Zhangzhou - Songzhou Academy

Songzhou Academy is located in Songzhou Village, Punan Town, Xiangcheng District, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province. It was founded in the second year of Jinglong reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty (708 AD) by the son of 'Kaizhang Shengwang' Chen Yuanguang. It is the sixth batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units in the province and is known as the 'First Academy of Fujian'. According to 'History of Education in China', the use of the name 'academy' for schools 'began with the Tang Dynasty's Lizheng Academy'. Historical records indicate that Songzhou Academy was established ten years earlier than Lizheng Academy in Hainan. Based on this, Songzhou Academy is presumed to be the earliest academy in China. Songzhou Academy and Songzhou Weihui Temple are integrated in architecture, forming a 'front temple and rear school' layout, grand in scale and majestic in appearance. Songzhou Academy was repeatedly renovated throughout the dynasties, maintaining the characteristic of 'temple and academy in one'. It was burned down during the Taiping Army's invasion of Zhangzhou in the third year of Tongzhi reign (1864) and later rebuilt. After liberation, it was used as a grain warehouse. It suffered severe damage during the Cultural Revolution. The layout of Songzhou Academy is a typical three-entry style, with the first two entries already collapsed. Scattered in the courtyard are exquisite Tang Dynasty stone carvings, such as stone lions, stone drums, stone pillars, stone inkstones, stone chairs, etc. The central hall's Sumi seat enshrines 'Kaizhang Shengwang' Chen Yuanguang (later his father Chen Zheng), with the dragon relief on the Sumi seat being simple in style, still bearing the engraved words 'Treasure Right Wuwu (1258) Dynasty Wang Hui made'. Below are the names of the leaders of 'Dynasty Wang Hui'. On the mottled wall behind the central hall, one can faintly discern an ancient painting with the words 'Romance of the West Chamber'. The east and west side halls enshrine the generals of Chen Yuanguang, with the beams and pillars finely carved. Some of the central beams are already decayed, posing a risk of collapse at any time. The rear hall is the newly renovated Songzhou Academy, with a wooden plaque hanging on the stone pillar reading 'Site of the Great Tang Songzhou Academy'.