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.

白鹿洞書院坐落在江西廬山的綠蔭懷抱中，是中國第一所擁有完整教育體系的學(xué)校。

相傳公元785年，學(xué)者李渤和他的哥哥李涉來此求學(xué)。他們養(yǎng)了一頭非常聰明的白鹿，它經(jīng)常幫助他們買紙張、書籍、毛筆和墨錠。多年后，當(dāng)李渤成為江州（今九江市）刺史時(shí)，他在此修建了一座臺(tái)榭，在山谷里種花，并以鹿的名字命名這個(gè)地方，以紀(jì)念兄弟倆曾經(jīng)努力學(xué)習(xí)的日子。

公元940年，臺(tái)榭被改造成一所學(xué)校，成為一所由政府贊助的教育機(jī)構(gòu)。但直到1179年，白鹿洞書院作為一個(gè)文化中心才開始嶄露頭角。

朱熹，最有影響力的儒家學(xué)者之一。有一天，他訪問書院，發(fā)現(xiàn)破敗的書院雜草叢生。作為當(dāng)時(shí)的南康郡（今廬山市）郡守，朱熹下令工人重建并擴(kuò)建了書院。

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(qǐng)教師，制定校規(guī)，招收學(xué)生，并為書院劃撥土地。幾年內(nèi)，白鹿洞書院成為中國最著名的教育機(jī)構(gòu)之一。它吸引了大批著名的哲學(xué)家、歷史學(xué)家和學(xué)者前來講學(xué)，培養(yǎng)了大批優(yōu)秀的學(xué)士。

書院的工作涉及書籍的收集和保存、宗教祭祀、課程和教學(xué)的開發(fā)等。他們的教學(xué)和管理方式對(duì)中國乃至日本、韓國和東南亞儒家思想的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)而持久的影響。

書院持續(xù)繁榮了8個(gè)世紀(jì)，盡管它在元朝末年的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中被毀，但在明清時(shí)期多次被重建和修繕。

學(xué)院于1903年關(guān)閉。辛亥革命后，一場(chǎng)大火燒毀了其中收藏的大部分書籍。

白鹿洞書院全盛時(shí)期有360多間特色建筑。如今，這里只剩下5座院落，以及約150座古代石刻雕塑，標(biāo)記著學(xué)院的輝煌歷史。

新中國成立后，白鹿洞書院得到了很好保護(hù)。它被列為全國重點(diǎn)文物保護(hù)單位和國家一級(jí)自然保護(hù)區(qū)。