Zhongde’an Study

Zhongde’an Study

Yuyan Academy is formerly known as Zhongde’an Study that was built by Zhong Suihe, the earliest ancestor of the Zhong family in Luogang for their children to study in. Zhong Yuyan, the son of Suihe and Cui Yuzhi, a student of Suihe, studied here when they were at a young age. Both of them became “jinshi”, and they were respected for their virtue and knowledge. Cui Yuzhi advanced farthest in his career to serve as prime minister while Zhong Yuyan central secretariat and grand master of court discussion. Zhongde’an Study underwent renovations and extensions by later clansmen, and formed what it is today till the late Qing. It was named “Luokeng Abode”, and then renamed “Yuyan Academy” in the Yuan. In the mid and late Ming Dynasty, as the imperial court banned and destroyed academies four times, the Zhong clansmen invited monks to manage the academy and change its name to “Luofeng Temple” to protect Yuyan Academy, but scholar gathering activity still continued. When the PRC was founded, Yuyan Academy was run by the government.