| Korean Daoist Temple Zhongnan-shan Geumseon-gwan's Kim Ga-gi Shrines |
There is not much extant information about Korean Daoist Grand-Master Sage Kim Ga-gi; no direct
records or birth/death dates have survived, only mentions in a few ancient writings and some passed-
down stories. Not even his monastic name, nor posthumous master's name-title, are known. It is
said that he first learned Daoist theory and practices in The Shilla Kingdom, and then traveled to Xian,
China in the late 7th Century for advanced studies. One story says that he came over in the same
ship and entourage as Buddhist Master Uisang.; if so, that would have been about 650 CE. Kim Ga-
gi settled in the Zhongnan-shan to study and practice, probably initially at the Louguan-tai Monastery.
It is said that he later practiced and taught here on the site where the Geumseon-gwan now stands
around the end of the 7th Century, becoming a great master, leading many disciples to realization.
He is then said to have attained shinseon [spirit-immortal] status instead of dying. There is one story
that Chinese Daoists saw his spirit ascend to Heaven from the Hyeondo-dan platform-altar-peak
above the Geumseon-gwan, in the springtime of 856 CE (one year before Go-un Choi Chi-won was
born! -- theoretically, it could be linked to his conception). Nothing else is known, other than that he is still
included in the pantheon of Great Masters venerated by Chinese Daoists.
records or birth/death dates have survived, only mentions in a few ancient writings and some passed-
down stories. Not even his monastic name, nor posthumous master's name-title, are known. It is
said that he first learned Daoist theory and practices in The Shilla Kingdom, and then traveled to Xian,
China in the late 7th Century for advanced studies. One story says that he came over in the same
ship and entourage as Buddhist Master Uisang.; if so, that would have been about 650 CE. Kim Ga-
gi settled in the Zhongnan-shan to study and practice, probably initially at the Louguan-tai Monastery.
It is said that he later practiced and taught here on the site where the Geumseon-gwan now stands
around the end of the 7th Century, becoming a great master, leading many disciples to realization.
He is then said to have attained shinseon [spirit-immortal] status instead of dying. There is one story
that Chinese Daoists saw his spirit ascend to Heaven from the Hyeondo-dan platform-altar-peak
above the Geumseon-gwan, in the springtime of 856 CE (one year before Go-un Choi Chi-won was
born! -- theoretically, it could be linked to his conception). Nothing else is known, other than that he is still
included in the pantheon of Great Masters venerated by Chinese Daoists.
NEXT: Geumseon-gwan Ceremony 2014.08
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Zhongnan-shan Mountains Page
Louguan-tai Temple
Hua-shan the Western Imperial Daoist Mountain
Sacred Mountains of China Index Page
Sanshin Site Contents Page
| The memorial biseok plaques: a full potrait of Kim Ga-gi, a proclamation of his historic significance as a realized "Immortal" in both Chinese and Korean, and on the left, a reproduction of the most famous "Diagram of the True Images of the Five Marchmounts" [五嶽真形圖, O-ak Jinhyeong-do in Korean]. |
| The main shrine for Sage Kim Ga-gi, in the upper-most sector of the Geumseon-gwan, just below the Hyeondo-dan. |
| In 2004 Korean Daoist GrandMaster Choi Byeong-ju established and constructed the Geumseon-gwan or "Golden Immortal Hall" to honor and enshrine Kim Ga-gi, as a Korean/Chinese Daoist study-center and shrine-complex in the southern-slope crags of Cuihua-shan in the sacred Zhongnan-shan Mountains, almost directly south of Xian. |
| These large bronze plaques show some biographical scenes from Kim Ga-gi's life; however I don't yet know the tales they depict and am not even sure what order they should be in! |
| Subsidiary Shrine for writings by or about Kim Ga-gi |
| Monuments honoring Master Kim Ga-gi recently established in front of the ancient Louguan-tai Temple. |