When did the architecture of the academy originate?

Shuyuan first appeared in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, is outside the official school system, on the basis of the traditional private schools, by the community to raise funds to create a kind of education system. It had its own system of lectures, book collections, and sacrificial offerings, which made up for the shortcomings of the official schools.

The dominant position of Confucian culture was established very early in ancient China, while the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism spread more widely and had deeper influence, and were also valued and utilized by the ruling class in successive generations, thus forming the traditional cultural characteristics of Confucianism as the main religion, and Buddhism and Taoism as the supplementary religions. In the process of both struggle and integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, around the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), in order to compete with the flourishing Buddhist Taoism, Confucianism absorbed the spirit of Buddhist Zen Buddhism to enrich the philosophical theories of Confucianism, giving rise to Neo-Confucianism - Rigaku - and the formation of different Confucian schools of thought. This gave rise to Neo-Confucianism - Rigaku - and led to debates, consultations, and exchanges between different schools of Confucianism. The academies adapted to the needs of this situation and became the cradle and development base of Rigaku. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the hosts of the "four great academies" (Yuelu, Bailudong, Lize, Xiangshan), such as Zhang (bark), Zhu Xi, Lu Zuqian, and Lu Jiuyuan, represented the Huxiang, Min, Wu, Xiangshan and other schools of science respectively.

The development of the Ming Dynasty Shuyuan was very tortuous. To Wang (Wang Yangming) school, Zhan (Zhan Ruoshui) school rose, they vigorously develop the academy, the academy building had a brief boom. At the same time, there are Taishan, Donglin and other schools of thought to correct the bias of Wang's school, especially the Donglin school, they discuss current affairs, involved in political struggles, occupies an important position in Chinese history.

The academy had several ups and downs, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was finally replaced by the modern government-run academy, which became the foundation of the later schools, and the academy system formally came to an end.

The academy has always been a place for literati to gather and lecture, and it was mostly built by famous scholars, so the architecture of the academy reflected the way of thinking, lifestyle and aesthetics of the ancient Chinese intellectuals. Traditional thinking in the "unity of man and nature" is the highest state, that is, the unity of man and nature, the construction of the academy attaches importance to the choice of the environment, advocating the combination of natural conditions in accordance with local conditions, or highlight the spatial changes along the longitudinal axis, or multiple axes side by side to expand horizontally, and the architectural layout of the building is also more flexible and free. At the same time, the rationalists are influenced by Buddhism and Taoism, pay attention to the cultivation of the mind, transcendentalism, the pursuit of "calm to brighten the mind, quiet to the far-reaching" realm, often built in the beautiful mountains and beautiful tourist attractions of the academy.

Scholarship buildings reflect the idea of "ritual and music", they are bound by the traditional idea of ritual, most of the central axis of symmetry, the layout of the regular; at the same time, the use of the size of the courtyard, garden space, corridors, open halls, such as the sparse and dense changes in the building with the topography of the height of the staggered, reflecting the people and buildings, man and nature between the The harmony of "joy". Lecture hall is the main place on the central axis, generally three to five rooms, arranged in the center of the academy. There is a spacious courtyard in front of the hall, on the one hand, highlighting its main position, on the other hand, can also expand the space. Bookstore is another important part of the academy, generally two to three floors of the pavilion, in the back of the academy or another courtyard, a quiet environment. The hall or shrine for worship is dedicated to the school masters, the famous head of the mountain (President), but also local sages, a few academies also set up a Confucian temple and the academy side by side. In addition to the main building, there is a small courtyard where the head of the mountain lives, as well as the students' lodging houses, in addition to more than a mountain pool garden; later by the influence of the official school, some colleges and universities with the establishment of the Supervisory College, Lecture Hall, shooting nursery, test shed, and so on.

Ancient Chinese literati usually opposed to the luxury of earth and wood, advocating simplicity of the wind. The academy buildings absorb the characteristics and practices of folk architecture, the pursuit of simple and natural beauty, the scale in line with the needs of people's lives, and do not give carving, light colors, natural and subtle, and official buildings (such as palaces) the opposite of the majestic and magnificent. Deep cultural connotation is their unique artistic characteristics, carved monuments and stones, writing plaques and other ways to highlight the elegant mood of the academy building. So far, China still exists in Yuelu Academy, White Deer Cave Academy, Songyang Academy, Wufeng Academy, Donglin Academy and other dozens of academy complexes.