Ji Gong

濟公

The ragged, laughing Chan monk whose hidden compassion made him a Living Buddha

Ji Gong (濟公), the Laughing Monk, began as Daoji (道濟), a Chan Buddhist monk born Li Xiuyuan in Tiantai, Zhejiang, in the Southern Song. He wore patched robes, carried a worn fan and a wine gourd, and ignored monastic rules on wine and meat. He died in 1209 at Jingci Temple, Hangzhou. Folk tradition holds that he was the Dragon-Subduing Arhat reborn.

Devotees call him 濟公活佛, the Living Buddha, and turn to him for healing, protection from misfortune and help when they have been wronged. Folk temples and Yiguandao often enshrine him, and in Taiwan his worship spread widely in the 1950s–60s. Wine and meat are among his accepted offerings, by the tradition's own practice.

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Daoji. Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

How to recognise Ji Gong

Laughing faceA broad, genial face with crinkled eyes and an open smile, head sometimes tilted to one side; this is the surest way to recognise him.
Frayed monk's hatA worn, often peaked hat, traditionally marked on the front with the character 佛 (Buddha).
Tattered robeA patched, ragged monk's robe (破袈裟), often hanging open at the front and commonly shown in muted gold, brown or grey.
Cattail-leaf fanA worn fan (蒲扇) with a torn edge, which temple tradition calls magical; devotees fan themselves with it to sweep away bad luck.
Wine gourdA wine gourd, or sometimes a bottle, held in the other hand, a sign of his disregard for monastic rules.
Large prayer beadsAn oversized Buddhist bead necklace hangs around his neck, a reminder that the monk lies beneath the disorder.
Carefree bearingHe is relaxed and tousled, sometimes with one foot raised or resting on a wine jar; temple guides read the ragged look as a deliberate rejection of false outward form, not as poverty.

Names and titles

Living Buddha Ji Gong活佛, the title devotees give him as the monk who lived among ordinary people and became revered as a living Buddha
The Dragon-Subduing ArhatFolk tradition says he was the Dragon-Subduing Arhat reborn as a wandering monk
The Buddha Stays in the HeartA traditional saying that what matters is the heart, not outward conduct or appearance
The Flying PeakThe legend in which he rescued a village by whisking a bride away just before a mountain peak fell
Logs from the WellA Lingyin Temple mural scene shows him drawing great timbers up from a well to rebuild a temple

Feast days

Ji Gong's Birthday (濟公活佛聖誕)2nd day of the 2nd lunar month (next: 8 March 2027)

The day most temples dedicated to Ji Gong keep as his birthday. It honours the Southern Song Chan monk Daoji, whom devotees revere as the Living Buddha and an incarnation of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat. Another birth date is kept by the Li family record.
How it's celebrated. Devotees bring birthday offerings such as longevity peaches, longevity noodles, flowers and fruit. Many also offer chicken and wine on this day, though some temples allow wine only on certain days. Some light red candles or recite scripture. Temple festivals often include spirit-medium sessions in which Ji Gong is believed to descend.
Sources: Yahoo News Taiwan: 濟公聖誕供品 · Taiwanese Gods: Ji Gong (Mad Monk) · Chinatimes: 神佛傳奇濟公活佛
Ji Gong's Attainment Day (濟公活佛成道)6th day of the 3rd lunar month (next: 11 April 2027)

A day many Taiwanese temples keep for Ji Gong's attainment of Buddhahood, which some devotees also understand as his passing. Other temples keep a different attainment day (see the Dao-attainment day), so the two are separate dates for a similar commemoration.
How it's celebrated. Devotees visit temples to wish him long life, offering longevity-peach towers, noodles, meat and strong liquor such as rice wine or sorghum spirit, with spiral incense. Some use a palm-leaf fan lent by the temple, waving it over themselves in the belief that it clears bad luck. Parents sometimes bring wayward children to pray.
Sources: UDN Orange: 濟公活佛成道日這樣拜 · Yahoo News Taiwan: 濟公活佛成道日
Ji Gong's Dao-Attainment Day (濟公活佛得道日)3rd day of the 10th lunar month (next: 10 November 2026)

A day some temples keep for Ji Gong's attainment of the Way. Some treat it as his passing and others as his festival day. It is a separate date from the attainment day kept by other temples, so communities differ on which they observe.
How it's celebrated. At Longyin Temple in Chukou, Chiayi, a morning birthday-style ceremony is held, followed by a fire-walking ritual that devotees believe brings good luck and drives away evil. Shengkou Temple in Beihai, Shimen, also holds a commemoration for this day. Other temples may keep it differently.
Sources: Longyin Temple, Chukou: 關於龍隱寺 · Longyin Temple: 農曆十月初三濟公禪師聖誕千秋 · Longyin Temple, Chukou (Alishan NSA)
Ji Gong's Buddha-Day (濟公活佛佛辰日)8th day of the 12th lunar month (next: 14 January 2027)

A Buddha-day that follows the Li family record of Ji Gong's birth. It is a second, less widely kept birth date, different from the one most temples observe, so the two are rival reckonings of the same event.
How it's celebrated. Little is recorded about how this day is kept, and I found no description of specific rites or temples observing it. The date is noted in Chinese Wikipedia's entry on Ji Gong, citing the Li family's ancestral record. Most Taiwanese temples keep the other birthday, with the offerings described there.
Sources: Chinese Wikipedia: 濟公 · Baidu Baike: 济公