Yangshan Academy

Founded in 1812 by prefect (知府) Yang Tingli (楊廷理), this was the first official academy in the newly-established Kavalan sub-prefecture, the predecessor of modern Yilan, and the only one built on Taiwan’s eastern frontier. The original structure soon collapsed; in 1825 the academy was reconstituted in the east wing of the neighbouring Wenchang Temple compound, and substantively rebuilt on that footprint in 1830 by acting sub-prefect Sa Lian (薩廉). Over the Qing dynasty era the academy produced most of Yilan’s juren and xiucai, or degree-holding scholars, and counted among its lecturers the famous local jinshi Yang Shifang (楊士芳). The buildings were requisitioned as military dormitories during the Japanese colonial period, fell into disrepair, and collapsed after a typhoon in the 1960s. The site has since been overtaken by residential development, with fragments reportedly surviving in a nearby alley.