Xihuiyuan Wenbi Pagoda

Xihuiyuan Wenbi Pagoda

Xihuiyuan Wenbi Pagoda is located southeast of Xihuiyuan Village, Houpu Town, Xiangyuan County, approximately 12.54 kilometers from downtown Xiangyuan. It is surrounded by farmland. The exact date of its construction is unknown, but the existing structure features architectural styles from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Facing north and situated on a south–north axis, the pagoda has a circular base with a diameter of about 1 meter, a height of around 5 meters, and covers an area of 7 square meters. Constructed from brick and stone, its top resembles a brush tip. At the base of the pagoda, there is a spirit plaque inscribed with “Seat of the Deity of the God of Literature (Kuixing)” dating back to April in the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1868).

Kuixing refers to the first four stars of the Big Dipper and is regarded in Chinese mythology as the deity who presides over literary success and scholarly achievement. There is a legend about Kuixing: In ancient times, there was a scholar named Kuixing. This man was exceptionally intelligent, immensely talented, capable of memorizing anything he read and composing essays effortlessly. However, he was extremely ugly, with a pockmarked face and a limp, which caused him to fail his interviews repeatedly. But his writing was so outstanding that he eventually passed the local and metropolitan examinations. When it came to the palace examination, the emperor personally interviewed him. Upon seeing his pockmarked face and limp, the emperor was displeased. The emperor asked, “Why is your face so ugly?” He replied, “Your Majesty, this is ‘a pockmarked face reflecting the celestial phenomena, holding up the stars.’” The emperor found the man rather amusing and asked, “What about your limp?” He answered again, “Your Majesty, this is ‘leaping over the Dragon Gate with one stride, standing alone atop the Ao head.’” The emperor admired his wit and then asked, “Then I’ll ask you one question — answer truthfully: Who, in your opinion, writes the best essays in the land today?” After thinking for a moment, he said, “The best essays under heaven belong to my county, the best in my county belong to my village, the best in my village belong to my younger brother, and my younger brother asks me to revise his essays.” The emperor was delighted, and after reading his essay, he was even more impressed, exclaiming, “Truly the best under heaven!” He then appointed him the top scholar, or zhuangyuan.

The talent, wisdom, and diligence of this unattractive scholar eventually led him to ascend to heaven and become Kuixing — the first four stars of the Big Dipper, who govern academic achievement and official rank. The character “魁” (kuí), which means “top scholar,” can be broken down into two parts: one half is “鬼” (guǐ), representing Kuixing’s ugly appearance, and the other half is “斗” (dǒu), representing his vast knowledge and also the Big Dipper constellation. It is said that the red brush in Kuixing’s hand determines what you are — among scholars, there is a saying: “No matter how brilliant your writing is, it all depends on whether the red brush approves,” which originates from this story. It is also said that since then, the central stone slab of the palace steps has been carved with images of a dragon and an ao (mythical turtle), with a kuí-dou (a small container) placed beside them. After the palace examination results were announced, candidates would gather at the palace gate, with successful jinshi (present-day equivalent of advanced scholars) standing below the steps to receive their rankings, while the zhuangyuan would hold the kuí-dou in one hand and stand on the head of the ao with one foot, symbolizing “winning the top place in the examination” and “standing alone atop the ao.”