Introduction

Beginning around 2000, many Confucian academies (shuyuan书院) – some dating to as early as the tenth century – have been renovated, and even completely rebuilt, by local governments across China as cultural heritage sites. Investment in the restoration of historic academies by municipal or county governments can be seen as a development strategy designed to boost the local economy by attracting domestic tourism (Sofield & Li 1998; Wu, Zhu & Xu 2000; Shepherd 2017:566). Along with potential economic benefits, restoring academies is also a means for political leaders to add cultural capital to their communities by promoting local places as sites of historic importance, regionally and even nationally. As tourist destinations, newly restored academies testify to the cultural and historic importance of the city, the county, or the region. Restored academies are seen as materialisations of the cultural efflorescence of the region in earlier times, as well as important historical resources (Hu 2005: 21). Whether sponsored by municipal, county, or provincial authorities, restored academies help to create a sense of common historic and cultural identity among residents, and foster bonds of national identity among visitors – tourists who come from all over China.

I will argue that dramatic growth in domestic tourism, the post-1989 National Studies (guoxue 国学) movement, and renewed interest in Confucianism combined to spur the recent academy revival.