Huizhou is the regional center with a discernible local culture that carries a regional significance. As the center of the national culture, it has been enriched with an endless flow of history. Some scholars regard it as the symbol of the Chinese national culture and yet others believe that the research of the Chinese culture cannot solve the Oriental mystery without starting with an analysis of Huizhou culture. This is narrowed down to terms of the social economic base and ideology it reflects, the folkways and customs it retains, the feudal ethics it upheld vehemently and the new academic ideas it failed to resist. Huizhou culture is all consuming - Xin'an painting, Xin'an medicine, Xin'an engraving, Huizhou architecture, Huizhou carving, Huizhou epigraphy, Huizhou potted landscape, Huizhou opera, Huizhou cuisine, Huizhouhandicraft, etc. Since ancient times, literary learning has been a prevailing practice in Huizhou. A common purpose for friendsto meet was to discuss each other's writings. There was a saying that Even a small village of ten households hears continuous reading voices day and night . Huizhou scholars proliferated during this period and could be found in practically every profession. This quest for knowledge has been passed down to the present day. In many houses in Yixian County, one will see scrolls of ancient mottoes hung up such as, For hundreds of years the family has done nothing uncharitable, yet the first of all virtues is none other than persistence in academic studies. Local people take pride in writing their own Spring Festival couplets, which are usually done by hiring calligraphers from other parts of China. It is no small wonder that so many famous scholars have emerged from Huizhou through the ages.