Songyang Academy, Henan | Ancient Chinese higher education institution

Songyang Academy, one of the four major academies of the Northern Song Dynasty, where Zhu Xi, Fan Zhongyan, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Sima Guang and others once lectured. Volumes 9-21 of the 'Zizhi Tongjian' were also completed at Songyang Academy. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, visited Mount Song, he saw the cypress trees with flourishing branches and leaves. The 'General' and 'Second General' among the three cypress trees he sealed are still standing in the academy, but the largest 'Third General' is no longer there, hence the idiom 'First come, first served' was left here. The story of Cheng Men standing in the snow also happened here. The architectural layout of Songyang Academy maintains the architectural layout of the Qing Dynasty, with more than 500 existing halls and rooms. The central axis buildings are divided into five courtyards, from south to north, they are the main gate, the first sage hall, the lecture hall, the Taoist temple and the library; the side rooms on both sides of the central axis are all hard mountain-style buildings, including Cheng Zhu Temple, Lize Hall, Boyue Zhai, Stele Corridor, etc., preserving 26 Qing Dynasty buildings with 108 rooms. On June 25, 2001, Songyang Academy was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. On August 1, 2010, the historical architectural complex of Dengfeng, including Songyang Academy, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage.