Bailudong Academy白鹿洞书院

Nestled in the gentle green arms of Lushan Mountain， Jiangxi Province， Bailudong Academy has long been recognized as Chinas first school with a complete education system.

It is said that in AD 785， scholar Li Bo and his elder brother Li She came here for study. They raised a white deer which was so clever that it often helped them buy paper， books， brushes and ink stick. Years later when promoted as the governor of Jiangzhou （todays Jiujiang City）， Li Bo set up a kiosk here， planted flowers in the valley and named the place after the deer to remember the days when the brothers studied hard.

In AD 940， the kiosk was renovated into a school and became an educational institution sponsored by the government. However， it wasnt until 1179 that Bailudong Academy started to shine as a center of culture.

Zhu Xi， one of the most influential Confucian scholars， visited the academy one day and found broken walls overgrown with weeds. As the governor of Nankangjun （todays Lushan City） at the time， Zhu ordered workers to rebuild and expand the academy.

白鹿洞书院坐落在江西庐山的绿荫怀抱中，是中国第一所拥有完整教育体系的学校。

相传公元785年，学者李渤和他的哥哥李涉来此求学。他们养了一头非常聪明的白鹿，它经常帮助他们买纸张、书籍、毛笔和墨锭。多年后，当李渤成为江州（今九江市）刺史时，他在此修建了一座台榭，在山谷里种花，并以鹿的名字命名这个地方，以纪念兄弟俩曾经努力学习的日子。

公元940年，台榭被改造成一所学校，成为一所由政府赞助的教育机构。但直到1179年，白鹿洞书院作为一个文化中心才开始崭露头角。

朱熹，最有影响力的儒家学者之一。有一天，他访问书院，发现破败的书院杂草丛生。作为当时的南康郡（今庐山市）郡守，朱熹下令工人重建并扩建了书院。

Zhu hired teachers， set down school rules， enrolled students and allocated land for the academy. Within years， Bailudong Academy became one of the most prominent education institutions in China. It attracted a steady flow of famous philosophers， historians and scholars who gave lectures and fostered a large number of outstanding graduates.

The school was involved in the collection and preservation of books， religious sacrifices， development of curricula and lectures. The way they taught students and managed the school had a profound and lasting influence on the development of Confucianism， not only in China but also in Japan， South Korea and Southeast Asia.

The academy continued to flourish for eight centuries and， though it was ruined during the wars in the last years of the Yuan dynasty， it was rebuilt and renovated several times in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The academy was shut down in 1903. And a big fire， after the 1911 Revolution， destroyed most of the books it had collected.

In its heyday， Bailudong Academy had more than 360 architectural features. Today there are only five compounds left， with about 150 ancient stone-carved sculptures marking the academys golden past.

After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China， Bailudong Academy was well protected. It was listed as a natural relics protection unit and a national first-class nature reserve.

朱熹聘請教师，制定校规，招收学生，并为书院划拨土地。几年内，白鹿洞书院成为中国最著名的教育机构之一。它吸引了大批著名的哲学家、历史学家和学者前来讲学，培养了大批优秀的学士。

书院的工作涉及书籍的收集和保存、宗教祭祀、课程和教学的开发等。他们的教学和管理方式对中国乃至日本、韩国和东南亚儒家思想的发展产生了深远而持久的影响。

书院持续繁荣了8个世纪，尽管它在元朝末年的战争中被毁，但在明清时期多次被重建和修缮。

学院于1903年关闭。辛亥革命后，一场大火烧毁了其中收藏的大部分书籍。

白鹿洞书院全盛时期有360多间特色建筑。如今，这里只剩下5座院落，以及约150座古代石刻雕塑，标记着学院的辉煌历史。

新中国成立后，白鹿洞书院得到了很好保护。它被列为全国重点文物保护单位和国家一级自然保护区。