Fenghu Academy

　　Fenghu Academy is now located within the scenic area of West Lake, Huizhou. In the 4th year of the Chunyou period of the Song Dynasty (1244), Zhao Ruyu, the governor of the region, established the Temple of the Twelve Scholars at Yingangling in the provincial city (near present-day Yinshan Building – Housuo Street area). In the 2nd year of the Baoyou period (1254), Governor Liu Kegang transformed it into Fenghu Academy. After numerous periods of prosperity and decline, it was relocated to West Lake during the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty (1694). Since the Minguo period, it has served as the site for Huizhou Middle School, Huizhou Normal School, Huiyang Teachers' College, and Huizhou University, marking it as a significant cultural landmark in Huizhou. In 2009, the municipal government allocated approximately 165 million yuan to relocate the Fenghu campus of Huizhou College and restore Fenghu Academy. The architectural complex includes the academy’s archway, the main building (comprising Shangzhi Pavilion, Lequn Hall, Gewu Study, Zhizhi Garden, Library Building), as well as Penglu Pavilion, Wenchang Tower, Chengguan Tower, Fengyu Pavilion, and a visitor center, with a total floor area of 4,967 square meters.
　　The academy preserves plaques and couplets written by Song Xiang in the 6th year of the Jiaqing period (1802). These are housed in the Library Building of Fenghu Academy. The plaque inscribed with the four characters “Fenghu Academy” is executed in semi-cursive script with raised carving, while the couplet, “Rich in culture like ancient Zou and Lu; Scenery akin to the fairylands of Penglai and Yingzhou,” is in regular script with recessed carving. (Song Xiang, courtesy name Huanxiang and art name Zhiwan, was a native of Jiaying Prefecture, present-day Meixian, Guangdong. He was an esteemed poet and calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty.) The stone plaque and carved couplet feature calligraphy that is solemn yet graceful, powerful and transcendent, with balanced and concise phrasing that aptly captures the spirit of the academy as a place of “outstanding people and a flourishing environment.” This plaque and stone carving serve as crucial historical artifacts for studying the calligraphy and couplets of Song Xiang, bearing significant historical and cultural value. In 1990, the stone plaque and carved couplet of Fenghu Academy were designated as protected cultural relics at the municipal and county levels.