The college was founded in the first year of the Northern Song Dynasty and was a place for long-term lectures for the Northern Song Dynasty ethicist Cheng Yu, Cheng Yu Chuan Gaodi, and well-known scholar Yang Shi. In 1604, Gu Xiancheng and others from Donglin were restored and gathered here to lecture. They advocated the spirit of "reading, lecture, patriotism", which attracted a general response from scholars throughout the country and made a reputation for a while.