Mount Lu
The academy had its beginnings as a place for the pursuit of learning by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bo (李渤 Lǐ Bó, d. 831, not to be confused with the more famous Tang poet Li Po () or Li Bai) when he was living in retirement. As Li Bo kept a white deer, he was known as the White Deer Teacher and the school premises themselves as the White Deer Grotto. In the years 937–942, when the area was under the control of the Southern Tang, a school was officially established here under the name "Lushan Guoxue" or "Lu-san Goet-hok" (廬山國學, meaning "Mount Lu National Institute"), by Li Shandao.