Konglin Academy

Konglin Academy

In Pinglin Village, Youshan Town, Nanxiong City, there is an academy founded in the third year of the Jianlong era of the Northern Song Dynasty (962 AD), known as Konglin Academy (abandoned at the end of the Song Dynasty, operating for 300 years). It was the first academy in Nanxiong Prefecture and also the first in Lingnan, ranking among the earliest in the nation. The founder of Konglin Academy was Kong Run, the forty-first-generation descendant of Confucius. He was one of the 38 successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations during the Tang Dynasty in Guangdong and the first person from Zhenchang County (present-day Nanxiong City) to pass the exams.

According to the Kong family genealogy of Nanxiong and the Annals of Nanxiong Prefecture: Kong Run, styled Huaiqing, was born on the first day of the fifth lunar month in the Jiayou Year of Emperor Xizong of Tang (874 AD). Kong Run was intelligent and studious from childhood, well-read in the classics and histories. He passed the imperial examination as a Juren (recommended man) in the Renzi Year of the Jingfu era and then consecutively passed the highest imperial examination as a Jinshi (presented scholar) in the Guihai Year. Later, during the turmoil of the Five Dynasties period, he served in high government posts, eventually attaining the rank of Chao San Daifu (a mid-level official) and being appointed Prefect of Yuanzhou. Later, due to the chaotic state of the realm, he disdained holding office and thus resided in Shihetian Field, Taihe County, Jizhou for ten years. In the third year of the Jianlong era of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty (960 AD), he brought his family back to his ancestral home in Pinglin Village, Nanxiong Prefecture, and in the third year of the Renxu era (962 AD), he established Konglin Academy. He enshrined a statue of the Sage Ancestor (Confucius), purchased fifty-five mu of land at a place called Longtou, and used the rental income to support seasonal sacrificial ceremonies. Kong Run passed away at the age of ninety-one on the twentieth day of the eleventh lunar month in the second year of the Jiade era (964 AD) of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty. Kong Run’s tomb still exists today, located halfway up Tianfeng-shaped mountain at Yangjiao Ridge, Dakan, Shuangkeng. The tomb is semi-circular in arch, constructed with red sandstone slabs, standing 1.7 meters high and 1.6 meters wide. The tombstone, erected by later generations, is 80 cm tall and 40 cm wide, inscribed with the three characters “Kong Run’s Tomb.”

Historical records describe Konglin Academy as covering an area of about 800 square meters, consisting of three sections. The rear section housed the Dacheng Hall, where a statue of Confucius was enshrined, flanked by two side halls (east and west). The middle section was the Dacheng Gate, and the front section served as the main gate of the academy, all enclosed by walls. More than 260 years later, during the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty, the forty-seventh-generation descendant Kong Zhenyu renovated the academy, expanding its scale and adding a second floor to the Dacheng Hall. It is said that in ancient times, the academy had a Confucius Hall, which housed a statue of Confucius. Every year, local officials from the prefecture and counties would come here to offer sacrifices to Confucius, with a procession of sedan chairs and horses, creating a solemn atmosphere. After the construction of the Dacheng Hall in Nanxiong City in the first year of the Jianwen era of the Ming Dynasty (1399 AD), the statue of Confucius was moved there. From then on, local officials no longer came to Pinglin for Confucian ceremonies. The village preserves a stone plaque measuring 1.8 meters long, 0.5 meters wide, and 0.2 meters thick, with the inscription “Uphold the Fundamentals and Cultivate Ethics” on one side and “Look Up to the Lofty Summit” on the other. At the entrance of the village stands a character-respect tower, hexagonal in shape, 9 meters tall with three levels, and a base diameter of 1.25 meters. Villagers say the tower was a place where scholars in the past burned used paper with writing on it out of reverence for the written word, doing so on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. This plaque and tower reflect the ancient Confucian culture of Pinglin.

Kong Run’s founding of Konglin Academy had a significant impact on the development of cultural and educational endeavors in Nanxiong and even the broader Lingnan region. After its establishment in the third year of the Jianlong era, the academy became a highlight of the spread of Central Plains culture southward and raised the banner of education and talent cultivation in Lingnan. Subsequently, Nanxiong Prefecture established a state school in the fourth year of the Qingli era of the Song Dynasty (1044 AD). In succession, Xu Xin from Zhujixiang, who passed the imperial examination as a Jinshi in the fourth year of the Huangyou era (1052 AD) and held various official positions including Central Secretariat Censor, retired and settled in Zhujixiang, where he gave lectures. As a result, the culture of farming and studying flourished in Nanxiong during the Song Dynasty. The "Zhili Nanxiong Prefecture Annals · Schools" states: “From the first year of Yuanyou (1098 AD) to the Xinwei Year of Xianchun (1271 AD), the population of Baochang (Nanxiong) County was about 50,000, with 39 individuals passing the Jinshi examination (in addition to 64 individuals passing special examinations. Under the Song system, those who passed the provincial examination but did not become Jinshi within thirty years were granted official positions through imperial grace, known as special examinations). Among them, three individuals passed the Jinshi examination in the Bingxu Year of Baoying, and three in the Yimao Year of Duanping.” This shows that Nanxiong’s cultural and educational achievements led the way in northern Guangdong during the Song Dynasty. The surrounding villages of Konglin Academy, such as Gucheng, Shangshuo, and Yancun, were especially passionate about farming and studying during the Song Dynasty, with many students pursuing scholarly studies and producing numerous talented individuals. The village of Gucheng alone produced five Jinshi scholars during the Song Dynasty, while Pinglin Village had Kong Shaodan and Kong Shaozu (descendants of Run). Yancun produced Feng Yingzhi and Feng Qian, and Shangshuo Village had Peng Ziming and Peng Yan.

Confucius (551–479 BC), whose given name was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi, Changping, in the State of Lu (now southeastern Qufu, Shandong). He was a philosopher, educator, and statesman in the late Spring and Autumn period, the founder of the Confucian school of thought, one of the most influential figures in Chinese history and culture, and a globally recognized cultural personality, especially having great influence in Southeast Asian countries.

Confucius’s ancestors were Weizi Qi, the half-brother of the tyrant King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. Qi upheld the Shang ancestral sacrifices and was enfeoffed in Song. His sixth-generation ancestor, Kong Fu Jia, was the first to adopt the surname Kong. His fifth-generation ancestor, Ji Danfu, fled to Lu to escape turmoil and later settled in Zouyi of the State of Lu… More detailed information about Confucius ++