Covering an area of more than 3,000 square meters, Lianxi Academy, with horse-head walls, cornices, brick carvings, wood carvings, stone carvings and color carvings, integrates neo-Confucianism and ancient folk houses of southern Hunan style. 

 

In ancient times, Chenzhou was an isolated and less-populated place, far from the Central Plains. The lotus blossoms here were planted by Zhou Dunyi.

 

 

In 1046 during the Qingli Period, the sixth year of Emperor Renzong’s reign in Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi became the magistrate of Chenxian County. He successively served as the county magistrate of Guiyang County (now Rucheng County) and the commander of Chenzhou Army. He was a court official who served in Chen County for the longest time and had good political achievements.

 

Zhou Dunyi created his most influential work “Ode to the Lotus Flower” in Chen County. In Chenzhou, the local story about him has been spread since ancient times. It is said that Zhou Dunyi loved lotus flowers, and he dug out a lotus pond where he worked and planted lotus flowers in his spare time.

 

“I love the lotus, which grows out of mud and does not stain; it is washed in fresh water but does not look flamboyant.” 

 

 

This 119-character essay describes the lotus’ immaculate purity and elegance. It also uses the lotus as a metaphor for a person of high moral character and as an expression of the writer’s lifelong ambition.

 

More than a hundred academies, including Lianxi Academy, have been built in memory of Zhou Dunyi throughout the country since the Southern Song Dynasty. 

 

 

Lianxi Academy in Rucheng County was founded in the thirteenth year of Emperor Ningzong’s reign of Song Dynasty (Jiading 1220), with a history of more than 800 years. Though it has undergone several changes, it still has been preserved until now.

 

Lianxi Academy is where the Neo-Confucianism began to sprouted and then grew into a gorgeous lotus flower. This is the root of culture.