Xikou Village

Xikou Village

Xikou Village, also known as Hexi Village, is located at the mouth of Yantan Stream on the eastern bank of the Nanxi River. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the founding ancestor Dai Tianxu migrated here from Potan in Xianju, gradually forming a clan-based settlement. The village sits against a mountain and faces the stream, shaped like a crescent moon, and currently has 561 households.

Xikou Village is the starting point of the middle section of the Nanxi River and was also the first dock for boat and raft transport. In the past, over 500 meters of the stream in front of the village were lined with rows of small wooden boats, sometimes numbering more than 100.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Xikou Village produced a prestigious family with “four imperial scholars across three generations,” including Dai Meng and Dai Tong, who were renowned Neo-Confucian scholars of the time, known for their extensive writings and recorded legacies in historical texts.

The Dongshan Academy in the village is one of the earliest academies along the Nanxi River. It was founded by Dai Meng, a celebrated Neo-Confucian scholar and imperial scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty who had served as a tutor to the crown prince before retiring from office. Due to its outstanding achievements, the court bestowed upon it the name “Mingwen” (Bright Literature). To the south of the academy lies a garden approximately 12 meters wide, roughly the same length as the academy itself. At either end of the garden are the residences of the academy’s headmasters, with a small gate leading to the lecture hall.

Xikou Village boasts picturesque scenery and a beautiful environment, featuring the poetic and uniquely charming “Ten Scenes of Hexi,” namely: “Emerald Rings of Hexi,” “Lofty Peaks in Emerald Hues,” “Twin Isles of Crimson Maple,” “Autumn Moon over Long Lake,” “Evening Glow on Seal Rock,” “Moon Terrace Lotus Viewing,” “Meng’s Scholarly School,” “Swallow Nest in Cloud Cave,” “Horizontal Zither Flowing Waters,” and “Stone Dragon Seizing Pearls.”