Miquan Academy (Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army)

Miquan Academy (Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army)

Miquan Academy (Revolutionary Activity Memorial Hall of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army) is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a Classic Red Tourism Scenic Area, and a Patriotic Education Base.

Miquan Academy is located in Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province. It was first built during the Jiading era of the Song Dynasty and was originally named Huanglong Academy. In the 18th year of the Qianlong reign (1753), Magistrate Zhou Renkui renovated it and allocated official farmland to supplement its funding, renaming it Lieshan Academy. In the 2nd year of the Jiaqing reign (1797), Zhao Zongwen, the magistrate of Ling County, expanded the study rooms. Because the Miquan River originates from the Gensuoling Mountain at the southern border of the county and flows from southeast to northwest through the county, taking the meaning that if scholars can be as continuously flowing as the spring, then all the seas of knowledge are reachable, the academy was renamed Miquan. In the 5th year of the Daoguang reign (1825), Magistrate Shen Daokuan relocated the academy to the training ground outside the north gate and renamed it Linghu. In the 2nd year of the Tongzhi reign (1863), the local gentry Wan Dianzhang moved the academy back to its original site, restored its name to Miquan, and from then on, the academy continued to thrive in education. At that time, the academy had 272 mu of school fields, yielding 548 dan of rent grain annually to fund its operations. Noted headmasters included Zhou Yuanhe of Anren and Wang Kai Zhuo of Ningxiang. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Miquan Academy was converted into the First Higher Primary School.

Miquan Academy is situated at the source of the Miquan River, backed by Qingtai and facing Luyuan, with a distant view of Yunqiu and surrounding mountains. The academy faces south with a north-south central axis, featuring symmetrical east and west wing rooms. Its eaves are fitted with stone water spouts, fireproof gables, and high, gracefully upturned corners, giving it an elegant and delicate design characteristic of early Qing Dynasty ancestral hall architecture in the Jiangnan region. The couplet engraved on both sides of the academy’s gate, "Do not lament the small size of this mountain-town academy, for it has produced many sages of the Chu land," reflects Miquan Academy’s unadorned yet refined architectural style and its historical legacy of nurturing talent.

Miquan Academy is a timber-and-earth structure, with a three-courtyard, two-wing layout, covering a construction area of 1,942 square meters. The two side wings served as student dormitories, housing 58 rooms of various sizes. Perhaps precisely because of their modest size, they create an atmosphere of undistracted study—“plugging one’s ears to the outside world and devoting oneself solely to the wisdom of the sages.” The entire academy is quaint and tranquil, with corridors connecting the school buildings and courtyards linking them together. Four large wooden pillars stand imposingly on both sides of the front courtyard, exuding grandeur. Ancient lush green trees dot the compound, and the backyard features flower stands and a fish pond that add a distinctive charm.

Standing at the entrance, one can see the main axis of the building, which consists of the gate, the lecture hall, and the Dacheng Hall, arranged in ascending order, symbolizing continuous advancement. The first courtyard is an indoor atrium with two ancient osmanthus trees whose fragrance fills the air every August according to the lunar calendar. Entering through the gate and following the corridor, one passes the narrow passages on both sides of the lecture hall to reach the Dacheng Hall and the east and west study rooms. The circulation is clear, logical, and balanced between movement and stillness. The second courtyard is the central hall, the core of the academy and its main lecture room, where teachers gave lessons throughout the dynasties. Above the entrance hangs a wooden plaque inscribed with “Kuixing Points the Dipper,” written by Confucian scholar and Hanlin academician Kong Jixun during the Daoguang reign when he lectured here, expressing the hope that students would achieve academic success and pass the imperial examinations. The corridors on either side of the lecture hall feature arched doorways overhead.

Behind the lecture hall are two symmetrically arranged atriums on either side. Miquan Academy has a total of 11 atriums, varying in size and layout. These atriums not only ingeniously solve the problem of roof drainage but also provide excellent lighting and ventilation.

The front is the Dacheng Hall, which originally housed a shrine to Confucius. The side rooms were for the residence of teachers. Behind the Dacheng Hall was the living quarters for the academy’s instructors, consisting of two rooms on either side with an atrium in the middle. The flower pond forms the academy’s backyard garden. On the eastern side are the study rooms, totaling 20 cubicles, each less than 5 square meters—truly tiny spaces. The study rooms on both sides are laid out symmetrically, similar in size and number. Each room accommodated two students who studied diligently. These rooms also sometimes served as examination halls. From the Song to the Qing Dynasties, 11 individuals from Yanling passed the imperial examination for jinshi, 43 became juren, and 374 became gongsheng. Most of them studied at Miquan Academy. It can be said that Miquan Academy is not only a sightseeing destination rich in traditional cultural charm and a cradle for nurturing talent, but also a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, a witness to the arduous and tortuous history of China’s revolution, and an educational site that enlightens future generations.

In mid-March 1928, Mao Zedong led the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army in its first capture of Yanling County. They opened the prisons and released the imprisoned masses. A mass meeting attended by over a thousand people was held at the large parade ground in front of Miquan Academy, where they publicized that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army was a force fighting for the liberation of the poor, promoted policies to protect industry and commerce, and called on the impoverished to unite in overthrowing local tyrants and distributing land. This site is a revolutionary relic from the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base period.

In 1996, Miquan Academy was listed as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a Provincial Patriotic Education Base. Miquan Academy has long been a cultural hub of Yanling County, where scholars and literati once gathered, producing many talented individuals—just as the ceaseless flow of the Miquan River is made possible by this very academy.