The remains of building foundations located outside the west gate of the ancient city of Qi – located in the modern prefecture-level city of Zibo, in East China's Shandong province – were recently confirmed by experts as being the ruins of the famed Jixia Academy, after five years of research.
The experts were from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology – and the Jixia Academy is often considered as the earliest university in China.
It was the highest education institution in Qi during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). It was also the place where different schools of thought – including Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and many more – were debated and commingled, which is how Chinese philosophy was widely thought to have formed in the first place.
The ruins are located to the west of Xiaoxu village, in Qidu town, in the Linzi district of Zibo.
According to Dong Wenbin, team leader of the archaeological digs, the site's dimensions are about 210 meters from east to west and 190 m from south to north, with a total area of about 40,000 square meters.
The site of the Jixia Academy is said to be of inestimable value to Zibo, which is building a demonstration area about Qi cultural heritage and innovation.
A proposal to "accelerate the construction of Qi's ancient city archaeological park" was issued in the city's 2022 government working report.
