Changsha, the capital city of Hunan, is a famous historical city in the Yangtze River Basin. It is located in the hinterland of ancient Jingzhou and the capital of ancient Changsha State. There are many scenic spots and historic sites here. Although the reporter has traveled back and forth to this beautiful city many times, relatively speaking, there are two places that left a deep impression on the reporter. One is the Yuelu Academy, which is rich in rich cultural heritage, and the other is located on the Xiangjiang River. Dufujiang Pavilion, a cultural landscape on the bank.

Yuelu Academy (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

I remember that when I came to Changsha for the third time in mid-April 2008, the Yuelu Academy, which reporters had been waiting for for a long time, but had never visited due to some strange circumstances, actually allowed reporters to stay at the Lushan Hotel not far from the Academy. I was able to visit twice in three days. Therefore, he also left a very deep impression.

The plaque of Yuelu Academy (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Yuelu Academy in Changsha, Hunan Province, located on the campus of Hunan University, is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is known as the four ancient academies in the Northern Song Dynasty in China, together with Bailudong Academy in Jiangxi Province, Songyang Academy in Henan Province, and Yingtian Academy.

Tourists are full of weaving (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Yuelu Academy was founded in the ninth year of Kaibao of the Northern Song Dynasty (976). Later, it went through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, until the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty (1903) was transformed into Hunan Higher Education Institute, and then successively transformed into Hunan Normal School and Hunan Industrial Specialized School. In 1926, it was officially named Hunan University. It has gone through thousands of years, with endless singing, so it is called the "Millennium University". Since its establishment, Yuelu Academy has been famous around the world for its running schools and disseminating academic culture.

Dachengmen (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

On the morning of April 17, reporters drove not far into the walled Hunan University campus. They could see a crowd of people in front of a gate facing west and east with the plaque of "Millennium Academy" hung on the lintel. This is Yuelu Academy. This Yuelu Academy, located between the clear streams and lush forests of Yuelu Mountain, covers an area of 21000 square meters. Most of the existing buildings are relics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Ji Quanting (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The main buildings of Yuelu Academy include Toumen, Second Gates, Lecture Hall, Banxue Zhai, Teaching Zhai, Baiquan Xuan, Yushu Tower, Xiangshui School Sutra Hall, Confucian Temple, etc. It is divided into three major parts: lectures, books collection, and sacrifices. The parts are connected to each other and combined into a whole, completely showing the magnificent scene of ancient Chinese architecture.

Corner of the North Crossing Campus (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

It is no accident that over the past few hundred years, Yuelu Academy has produced talents and endured for a long time. Since the Qing Dynasty alone, the academy has cultivated more than 17000 students, including Tao Shu, Wei Yuan, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Guo Songtao, Tang Caichang, Shen Jin, Yang Changji, Cheng Qian, etc. Which one of them is not a first-class outstanding figure? Therefore, it can be said that no matter the root of establishing the academy, the foundation of life, the way of giving lectures, or the way of educating people, the academy has its greatness and magic.

Photo taken by Yuelu Academy (Photo: Sun Minghe)

Walking into the front door and entering the Yuelu Academy, you will face a large stage called the "Hexi Terrace." On the south side of the stage is a commemorative stone tablet of the "National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units" announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China in 1988. Climbing the Hexi Terrace, the two doors with the plaque of "Yuelu Academy" are in front of you.

He Xitai (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Hexi Terrace was originally built during the Southern Song Dynasty. In the third year of Qiandao (1167 AD), the famous Neo-Confucianism Zhu Xi came to Yuelu Academy from Fujian and had academic exchanges with another famous Neo-Confucianism at that time, the bishop of Yuelu Academy, Zhang Sha (acting as the chief of the mountain). The two famous scholars often met to climb Yuelu Mountain to watch the sunrise. Whenever they saw the rising sun shining brightly, Zhu Xi would say to Zhang Sha,"Hexi"(which means the sunrise is bright and prosperous). So he named the peak of Yuelu Peak, Zhang Sha built a platform, and Zhu Xi wrote "Hexi Terrace".

Inside the Second Gate of Yuelu Academy (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Bypass Heshi Terrace and enter the Second Gate. The "Lecture Hall" is directly opposite the spacious courtyard. As the core part of Yuelu Academy, the "Lecture Hall" is a place for teaching and holding major activities in the academy. The existing building dates from the 26th year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1687 AD).

Academy "Lecture Hall"(Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The four big characters on the building "Seeking Truth from Facts" written by Bin Bucheng, the principal of Hunan Industrial College, come from "The Biography of King Liu De in Hejian of Han Dynasty", which means proceeding from reality and drawing correct conclusions."Seeking truth from facts" gave young Mao Zedong Thought The formation had a major impact. In the later revolutionary practice, Comrade Mao Zedong gradually enriched and developed the connotation of seeking truth from facts and became the essence of Mao Zedong Thought. This is also the greatest contribution of Yuelu Academy culture to the modern Chinese revolution.

Traditional sacrificial activities (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There are two gold-plated wooden plaques hanging in the center of the lecture hall. The first one is the plaque "Learning to Achieve Nature". This plaque was given by the emperor in the 26th year of Kangxi (1687 AD), which means that by studying Neo-Confucianism, one can restore nature and achieve the unity of nature and nature. The point of unity between nature and nature. This plaque shows that Yuelu Academy uses Neo-Confucianism as a school tradition. If you study here, you can reach the highest level of knowledge. The second plaque is the "Daonan Zhengmai" plaque. This plaque was awarded by the emperor in the eighth year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1743), which means that the Zhuzhang Huxiang School spread by the Yuelu Academy was orthodox after Neo-Confucianism spread to the south. This plaque spoke highly of the academy's status in spreading Neo-Confucianism.

Back Garden (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the center of the lecture hall is a rectangular timing altar about 1 meter high. This was where teachers used to give lectures. There were two carved mahogany chairs on the lecture hall. These were used by Zhu Xi and Zhang Sha, the masters of Confucianism on both sides of the day. Zhu Zhanghui said that the grand occasion was unprecedented,"When the horse drinks, the pool water will run out immediately. If you stop, you will block the road." On the right side of the lecture hall is the Xiangshui Lecture Hall, and on the left side are scenic spots such as Baiquan Xuan.

Garden landscape (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the lecture hall, Director Li Jinsong of Hunan University, who accompanied the visit, pointed to a stone carving on the wall protected by glass and told reporters: This is the "academic rules" of Yuelu Academy. The academic rules of this thousand-year-old institution are particularly attractive to tourists who come to visit the academy, and many of them copy them down one by one for valuable information.

Royal Book Tower (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

After passing through the lecture hall, a unique and self-contained courtyard appears to the tourists as if "there is no road in the mountains and rivers, and another village in the dark willows and flowers." On the front is a three-story pavilion building, located at the end of the central axis. It sits on the west and views the entire academy. This is the ancient library-the Imperial Book Tower.

Lushan Temple Monument (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The Imperial Book Tower was built in the second year of Xianping of the Song Dynasty (999 AD). It was originally called the Book Tower. Later, it was built and destroyed repeatedly. The address was relocated to several places, and the name was also changed to Sutra Pavilion and Zunjing Pavilion. The Imperial Book Tower was a larger private library in the Qing Dynasty. It contained more than 20,000 volumes at its peak. It had regulations for collecting books and was managed scientifically and strictly.

The quiet Confucian Temple (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Yuelu Academy is huge in scale, and on the south side of the Imperial Book Tower is a beautiful back garden. The garden landscape here is very southern. Dense bamboo forests, pavilions and watersides, flying fish and leaping, and flowers. The yellow Lushan Temple Monument is looming on the towering hillside amidst the shade of green trees. Only by walking close can you see its true appearance clearly.

Portrait of Confucius performing teaching (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

To the north of the Imperial Book Tower is the quiet Confucian Temple. This is the largest and highest architectural specification academy Confucian Temple in the country. According to the ancient Chinese education system, Confucius was sacrificed wherever schools were run. The buildings that worshipped Confucius were collectively called Confucian temples, or Confucian temples. Government-run academies could have independent Confucian temples, and the buildings could enjoy the hierarchical treatment of royal buildings. Private academies could only build a hall in the academy to worship Confucius, and there could be no independent Confucian temples. However, Yuelu Academy, a privately owned academy, has an independent Confucian Temple and is of the level of royal architecture, which is unique among academies in the country.

Yuelu Mountain Scenic Area (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The back door out of Yuelu Academy is the Yuelu Mountain Scenic Area. The landscape of Yuelu Mountain consists of two parts: natural scenery and cultural landscape. Natural scenery accounts for the four words of wonder, treasure, tranquility and beauty. Yuelu Mountain is beautiful all year round, with beautiful snow in winter and beautiful spring flowers. When autumn comes, not only the beauty you see in your eyes, but even the food is beautiful. Pomegranate, chestnut, tangerine, wild jujube, and uneatable red leaves are even more beautiful. In the cultural landscape, especially the famous line of Du Mu, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty,"Parking and sitting in the maple forest at night, the frost leaves are redder than the flowers in February", makes the "Love Evening Pavilion" inscribed by the great man Mao Zedong particularly famous in the scenic area.

Photo taken at Aiwanting (Photo: Sun Minghe)

Visiting Yuelu Academy makes people involuntarily feel sublimated from the profound cultural heritage here. A feature film introducing Chinese academies puts it well: Looking at the history of Chinese culture, academies like Yuelu Academy are really "the only one". They integrate heaven, earth, popularity, and culture. They have countless people and flourished for thousands of years. This is a blessing for Chinese culture and for Hunan people. It is no exaggeration to say that it is precisely because of the direct or indirect influence and power of this academy that Hunan's "heroes of prosperity" are so dense and prosperous...

Changsha Street View (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Speaking of Du Fujiang Pavilion in Changsha, it was also the reporter's trip to Changsha on September 4, 2017 when he accompanied the Beijing Car Racing Team after an 11-hour drive from Hefei, Anhui. On the morning of September 5, the reporter and car driver Fu Qian drove the leading command car and drove away from the Huacheng Hotel in Changsha, Hunan Province, where they stayed, and went to the Juzizhou Tau and Dufu Jiangge Scenic Areas on the bank of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha.

Overlooking Du Fujiang Pavilion (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In summary, this is the sixth time that the reporter has visited Changsha during this trip, but it is the first time that he has visited Du Fujiang Pavilion. This building was built in memory of Du Fu. It is located on the Xiangjiang River scenery belt where Xihu Road and Xiangjiang Avenue intersect in Changsha. It forms a cultural belt with Tianxin Pavilion, Yuelu Mountain Road Forest Second Temple and Yuelu Academy. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, some literati and celebrities in Changsha proposed to build a river pavilion, a poetry stele, and a statue for Du Fu to commemorate the poet.

Du Fujiang Pavilion (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

History records that in the autumn of the third year of the Dali Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu and Wei were transferred to the governor of Tanzhou. When Wei died, he lived in Changsha because he was poor and sick. At first, he was just stationed in the boat and docked at Nanhu Port. The posthouse near the port is the place to welcome friends. Just when we bid farewell to Judge Liu, the poem said,"Old man Duling tied a boat in autumn and met Changsha Posthouse in his illness" and "One day, I will stay in the riverside and be in the old posthouse in Changsha." Later, he moved to Dianlou in Hunan, or in the Xiaoxien area of Changsha, calling himself "Jiangge."

Statue of Du Fu (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There is a poem "Jiangge is Embracing for Rain" that says,"The floors of the pavilions rely on thunder, and the sky is flooded with water", and the poem "Jiangge is sick and writes" that "The guests cook thin, and the river towers have clear pillows." In the Jiangge, Du Yujiang once met Su Huan, and there was a poem "Present Su Huan to the Imperial Court" that said,"The gate of the Ding King of Maozhai City, the market of the old fishermen merchants of Chu"; he also met Li Guinian, and a poem said: "It is common to see you in the house of King Qi, but I heard you several times in front of Cui Jiutang. It is a beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, and I meet you again when the flowers fall." The ruins of Jiangge no longer exist, but now they have to be rebuilt on the original site.

Overlooking Jiangge (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Du Fu, the poet saint, stopped in Changsha twice in his later years. He lived in Jiangge and left more than 50 poems in Changsha. In memory of this great realist poet and world cultural celebrity loved by people of all ages, the Changsha City People's Government built Du Fujiang Pavilion in the Xiangjiang River Scenic Belt. Du Fujiang Pavilion was Du Fu's residence in Hunan for a long time. It was a point of convergence between Huxiang culture and Du Fu's all-round contact, and an indissoluble bond with Du Fu.

Looking at Xiangjiang River from Jiangge (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Du Fu Memorial Hall faces Xiangjiang Avenue in the east, with square steps in front of the entrance; the west faces Xiangjiang River, the main building is 5 meters away from the Xiangjiang River embankment, and the first-floor terrace floats 5 meters above the Xiangjiang River. The north and south corridor of Du Fu Jiang Pavilion is a poetry stele corridor. Stone tablets are erected on both sides of the pillars to carve Du Fu's poems for people to learn. The poetry stele corridor has fan corridors and curved corridors, and stone tablets are dotted. A hexagonal stele pavilion with double eaves roofs is planned to be arranged in the north of Dufujiang Pavilion, and a monument is erected in the pavilion, which records the origin and process of the construction of Dufujiang Pavilion by the Changsha City Government.

On the bank of Xiangjiang River (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

A square pavilion is built on the roadside of the pedestrian passage of Xiangjiang Avenue in the south of Dufujiang Pavilion. It is connected to the Poetry Stele Corridor and is the secondary entrance of Dufujiang Pavilion. The square pavilion has a single-layer roof and four slopes. The Jiangge is a four-story building. The height from the outdoor ground (river embankment ground) to the bottom of the cornice is 15.9 meters, and the height from the roof ridge is about 19.5 meters.

Xiangjiang River Night (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The first floor of the building is a poetry, calligraphy and painting souvenir shop, and the second floor is the Du Fu Memorial Hall. The museum is centered on the statue of Du Fu. The exterior wall is 2.1 meters high with high windows. The real wall uses paintings to introduce the poet's life. The third and fourth floors are poetry and painting clubs, which collect celebrities and scholars to meet poetry and painting.

Xiangjiang River Night (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The facade of the building is in the form of traditional Chinese imitation of Tang Dynasty, with vermilion columns, antique grille windows, and white walls. The colonnade step railings are made of moire stone pillars and stone panel railings. The roof is on the top of the mountain, with eaves at the far end, and the green and black tube tiles are curved and the curve is stretched, reflecting the basic characteristics of the Tang Dynasty architecture of simplicity, majesty and thickness. The east and west facades facing Xiangjiang Avenue and Xiangjiang River are both main facades. They stand horizontally and horizontally under the roof cornice, with the four characters "Du Fujiang Pavilion" written on it.

Photo taken in Xiangjiang River (Photo: Fu Qian)

The Calligraphy Stele Corridor is part of Du Fujiang Pavilion and was written by famous national calligraphers Shen Peng, Li Duo, Yan Jialong, Li Li, He Manzong and others. Du Fu wrote more than 100 works in Hunan in his later years. Since he was alive for 59 years, only 59 works were selected to commemorate him. Following the stairs, the reporter climbed the highest floor of Dufujiang Pavilion and came to the circular viewing corridor to overlook it. He had a panoramic view of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha. It was really beautiful...(Photo: Feng Ganyong)