The center of heaven and earth

General Cypresses of the Western Han Dynasty and the Great Tang Stele of the Tang Dynasty are the feature cultural relics of the Songyang Academy. Legend has it that more than 2,000 years ago, when Liu Che, namely Emperor Hanwudi of the Han Dynasty came to visit the Songyang Academy, he was much impressed at the grand flourishing cypress standing in front of him on his stepping into the courtyard. Looking up for a while, he granted a title of “the Greatest General” to it without much thought, out of appreciation. Stepping further into the second court, however, another cypress even more majestic appeared. Regretful as he was, he could only name this cypress “the Greatest General No.2”, for every word spilt out by Chinese Emperors, those sovereign rulers of China, would never be taken back.