Danzhou Dongpo Academy

Danzhou Dongpo Academy

Dongpo Academy in Danzhou is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Located in Zhonghe Town, Danzhou City on Hainan Island, Dongpo Academy is a national key cultural relics protection unit. In ancient times, it was the site of the Danzhou government. The winding village streets are all paved with bluestone slabs, and ancient temples, shrines, and stone tablets can be seen everywhere. The ancient Dongpo Academy lies beneath a grove of coconut trees.

Dongpo Academy is located at the foot of Shushan Mountain in the northeast corner of Dingshu Town, Yixing City, and was built during the Northern Song Dynasty. The environment around Dongpo Academy is very elegant, with lush trees and birds chirping. A small river flows quietly in front of the academy gate. The buildings inside the academy are neat, majestic, simple, and elegant, featuring a strong ethnic style. Although Dongpo Academy has endured a thousand years of vicissitudes and natural disasters, generations of local people, valuing literature and education, have raised funds to carefully renovate it, and it remains well-preserved to this day.

Dongpo Academy is closely related to Su Dongpo, an outstanding literary figure in Chinese history. He was immensely talented and made multifaceted contributions to the development of Chinese literature and art, especially in prose, for which he was highly praised and listed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Dongpo Academy is located 45 kilometers from Nada and covers an area of 2,500 square meters. It was designated as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1996 and is one of Hainan’s important cultural heritage sites. Built during the Northern Song Dynasty (1098) in memory of the great literary master and exiled official Su Dongpo, it was later renovated and renamed to its current name in the Ming Dynasty (1549). Dongpo Academy is one of Hainan’s important cultural heritage sites. The academy’s main gate is grand and spacious, and the grounds feature ancient, lush woods and competing blossoms. Buildings such as the Zaiwang Wine Pavilion, Zaijiu Hall, and Aotang Niche are quaint and classic.

The Zaijiu Hall was the residence and teaching place of Su Dongpo when he was exiled to Changhua Army (now Danzhou City). The "Qiongtai Historical Records" states: "When the Song Dynasty's literary sage Su Dongpo was exiled to Dan’er, he lectured and expounded the Dao, promoting education that flourished day by day. The cultural prosperity of Qiongzhou truly began with him."

The Zaijiu Pavilion has a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof structure, with two levels—the upper level has four corners and the lower level has eight, staggered and curling upwards as if ready to take flight. To the east and west sides of the pavilion are lotus ponds, with the pavilion and ponds complementing each other, creating playful reflections. The hall displays illustrations depicting Su Dongpo’s life over the three years he spent in Danzhou.

Inside the academy, the main hall and side rooms display many of Su Dongpo’s manuscripts, ink traces, cultural relics, historical materials, and the famous "Poxian Liju Painting." There are also inscribed poems by Guo Moruo, Deng Tuo, and Tian Han, as well as artworks by renowned painters and calligraphers. The main hall of the academy is located behind the Zaijiu Hall, separated by a courtyard. On both sides are corridors connected to the Zaijiu Hall, forming a quadrangle. In the courtyard stands a century-old mango tree with dense foliage, lending the space a serene and solemn atmosphere. A color sculpture of Su Dongpo giving lectures is displayed in the center of the main hall, with vivid depictions of figures such as Su Dongpo and Confucian scholar Li Ziyun. A bronze statue of Su Dongpo wearing a bamboo hat and straw sandals stands in front of the hall, surrounded by vibrant flowers.

In the fourth year of Shaosheng during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty (1097 AD), Su Dongpo was demoted to the position of Qiongzhou Bieji. He first stayed in the official residence in Danzhou but was later driven out by his superior, so he built several thatched cottages in a palm forest and named them the Palm Cottage. Su Dongpo developed deep bonds with the locals. Zhang Zhonghe, the magistrate of Danzhou, along with the Li brothers, who were educated members of the Li ethnic group, jointly raised funds to build a house next to the Li home. The house served as both a dwelling for Su Dongpo and his youngest son Su Guo, and as a place for literary gatherings. Su Dongpo, drawing from the story “Bringing Wine to Ask About Characters” in the "Book of Han · Biography of Yang Xiong," named the house “Zaijiu Pavilion.” Later, Su Dongpo would meet relatives and friends in the Zaijiu Hall and give lectures to students of both Han and Li ethnicities, spreading Central Plains culture.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Zaijiu Hall was renamed Dongpo Academy. Although the original site of the academy had endured 900 years of weathering, the local people, out of reverence and admiration for Su Dongpo, renovated and expanded it several times. The Dongpo Academy has now fully restored its former appearance and become a sizable tourist attraction.

Address:

Zhonghe Town, Danzhou City

Phone:

0898-23571206

Opening Hours:

8:00-17:00

Ticket:

15 yuan

Su Shi (1037–1101), styled Zizhan, also known as Dongpo Jushi, was from Meishan, Meizhou (now in Sichuan). His family had a strong literary tradition—his grandfather Su Xu loved reading and was skilled in poetry. His father, Su Xun, was a master of classical prose and provided meticulous guidance to Su Shi and his younger brother Su Zhe. His mother, Lady Cheng, was knowledgeable and principled, once telling young Su Shi the story of Fan Pang from the "Book of the Later Han • Biography of Fan Pang" to inspire him with the deeds of ancient righteous individuals. By the time Su Shi turned 21 and left Sichuan for the capital, his knowledge and cultivation were already quite mature.

Su Shi was erudite and open-minded... More details about Su Shi++

Zhonghe Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Danzhou City. Established as Zhonghe Town in 1957, later changed to a commune, became a district in 1983, and was re-established as a town in 1986. Located in the northwest of the city, 50 kilometers from the municipal government. It covers an area of 51.5 square kilometers with a population of 27,000. It is connected by road to the Na (Da) Gan (Chong) Highway. It governs 11 village committees including Gaodi, Shuijing, Shanchun, Lingchun, Heping, Wuli, Qili, Huanlong, Huangjiang, Changcun, and Hengshan, as well as one neighborhood committee, Zhonghe. Town-run enterprises include timber processing plants, repair shops, non-staple food processing plants, farm tool factories, waterworks, and tourism. The main agricultural products are rice and peanuts. Area... More details about Zhonghe Town++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units