A thousand-year academy on a university campus
Yuelu Academy stands on the west bank of the Xiang River, at the eastern foot of Yuelu Mountain, and is now part of the Hunan University campus. In 976, the ninth year of the Kaibao era of the Northern Song, Zhu Dong, prefect of Tanzhou, founded the academy with five lecture halls and fifty-two dormitory rooms. In 1903 it became Hunan Higher School, and in 1926 it took the name Hunan University, so the academy's teaching tradition and the university campus lie on the same ground.
Visitors enter by the right gate (the front gate) or the west gate. The official route runs from the Hexi Terrace through the main gate, second gate and lecture hall to the Imperial Book Tower and the Dacheng Hall, with optional side shrines, gardens and stele corridors. Above the main gate hangs the “Yuelu Academy” plaque, flanked by the couplet “Chu has no lack of talent; here it flourishes”, the academy's most photographed spot. Walk the central axis first, then return along the side courtyards and dormitories; turning into a side courtyard at once tends to lose the clear order of the complex.
The lecture hall: plaques, steles and the Zhu-Zhang debate
The lecture hall sits at the centre of the axis and was where classes and major ceremonies took place. Under the eaves hangs the “seek truth from facts” plaque, which headmaster Bin Bucheng adopted as the school motto when the Hunan Public Industrial School moved into the academy in 1917. Inside, above, are the Kangxi and Qianlong imperial plaques “学达性天” and “道南正脉”; the side walls hold large-character steles reading “loyalty, filial piety, integrity, chastity” and “order and seriousness”.
In 1167, the third year of the Qiandao era of the Southern Song, Zhu Xi came from Fujian to Changsha and debated the Doctrine of the Mean with Zhang Shi, the academy's head, setting a precedent for debate between different schools in the history of Chinese academies. In 1194 Zhu Xi, then Hunan's military commissioner, rebuilt the academy and came to lecture. Today the point of the lecture hall is not to look for the original classroom but to see how these plaques and steles fixed a scholarly tradition in the building.
The Imperial Book Tower, Confucian temple and rear garden
Behind the lecture hall is the Imperial Book Tower. A book tower stood behind the lecture hall from the academy's early years and was called the Imperial Book Pavilion after Emperor Zhenzong granted books; in 1687, the twenty-sixth year of the Kangxi era, Governor Ding Sikong built the present tower on this site. The current building was rebuilt in the 1980s in Song style and still closes the central axis. Beyond it is the Confucian temple, the Dacheng Hall.
Dormitories, shrines and stele corridors line both sides of the axis, and around Baiquan Pavilion there are ponds, covered walkways and trees. After the main halls, circle back to the gate through a side courtyard: from under the side corridors the relationship between roofs, white walls and tree shadows is clearer than on the axis. If time allows only the main line, do not skip the Imperial Book Tower and the Confucian temple; they are the physical counterparts of the academy's three functions of teaching, storing books and sacrifice.
Getting there, booking and how long to stay
From November to April the academy opens at 7:50, stops selling tickets at 17:00 and closes at 17:30; from May to October it opens at 7:50, stops selling at 17:30 and closes at 18:00. Entry stops 20 minutes before closing, and it usually closes for three days at Spring Festival. A full ticket is 40 yuan, half price 20 yuan. Visitors from outside mainland China can book with a passport, but must reserve in real name through the “Yuelu Academy” WeChat account four days ahead (including the same day); without a booking entry is refused, and discounted and free-ticket visitors must also book. Hours, prices and booking rules change, so check the academy's notice again before you go.
Take metro Line 4 to Hunan University station, leave by Exit 4 and walk about 650 metres towards Yuelu Mountain. The academy has no dedicated car park, so public transport is easier. Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours for the axis and side courtyards; if you continue to Aiwan Pavilion and Yuelu Mountain, half a day is better. Just after opening and late afternoon are relatively quiet; when tour groups arrive, the lecture hall and Imperial Book Tower get crowded.
Useful official references
Check the relevant official service before making arrangements. These links are references, not a guarantee of current services.
