Yánshān

Yanshan lies on the Xin River in northeastern Jiangxi, beneath the Wuyi Mountains. Its mines yielded copper and lead, while its forests supplied materials for paper making. The riverside town of Hekou became a meeting place for merchants carrying paper, tea and metal between Jiangxi and neighbouring provinces.

In the sixteenth century a flood changed the course of the Yanshan River and shifted its junction with the Xin. Trade moved upstream to Hekou, which grew into a major port. Its paper merchants sold the fine Liansi paper used by officials and scholars across China. Not far away, Ehu Academy commemorated the famous 1175 debate between Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, preserving another connection between this trading country and the world of learning.