In Chengdu, Sichuan province in China there is a high school with a lot of history attached to it. Founded between 143 BC and 141 BC in the Han Dynasty, by a governor of the region Wen Wen Weng, Chengdu Shishi High School is possibly the oldest school in the world.
Chengdu and the school were demolished by a terrible fire that occurred during the Eastern Han Dynasty.However, in 194 AD, the school was rebuilt and remained through dynasties under different names such as Yizhou Zhouxue, Chengdu Fuxue (Chengdu Academy, ). After more than 230 years of carving, Shu Shi Jing (a form of Thirteen Classics, literally Shu Carved Stone of Classics, was completed in Chengdu Fuxue.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the wars completely destroyed the school, only rubble remained in the campus.At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, in 1661, on the site of the school the government school Chengdu Fuxue and became a leading school Sishuan. Chengdu Fuxue became Chengdu Normal School under the new educational system introduced in 1902 and then in 1904 became Chengdu Middle School
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After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, in September 1952, the school changed its name again to Chengdu No. 4 Middle School. The school with a turbulent backstory became a victim once again during The Cultural Revolution. The school was demolished to the ground.None of the buildings from Qing Dynasty still exist. The school was once again built and returned to its former name in 1983.
Today, Chengdu Shish is one of the top 100 high schools in China. Attending the Chengdu Shishi is an honor,and attracts applications each year from both local and neighboring middle schools.