White Deer Grotto Academy

"We arrived at White Deer Grotto Academy at after 4pm. Our guide told us during the Tang Dynasty, Scholar Li Bo and his brother lived in seclusion in a cave located at the foot of Wulao Peak of Mount Lu, surrounded by four mountains, deep and far away.

When Li Bo rose to prominence as the Governor of Jiangzhou (modern-day Jiujiang), he expanded this cave into a complex of study halls, libraries, and temples. Since Li Bo raised white deer for his own entertainment, he was known as Master White Deer thus the complex was named the White Deer Grotto. After Li’s death, it was tragically damaged during the collapse of the Tang Dynasty.

However in the later years, the Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi ( military governor of Nankang) of Southern Song Dynasty fully revived White Deer Grotto Academy, set academic rules and taught classes in person.

Considered as One of the 4 Academies in the Song Dynasty, the School was involved in the instruction, collection and preservation of books, religious sacrifices, development of curricula and lectures.

At the entrance, there is a plague on wall inscripted with schematic diagram and introduction of White Deer Grotto Academy.

Zhuzi Temple was constructed in honour of Zhu Xi and contains over 120 stone tablets, some of which were engraved with inscriptions by the philosopher himself.

The Academy continued to flourish for eight centuries and, though it was ruined during the civil wars and rebuild several times, there are still five compounds left with about 150 ancient stone-carved sculptures marking the school’s golden past.

Indeed rich in history, beautiful architecture, peaceful nature surrounding areas and so much more! Thus this academy is a national nature reserve, and an important scenic spot of Lushan "World Cultural Landscape”."

susan chow

"This was once a well known school in the ancient times, but it is quite run down now. Unless you happen to be in the area, it is not worth the trip!"

Tammy Liu

"One of the four great academies of the Song Dynasty, it was also the place where the Li brothers, Li Bo and Li Shizhen, lived in seclusion and studied during the Tang Dynasty. Li Bo kept white deer for his own amusement, hence the title "Master of the White Deer." Later, during the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi revived the academy, established its rules, and personally taught classes, making it a center of Confucian culture for over a thousand years."

洪秋月