Jiàn'ān

Jian’an was one of the old counties of northern Fujian. It shared its seat with Ouning and served as the centre of Jianning, a prefecture set among the rivers and mountains of the upper Min basin. The area was celebrated for its tea and for a learned culture associated with the philosopher Zhu Xi.

Under the Yuan, Jianning was administered as a circuit; the Ming restored it as a prefecture. Academies in the city maintained a tradition of scholarship and printing. Jian’an Academy had printed works of Zhu Xi in the Southern Song, and in the Qing its teachers and students came under close official supervision. The city’s schools thus linked local learning to the examinations and administration of the prefecture.