Pongsha Academy

Pongsha Academy

Pongsha Academy is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Guangdong Province.

Pongsha Academy is located on Wen Ci Road, Lin Cuo Village, Waisha Town, Longhu District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province. Known as Wen Ci, it was first built in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign (1869 AD), as a place for promoting education and cultivating the people. It is currently the most well-preserved and largest academy in the Shantou area.

Wen Ci was first built in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign (1869 AD), after the Qing court quelled the WANG Xingshun uprising in Waisha. FANG Yao, the Commander-in-Chief of Chaozhou, came to Waisha to "carry out rural pacification" efforts, where he advocated for and entrusted CHEN Dayi, a scholar from Waisha, to serve as the head of construction. It took 18 years to complete and served as a place for promoting education and cultivating the people.

Pongsha Academy is connected to Fang Gong Lecture Hall, forming a traditional Chaoshan residential layout known as the “Twin Swords” configuration. The first three sections — the front hall, middle hall, and upper hall, along with the side wings, i.e., the flower lane row houses — make up Pongsha Academy. The rear enclosed section follows a two-wing-one-hall layout, forming Fang Gong Lecture Hall. The two compounds together cover an area of 8,000 square meters, are 82 meters deep, 33 meters wide, and have a built-up area of 2,706 square meters, making it the largest among the seven academies of the Qing and Ming dynasties in Chenghai (namely Guanshan, Jinghan, Zunyu, Dunhua, Fengshan, Lübo, and Pongsha).

Pongsha Academy faces west and sits east. Its stone gate tower features a three-peak entrance, spanning half the width of the building — a highly expressive proportion. The main gate inscribed with “Pongsha Academy,” along with the side gates labeled “Tong De Ci” and the rear enclosure’s side gate marked “Fang Gong Lecture Hall,” are all calligraphic works by Zhong Dexiang, the third-place scholar in the 1877 imperial examination (Ding Chou Year), compiler of the Hanlin Academy, and a renowned calligrapher of the late Qing era. The brushwork is powerful, simple, and dignified, making them extremely precious. A pair of majestic stone lions flank the entrance, while the stone door panels feature full-relief carvings depicting historical allusions related to scholarly merit, talent, longevity, and the Confucian virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith.

In 2012, the People’s Government of Guangdong Province designated it as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural heritage sites.

Lin Cuo Village: Located at the estuary of a branch of the Han River, Lin Cuo Village lies close to Chenghai District to the east, adjacent to central urban Shantou to the west, faces Shantou Airport to the south, and borders National Highway 324 to the north. It serves as the center of the Waisha town area and boasts a highly strategic location. The village has a population of nearly 6,003 people, around 1,030 households, with a residential area of approximately 1.2 million square meters. Currently, there are over 50 enterprises in the village, and villagers mainly earn income through miscellaneous labor and trades. ... More details about Lin Cuo Village ++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites