Tongcheng School Exhibition Hall

　　The Tongcheng School Exhibition Hall is located in "Gaochun Jixuan" on Park Road. Centered around the rise and fall of the Tongcheng School—the largest prose school of the Qing Dynasty—this exhibition follows a chronological sequence based on the mentorship relationships of key representative writers. It also presents a horizontal view through thematic blocks covering the historical background, literary exchanges, and academic contributions of these writers. The museum integrates cultural relics, historical remains, published works, and academic research. With rich content, distinctive features, and accessible presentation, it combines academic depth, knowledge, and popular appeal. Its mission is to inherit the finest traditions of national culture, promote Tongcheng culture, and build a modern literary hub. It serves as a window for understanding Tongcheng, learning about the Tongcheng School, and studying ancient literary history, attracting scholars and experts from around the world.

　　Tongcheng was known as the Tongzi State during the Spring and Autumn period and became a county in the early years of the Tang Dynasty's Zhide era. The ancient county name originated in the Song Dynasty, rose to prominence in the Ming Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, particularly renowned for the classical prose of the "Tongcheng School." The saying "Are not all the world’s great writings from Tongcheng?" was a compliment to Tongcheng literature during the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era. The Tongcheng School boasts over 1,200 writers, more than 2,000 works, and hundreds of millions of words of materials—these figures represent the cultural achievements created by the Tongcheng prose school that emerged over 200 years ago.

　　The Tongcheng School, also known as the Tongcheng Literary School, is referred to as the Tongcheng Classical Prose School or the Tongcheng Prose School. Its main representatives—Dai Mingshi, Fang Bao, Liu Dakui, and Yao Nai—were all from Tongcheng, Anhui during the Qing Dynasty, hence the name. The Tongcheng Literary School is the largest prose school of the Qing Dynasty literary scene, remarkable for its large number of writers, wide geographical influence, and long-lasting impact, which is rare in literary history.

　　The formative period was during the Kangxi and Qianlong eras of the Qing Dynasty, with key figures including Dai Mingshi, Fang Bao, and Liu Dakui. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, Tongcheng saw a rise in scholarly pursuits, with "those capable of wielding the brush to write classical prose having successors in every generation." In the late Ming and early Qing periods, scholars such as Fang Yizhi and Qian Chengzhi were dedicated to reviving classical prose, laying the groundwork for the Tongcheng School.

　　Dai Mingshi was a pivotal figure in the development of the Tongcheng School, proposing the ideas of "substance in speech" and "rhetoric grounded in sincerity," effectively pioneering the Tongcheng School’s theoretical framework of principles and methods. In 1644, when the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, to consolidate its rule, it promoted Confucian Neo-Confucianism and used both soft and hard tactics to bring intellectuals into line. The classical prose school led by Fang Bao emerged in response. Fang Bao was described as "in scholarship and conduct following Cheng and Zhu, in writing between Han and Ouyang" (from Wang Zhaofu’s Preface to Collected Writings of Master Fang Wangxi). Later, in his works such as Reading Eight Books of Records of the Grand Historian and Postscript to Ten Tables of Records of the Grand Historian, he put forward the concept of "principles and methods." After being exonerated in the Nan Shan Ji case, his theory of "principles and methods" became clearer and more refined. In 1733, Fang Bao compiled Selected Classical Prose, providing a model for the "principles and methods" theory, which thereafter gained significant attention. Fang Bao taught students for decades and became a central figure driving the Tongcheng classical prose movement. His notable students included Ye You from the county, Zhang Xinnong, Lei Xuan from Ninghua, Wu Jiang, Wang Youpu from Tianjin, Shen Tingfang from Renhe, Wang Zhaofu from Daxing, and Cheng Jian from She County. Liu Dakui, mainly active during the Qianlong era, built upon Fang Bao’s "principles and methods" and introduced the concept of "spirit and vitality." His prominent disciples included Yao Nai, Wang Zhuo from Tongcheng, Wu Ding from She County, Cheng Jinfang, and Qian Lusi from Changzhou. His followers numbered in the dozens, including Lu Bunsun, Lu Shaoren, Dong Gucheng, Dong Sicheng, Zhang Qi, Dong Shixi from Wujin, Xie Shiyuan, Tang Chunfan, Qin Xiaoxian from Wuxi, Wang Shaowen from Shanyin, and Dai Xi from Qiantang, who formed the "Yanghu School"—essentially a branch of the early Tongcheng School.

　　There is no shortage of academic research on the Tongcheng School, but the Tongcheng School Exhibition Hall offers the best window into it all.