This attraction introduction is compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · Scenic Spots section). Ticket prices, opening hours, transportation, and contact information mentioned in the text may be outdated. Please refer to the latest official announcements from the scenic area before traveling; some content consists of historical background/cultural introductions and is for reference only.
The site of Nan'an Private School is located on the west side of Comrade Mao Zedong's former residence. It was first built in the Qing Dynasty. With gray brick and tile and whitewashed walls, the building area is nearly 400 square meters. It was originally public property of the Zou family ancestral hall, and a private school was operated on the right side. In 1901, when Mao Zedong was eight years old, he began his education here, studying for two years. The tutor Zou Chunpei first taught Mao Zedong the "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Surnames," then the Confucian classics such as "The Analects," "The Book of Songs," and "Mencius." Mao Zedong studied diligently and was deeply influenced and shaped by ancient culture.
After Liberation, Nan'an was occupied by local farmers, and in 1965 it was requisitioned by the state. In 1968, under the direction of the Shaoshan Revolutionary Memorial Site Construction Office and the Shaoshan Comrade Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, a comprehensive renovation was carried out to restore the private school site to its original appearance. It opened to the public at the end of that year and has remained open since.
In September 1972, Nan'an was listed as a Hunan Provincial Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit. In October 1983, the Hunan Provincial People's Government issued a document including Nan'an within the scope of the National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit—Mao Zedong's Former Residence.
When Mao Zedong studied here, his teacher Zou Chunpei asked him to trace characters in red for his beginner's writing practice, but he refused and insisted on writing freely on his own. He could recite all the texts he had studied. Once, when the teacher went out, he instructed the students to review their lessons. After Mao Zedong had memorized the text, he invited several classmates to swim in the pond in front of the house. When the teacher returned and saw this, he was very angry and ordered the students to match couplets, saying that those who failed would be struck on the palm. When the teacher said "washing feet," Mao Zedong immediately responded with "cultivating character." The teacher greatly admired Mao Zedong's intelligence.
At present, this place has become a must-visit spot for tourists. In addition to the restored display according to the original style, the interior has successively added an exhibition of Mao Zedong's gilt statue, a restored display of the private school, and a photo exhibition "Mao Zedong and His Children." The gilded bronze statue of Mao Zedong used 300 grams of pure gold and was made by Shi Chunhou, a villager from Shanggu Village, Pingle Township, Mengjin County, Luoyang City, at great expense over three years. The gold statue is 64.6 centimeters tall and weighs about 50 kilograms, and was officially displayed on May 27, 1994. The private school restoration display has restored the Confucius worship platform, with a large colored portrait of Confucius hanging on the wall, flanked by a wooden couplet in gold characters on a black background: "Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning leads to peril." Before the portrait is a large desk, with colored paintings on the front depicting Confucius traveling through the states and the master and disciples lecturing. To the northeast of the Confucius worship platform is the teacher's living quarters, containing an old-style carved bed, a grand tutor's chair, a desk, and an ancient painting, with a couplet on both sides reading: "Excellence in work comes from diligence, ruined by play; success in action comes from thought, destroyed by carelessness." Also hanging in the room is a table of Mao Zedong's teachers during his youth. In the main hall after entering, a newly installed wax figure of the young Mao Zedong has been added. The figure is designed entirely according to real life, with a ruddy complexion, wearing a long gown, holding "New Youth" magazine, with the backdrop of the mighty Xiang River and the Yuelu Mountain covered in red, recreating Mao Zedong's image from "alone in the cold autumn, the Xiang River flows north, at the head of Orange Isle." This is the only wax figure of Mao Zedong in Shaoshan.
