Founded in 976 under the Northern Song, it was one of the Four Great Academies (四大书院) and taught for some nine hundred years. In 1903 it became a modern school, which grew into 湖南大学; the academy is part of the university today.
culture
Its gate carries the couplet 惟楚有材，于斯为盛, "Chu alone has such talent, and here it flourishes most", a line Hunan people quote with pride.
