Songyang Academy

At the foot of Song Mountain where Shaolin Temple as the cradle-land of Chinese Kungfu is located, Songyang Academy is one of Four Well-known Academies in Song Dynasty. It was built in 484 and called Songyang Temple. It has a history of about 1, 000 years. Many emperors came here in a tour of inspection. In Song Dynasty, It begun being famous when Cheng Hao and Cheng Yu, the representatives of Neo-Confucianism and the creators of Theory of Luo (it is said to be one of the origins of Taiji Kungfu), made speeches here. From then on, Songyang Academy became one of the origin lands of Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty. In Qing Dynasty, Songyang Academy was rebuilt. It is leveled with Yue Lu Academy of Hunan Province, White-Deer Grotto Academy in Jiangxi Province and Yingtian Academy in Henan Province.

Songyang Academy once brought up a lot of historic figures and attracted many famous scholars or masters came here to make lectures such as Si Maguang, Fan Zhongyian, Chen Yi and Chen Hao. The number of students at Songyang Academy reaches hundreds of people.

The Pagoda at the backyard of Songyang Academy was built in 520 AD, Northern Wei Dynasty with 15 floors, 40m high. It is the existent oldest pagoda with 12 sides. The Junji Mountain, the main hill of Song Mountain, is the main scenic spot at Song Mountain 1492m high. Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796), Ch'ing Dynasty came here in a tour of inspection and wrote: “Every fantastic scenic spot presents when I stand on the peak!" There is also the poem related to Junji Mountion by a most poet Fan Zhongyian: "You couldn't know so large the world unless you tour the Junji Mountain!" Nowadays, you could enjoy the scenic spots on the way to Songyang Academy and Junji Mountain, much easier than before. It takes you 4 hours mounting Junji Mountain.

As one of ancient holy lands of Chinese education and Confucianism education center, Songyang Academy deserves tour, over here, visitors can truly feel the environment of ancient education and imagine how the ancestors read and write.