Canglang Mountain House in Zhuqiao Village, Jinxi, Jiangxi

Located at the top of Shijia Lane, Canglang Mountain House was the main academy of Zhuqiao, built by Yu Zhongxiang in the 23rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign. Covering about 80 square meters in a rectangular shape, it features meter-high stone foundation walls with carved stone windows. The stone plaque above the main gate is engraved with four bold characters reading "Canglang Mountain House." The lower hall is separated from the upper hall by a screen, with long side rooms on both sides of the courtyard serving as study rooms for male and female students. For better lighting, the courtyard was specifically designed in a vertical style. Above the doorway outside the building are two characters "Bai Shi" (Stone Worship), with an interesting addition of a dot in the character "Shi." Legend has it that the owner imitated Mi Fu, the great calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty, who was obsessed with stones and would bow to them as brothers. Another interpretation suggests that the added dot implies "turning stone into gold." To the rear left outside the house stands a two-story building housing a woodblock printing workshop and a book-drying tower. This building served both as a school for village students and as a woodblock printing workshop. It is now a key cultural relic site in Fuzhou City.

Post by VictoriaMcDermott99 | Mar 31, 2025