Basic introduction to Jiaxiu Academy and Qingtian Stone

Jiaxiu Academy and Qingtian Stone are famous tourist destinations in Shanwei’s cultural landscape.

Jiaxiu Academy is located in the north gate of Jiazi Town, Lufeng County. Jiaxiu Academy was built in the Ming Dynasty and has always been a gathering place for literati from eastern Guangdong to give lectures. To this day, many stone tablets and carvings from past dynasties are still preserved in the courtyard. After liberation, the people's government set up a middle school here, which was a place for talents. Many provincial and municipal cadres and many backbones in various industries studied here.

The Qingtian Stone is located on the side of Jiaxiu Academy. It is a huge stone, standing tall and rising into the sky, with the spirit of soaring into the sky. On the waist of the boulder, there is a long banyan tree, which is intertwined, lush and full of vitality. It is said that practicing Qigong in front of the Qingtian Stone can develop Qingtian skills, so practicing Qigong with the Qingtian Stone behind has become a habit for many people. The Sky-holding Stone is five or six feet high and more than two feet wide. There is a four-character poem engraved on the bottom of the stone. The characters are as big as a bucket and are vigorous and powerful: "The sky opens, and the huge stone comes to the door. A thunderbolt shakes the universe." The rest of the poem is blurred due to weathering and moss erosion over the years.

There is also a magical legend about the Optimus Stone. According to legend, when the town was founded in Jiazi, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea, selected dozens of dazzling pearls from the Dragon Palace in order to pay his birthday to the Queen Mother and carried them away with Soaring Clouds. He was blocked by a cloud in mid-air, so he accidentally made a wrong step and somersaulted, and a gem fell. The gem fell to the north of Jiazi Town with a ding-dong sound, causing it to crack. After the gem fell to the ground, he was angry and ashamed that he could not see the Queen Mother. It grew vigorously and vowed to grow into the Sky Stone, and its luster slowly faded.

It happened that a golden phoenix flew by here. Seeing that this stone was extraordinary, it perched on the stone to rest and enjoy the scenery, and its feces dripped into the cracks of the stone. There was a banyan tree in the excrement. It used the excrement as soil, sprouted and took root, and it grew taller and taller. Seeing this, the boulder refused to yield to the banyan tree and insisted on being taller than the banyan tree. The banyan tree is also dissatisfied and secretly desires to be higher than the stone. They are not humble to each other and compete for the top. The banyan tree became angry, shook its trunk, and fell many banyan leaves. The banyan tree immediately ordered all the green leaf soldiers to fly to the heaven to complain. When the Jade Emperor heard this, he thought that the world would be created. Only trees are higher than rocks. There is no reason why rocks are higher than trees. Then he ordered the God of Thunder to hit the rocks quickly. From now on, Qingtianshi will no longer grow taller. Although the banyan tree can grow, it can only grow horizontally and slightly higher than the stone. The banyan tree worked hard and finally grew long branches and leaves, covering the ground with shade.