Fenghu Academy

Fenghu Academy

Fenghu Academy is located within West Lake in Huizhou. Its predecessor was the Juxian Hall, which was built in the fourth year of the Chunyou era (1244) during the Song Dynasty, and was renamed Fenghu Academy ten years later. During the Song Dynasty, Fenghu Academy was originally situated on Yinguang Ridge. In the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty (1695), the academy was relocated here. The campus features pavilions, terraces, towers, and ponds, serving as resting places. The rear courtyard later fell into disrepair. In the sixth year of the Jiaqing reign, Magistrate Yi Binghuan rebuilt the academy and retained the name “Fenghu Academy.” The new campus included structures such as the Chengguan Tower, Lequn Hall, Xizhao Pavilion, and Yufeng Pavilion. In 1922, the academy was destroyed but soon rebuilt and renamed Huizhou Middle School. In 1996, it became Huizhou Normal School. After the liberation, it was renamed Huizhou Prefecture Teachers College. During the Cultural Revolution, it was converted into a conference guesthouse. In 1978, it reverted to being Huizhou Normal School, and in 1979, it became Huizhou Teachers College. In 1993, it was transformed into Huizhou University.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the literary culture of Huizhou flourished even more. Fenghu Academy was the highest institution of learning in Huizhou. Since its establishment, despite repeated rises and declines, it always attracted numerous students and fostered a strong academic atmosphere, producing many accomplished scholars. It played a significant role in promoting Huizhou’s cultural development and stands as one of the renowned academies in Lingnan. According to local gazetteers: during the Song Dynasty, 53 individuals from Huizhou passed the imperial examination at the provincial level (jinshi), and during the Ming Dynasty, 44 did so. Since the Qing Dynasty, Huizhou has seen a flourishing of talent, with many notable figures excelling in poetry, prose, calligraphy, painting, epigraphy, and other fields.

The simple yet classic archway constructed at the front of the current campus features stone plaques and couplets inscribed by the eminent Qing Dynasty scholar Song Xiang in the year 1801 during the Jiaqing era. The plaque reads “Fenghu Academy,” and the couplet says “An ancient cradle of culture akin to Qufu and Zou, a landscape mirroring the beauty of Penglai.” The calligraphy is dignified, elegant, vigorous, and transcendent.