Chonggu Guanshan Academy

Chonggu Guanshan Academy stands atop Guanshan Mountain in the southwest of Pingding County seat, Shanxi Province. It is a well-known scenic spot in Pingding County.

The exact founding year of the academy remains unknown. It was reconstructed by Sun Yu, a senior civil official, in the eleventh year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1806). Facing east with its back to the west, the academy nestles halfway up Guanshan Mountain between hills and valleys. Following the terrain, it is divided into an upper courtyard and a lower courtyard, covering a total area of 737 square metres.

On the terrace facing the inner courtyard stand five west-facing cave dwellings. The central one, with one bright main room flanked by two dark side rooms, is named Chonggu Cave. Beneath the terrace are three south-facing caves. Embedded in the wall of the middle cave are sixteen stone slabs carved with five-character poems copied from Liu Gongquan’s Mysterious Pagoda Inscription. The horizontal tablet above the cave doorway bears the inscription "Broad Pursuit of Learning". The three north-facing caves are inscribed with "New Virtue", also laid out as one bright room with two dark rooms.

The outer courtyard contains one cave dwelling used as living quarters for the academy servants. It looks like a tiled house from the outside but is a cave inside, warm in winter and cool in summer.

Beneath the terrace in the inner courtyard stands a stone stele from the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, inscribed with a poem Visiting the Former Academy Site of Minister Lü on a Snowy Day by Minister Qiao Yu: Braving snow I climb the lofty ridges and towering hills; Guanshan Mountain lies far beyond the floating white clouds. Pine roots twist and stretch deep beneath the earth; Flowers bloom faintly as if from celestial spheres. I tread the steep path seeking the hermit’s grotto; I climb the heights to reach the old reading terrace. I have long admired this worthy native of our hometown; Let not his footprints be lost amid wild weeds.

When I was a child, I often heard elders tell old tales. It was said that when Minister Qiao studied on Guanshan Mountain, a fox spirit came to accompany him late at night. Beneath the pale starlight and moonlight, he studied hard by a solitary oil lamp. Whenever he suffered from hunger and thirst in the stillness of midnight, a fairy maiden would drift over amid the rustling pines to keep him company. She would offer a bright pearl to quench his hunger and thirst. Eager to pursue official success, Minister Qiao feared being trapped in romantic love. He cut off all ties with the fox spirit. Heartbroken, the maiden hanged herself on an ancient crooked pine tree. These beautiful legends filled my childhood with countless mysterious fantasies