Ming Chih University Introduction
The academies in Taiwan were established successively during the Qing Dynasty as local educational institutions. The "Mingzhi Academy," known as "Beitai Shouxue," is located at the intersection of Mingzhi Road Section 2 and Xinsheng Road. It was donated by Hu Zhuoyou, a student from Yongding, Fujian. At that time, it was quite large in scale, but later the government relocated the academy to Hsinchu and renamed it as Xinzhuang Shanjiao Yidian. The academy is the first in northern Taiwan, established 70 years earlier than the Wenhai Academy (Xuehai Academy) in Monga. The original Mingzhi Academy was quite spacious, consisting of a main hall and five side rooms totaling 12 rooms. After years of renovations, the academy is now surrounded by residential buildings, with only the main hall and two side rooms remaining. The main hall now enshrines the spirit tablet of "Ziyang Zhuzi" and the official tablet of Hu Zhuoyou, and the walls on both sides display the history of the academy and its restoration process. Mingzhi Academy holds an extremely important place in the cultural and educational history of northern Taiwan. Following the path made of stone slabs from Mingzhi Academy leads to Yixue Keng Natural Ecological Park, where one can appreciate beautiful natural scenery.
