Hunan University (simplified Chinese: 湖南大学; traditional Chinese: 湖南大學; pinyin: Húnán Dàxué), located in Changsha, Hunan province, is one of the oldest and most important national universities in China. Hunan University traces its history back to the Yuelu Shuyuan (Yuelu Academy) founded in the Song Dynasty, originally in 976, over 1000 years ago (千年學府). Shuyuan (academy) were once two main forms of higher learning school in China, and another form was government-sponsored schools including imperial central school Taixue or Guozijian and regional schools. Yuelu Academy had no degree-granting mechanism, and no some other features of a Western university. The Yuelu Academy was a venue for Chinese scholars and their students to meet and study deep issues in broad areas of Confucian Studies. In 1903 it was changed to be a modern school with the incorporation of the school which was founded in 1897, initially called Shiwu Xuetang and once in 1902 called Hunan Daxuetang (湖南大學堂) . The school name Hunan University (湖南大學) was proposed in 1912, and in 1926 Hunan University was formed with the merger of three specialized public schools of Hunan.