Academy is the gathering place of China ancient culture essence, and it is the place where scholars study classics and explore the way of self-cultivation and governing the country, so they should be prepared. Masters also give lectures here and expound academic opinions. Local academies generally play the role of educating one party's etiquette and morality. Couplets are an important part of the tangible culture of the academy, and a pair of couplets with profound meanings and exquisite words is often the crowning touch of an academy. Wandering in the ancient academy, such beautiful couplets can be described as dazzling.

Most of the couplets in the academy are integrated with the local cultural environment.

For example, Liyang Academy in Lixian County, Hunan Province has Li Anyun:

"So the old said Song Yu, qu yuan. Since the Six Classics, SAO altar has been influential; Dajiang walked over the mountains, waded through the water, walked nine miles and learned the sea. "

This couplet is based on the famous Chu poets Qu Yuan and Song Yu. The famous "Longgang Academy" in Guizhou in the Ming Dynasty was later changed to Yangming Temple, and the name of the academy was still written. In the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Wang Wencheng Gongci, and there were two couplets inscribed by Luo Raodian, Guizhou's political envoy:

"I stayed late for three years, and Gu Shan in the cave was full of joy. I realized that Wei was a generalist. " ( 1)

"Thirteen counties are rich in humanities, which is fundamental. Five hundred years of orthodoxy was inherited by the teacher. " (2)

Another example is Guishan Academy in Qing Dynasty, which was renamed Yangming Academy during Yongzheng period. When Guangxu VI (1880) was rebuilt, Yu Ying, the governor of Guizhou, wrote a couplet:

"Great responsibility comes from hard work. May you all take the world as your own responsibility. Reward is made in Juheng, and the effect of philosophy does not forget the inner conscience. "

These couplets are all based on Wang Yangming, a great philosopher who was relegated to Longchang Post in Guizhou in the Ming Dynasty to realize Taoism. There is a couplet in Shouyang Academy in Yangshuo, Guangxi:

"The family name is arrogant, and there are people later, and the discussion is as straight as the ancestral temple; The landscape is the best in the world, why are you lucky to swim here? The paper monster is out of understanding of history. "

Among them, the first couplet tells the story of Cao Ye, the first scholar in Guilin history. Chronology of Tang Poems records that Cao Ye, a native of Guilin in Tang Dynasty, was a scholar for four years and wrote Ancestral Poems. In his early years, Xian Tong was a doctor in Taichang, specializing in national sacrificial ceremonies. At that time, Cao Ye was famous as a "straight man". The academy uses local celebrities as allusions, and also encourages students to inherit the excellent morality and knowledge of their ancestors. Another theme of academy couplets is to publicize one's school background and school philosophy, and to teach learning methods. For example, on the opening day of the famous Guangya Academy in Guangdong, Zhang Zhidong personally wrote a couplet for the "Innocent Hall" of the Academy:

"Respect what you hear, what you know, and the talents of Lingnan East Road and Lingnan West Road, as teachers and friends; Bo me with the text, beg me with the ceremony, learn the purpose of Han Confucianism, Song Confucianism, and create sages together. "

Connect the cloud for the Auditorium:

"Although it is not easy to be rich, it is not easy to be poor; It is high time to learn from the past, save time and maintain morality. "

Two couplets can be used as the "syllabus" of Guangya College. In the Qing Dynasty, it was the lecture hall of Yuelu Academy with the theme of broadmindedness.

"Right and wrong are judged by yourself, and reputation is heard by people. The gains and losses are counted, the top of Yuelu Mountain, the breeze in Lang Yue, and the Tai Chi leisurely; Why repay the kindness of relatives, why people's lives stand firm, and why sages preach? When you climb the micro sunrise platform, you will find yourself in the water. " It is an excellent motto about personal cultivation in ancient times.

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a couplet in Guilin Academy of Guangxi: "Scholars take the world as their responsibility; I can be an upright wizard. A broad context can stimulate students' fighting spirit. "

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a couplet in Aofeng Academy in Fujian: "If you are true to yourself, you must pay attention to the spiritual world; There is no other way to deal with it, and we must try our best to widen the gap between justice and benefit. "

It's the tone that people who have experienced it tell them how to learn.

In the Qing Dynasty, Changsha Academy in Hunan Province had a couplet saying: "Archaeology proves today, and the application for heritage depends on the world; Worry first and then be happy, and be interested in being a scholar. "

It is an excellent couplet about learning attitude and purpose.

Hubei two lakes academy has a cloud: "Jingheng is delicate; The legacy of Zou Lu. "

Hunan Yuelu Academy has two couplets inscribed by Luodian in the Qing Dynasty: "The land is connected with Hengxiang, and Daze Mountain is covered with dragons and tigers; Studying in Zou Lu, Li Men Louis Saint Heart. "There is a couplet in Yueping Academy in Hengyang, Hunan Province:" The region is connected with Xiaoxiang, Heng Yue, which is different from Zhongying Street; Everyone has the same courtesy, righteousness and shame, and knowledge remains unchanged. "

The three couplets have similar ideas, all of which are to carry forward the outstanding local people and Confucian traditions.

In addition, there are many academy couplets that flaunt the inheritance of ancestral academies. For example, Nanjing Academy in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, has a couplet written by Huang Fangfang:

"Lin Donghui is famous for giving lectures; The hero of the south is in this group. "

There is also a couplet written by Huang Yizhou: "Seventy scholars and six arts are proficient, and the text is traced back, and the north must not precede Wu Hui; The 900-mile-long regiment is full of talents and manners, which is nothing. After Lindong, there is Junshan. " With the theme of inheriting the heritage of the neighboring Donglin Academy (located in Wuxi in the Ming Dynasty), Erlian has great confidence in the local cultural traditions.

Another example is Wang Minyun writing couplets for Chuanshan Academy in Hengyang, Hunan:

"Haijiang returned to the Kaiwen field in Japan, and it should be noted that the geese spread the scriptures, and South Vietnam helped the orthodoxy for thousands of years; Shigu inherited the Song School, and became friends with Zhong Hua, serving Xiao Shao as a Nine-member Society. " Among them, "Shigu Zongfeng" refers to the famous Shigu Academy.

Zhang Zhidong wrote couplets for Qingjiatang of Guangya Academy;

"Pretend that the porch window is green; Answer the string. "

This couplet is selected from Zhu's poems, including his appreciation of Zhu's restoration and development of Bailudong Academy. The couplets in the academy are more like colorful but mottled pictures, which contain the changes of historical images for a hundred years and the accumulation of China's humanistic thoughts for thousands of years. After reading them, they are memorable.