a “golden age,” becoming one of the nation’s most prestigious Four Great Academies, alongside Suiyang (also known as Yingtianfu Academy), Yuelu, and White Deer Grotto. The “Comprehensive Examination of Literature” ranked it first among the “Four Academies at the Beginning of the Song Dynasty.” It once fell into disuse during Emperor Renzong’s reign but was revived and expanded in the Xiaozong era of the Southern Song Dynasty based on its original site, growing even larger and remaining active until the end of the Ningzong era. Zhu Xi once wrote a record about it. Introduction to Shigu Academy

Shigu Academy is the foremost of China’s Four Great Academies, located in Shigu District, Hengyang City, Hunan Province—a national historical and cultural city and the second-largest city in Hunan. It sits at an elevation of 69 meters and covers an area of 4,000 square meters.

Shigu Academy features a stone drum approximately two meters high. The Jin Dynasty’s Yin Zhongchu wrote in “Viewing the Stone Drum Inscription”: “The resonant stone holds hidden echoes, thunderous and shaking the nine heavens.” The Northern Wei Dynasty’s Li Daoyuan recorded in “Commentary on the Water Classic”: “There is a stone drum six feet high, situated where the Xiang River flows; when the drum sounds, it foretells military conflict.” Shigu Mountain is steep and majestic, with extraordinary scenery, long hailed as the premier scenic spot in Hunan.

The historic city of Hengyang has long been a hub of culture, and the scholarly legacy of Shigu spans a thousand years. As a thousand-year-old institution that thrived through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican eras, Shigu Academy underwent multiple expansions and renovations. Scholars such as Su Shi, Zhou Dunyi, Zhu Xi, Zhang Shi, Cheng Xun, Zheng Xiang, Zhan Ruoshui, Ye Zhao, Zou Shouyi, Mao Kun, Kuang Minben, Zhao Dazhou, Lin Xueyi, Wang Jingsuo, Cai Runan, Hu Dongshan, Li Tongye, Luo Jinyin, Wang Kaiyun, and Zeng Xi taught here, nurturing in Hengyang a host of influential figures who shaped Chinese history, including Wang Jurén, Xia Rubi, Guan Siqu, Zou Tonglu, Zhu Bingru, Wu Dingxiang, Zeng Chaojie, Chen Zongqi, Wang Fuzhi, Zeng Guofan, Peng Yulin, Peng Shu, Yang Du, and Qi Baishi. Historical figures such as Luo Han, Li Daoyuan, Qi Ying, Yuwen Xuan, Du Fu, Lü Wen, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Fan Chengda, Xin Qiji, Wen Tianxiang, and Xu Xiake visited here in succession—either lecturing, composing poetry, writing records, or inscribing tablets on the walls. The grandeur of their presence at the Daguan Tower of Shigu Academy or while exploring the scenic beauty was truly spectacular.

Address: Beside Qingcao Bridge, Shigu District, Hengyang City, Hunan Province

Rating: AAAA

Phone: 0734-8347663

Opening Hours:

8:00–18:00 (May–October); 8:00–17:30 (November–April)

Li Kuan (lifespan unknown), also known as Kuanzhong, courtesy name Yüqing, “was originally a recluse of the Tang Dynasty, who came to Hengyang from Gongchang (present-day Longxi, Gansu) during the Yuanhe era” (“The Seventh Revised Genealogy of the Li Clan”). A literati figure of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Kuan (Li Kuan)

Well-read and erudite from a young age, yet uninterested in officialdom. Pei Ji wished to recommend him to the court, but he refused. To avoid being summoned by the court, he resolved to journey far away, following in the footsteps of Li Bi toward Mount Heng. It was shortly after Han Yu passed through Hengyang, toured Shigu Mountain, and composed the timeless masterpiece “Inscription at Hejiang Pavilion to Prefect Zou Jun” that he was drawn to Shigu Mountain. Upon seeing... Detailed Info on Li Kuan++

Li Shizhen, a native of Hengzhou in the early Northern Song Dynasty. In the third year of the ZhiDao era (997), following the example of Li Kuan, he petitioned the prefect and used his private funds to construct buildings on the former site where Li Kuan studied, providing lodging for scholars of Hengzhou. This act marked the formal establishment of Shigu Academy in historical records, and Li Shizhen was enshrined as a local worthy, leaving a lasting legacy. He is one of the Seven Sages of Shigu. ... Detailed Info on Li Shizhen++