Long before there were universities in Europe, Chinese scholars gathered at academies in quiet places to read, argue and teach, and the Songyang Academy at the foot of Mount Song was one of the four great ones of the Song dynasty. It began life as a Buddhist temple and a Daoist retreat, and in the eleventh century it was turned into a school. Its most famous teachers were the brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, who helped shape the school of thought called Neo-Confucianism. The buildings you see today are mostly later rebuildings, in the Ming and Qing styles, with courtyards and halls in grey brick and tile.
The best thing about the Academy is its trees. Two ancient cypresses stand in the grounds, thick and gnarled, said to date from the Han dynasty or earlier, and the Emperor Wu of Han is said to have named them. Whether the legend is true, they are old, and their shapes are very beautiful in morning light. The academy is part of the Dengfeng monuments listed by UNESCO, together with the Shaolin Monastery, the Zhongyue Temple and the Han gates nearby.
The setting is typical for the Song mountains. Limestone slopes rise behind, planted with walnut and persimmon, and paths wind up into the hills to lookout points and small temples. The roads around Dengfeng are well paved, with tight bends as they climb toward the high villages, but foreign visitors face considerable hurdles to ride in China, with local licences, plates and permits required. Many people hire a driver or take the local buses. Spring and autumn give the clearest views. Summer brings heat and storms, and winter can be cold, with snow in the hills.
Songyang is a town of some sixty thousand people, only three kilometres away, with fuel, shops, small hotels and plenty of noodle restaurants. Try the local steamed buns, mutton soup and flat bread. The academy is quieter than neighbouring Shaolin, which gets thick crowds, so it makes an excellent early morning stop. Tickets are inexpensive, and combination tickets with other monuments are sometimes offered. Wear sturdy shoes for the paths and carry water.