Yuelu Academy
岳麓书院
One of China's Four Great Academies, founded in the Northern Song dynasty and still operating after a thousand years. Its gate couplet 'Here Chu Produces Talent in Abundance' and the lecture hall where Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi debated are the source of Hunan's culture.
Yuelu Academy stands at the eastern foot of Yuelu Mountain, inside the Hunan University campus. It was founded in 976 by Zhu Dong, the prefect of Tanzhou, in the ninth year of the Kaibao era of the Northern Song dynasty. It is one of China's Four Great Academies and the only one to have operated continuously since its founding. Now part of Hunan University, it is known as the 'Millennium Academy' and has existed for over 1,000 years, through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties to the present. Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi held the famous 'Zhu-Zhang Lectures' here in the Southern Song dynasty, pioneering academy-style lectures. In the Qing dynasty, the academy nurtured Wei Yuan, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Guo Songtao. The modern Hunan School of thought also started here.
Highlights include: the gate couplet 'Here Chu Produces Talent in Abundance'; the plaque 'Seek Truth from Facts' in the lecture hall, one of the sources of Mao Zedong Thought; and the 'Loyalty, Filial Piety, Integrity and Virtue' stele. There are also the Imperial Book Pavilion (library), the Xiangshui Hall for classical studies, and a Confucian temple. In the garden section, look for the Baiquan Pavilion and the Lushan Temple stele, carved from a text by Li Yong of the Tang dynasty and known as the 'Three Marvels Stele'. The academy's back gate leads straight to Aiwan Pavilion on Yuelu Mountain. Attached to the academy is the China Academy Museum, which is free and explains the history of the academy system.
Tickets cost 40 yuan. Book through the official WeChat account. There are free guided tour slots, and admission is limited on public holidays.
Getting there: from Hunan University station on Metro Line 4, take Exit 2 and walk about 10 minutes through the Hunan University campus. The campus itself is also worth seeing, with its old red-brick teaching buildings and the Mao Zedong bronze statue square.
Suggested plan: arrive at 9am when the academy opens, and spend one to one and a half hours here before leaving by the back gate to climb Yuelu Mountain.
Tips: this is a protected historic building, so do not touch the stone inscriptions. Groups are heavy on holiday mornings, while weekdays are quieter.
Opening hours
08:00–18:00 (until 17:30 in winter)
Nearby sights
- Hunan University
- Yuelu Mountain
- Former Site of Xinmin Society
- Houhu International Art Park
- Orange Isle
- Former Site of Hunan First Normal School
- Taiping Old Street
- Pozi Street, Huogongdian & Wenheyou