"Where the bodhisattva who empties hell receives prayers for the dead"
Mt. Jiuhua Shan
Chizhou, Anhui, China
Jiuhua Shan rises from the Anhui countryside as one of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains, dedicated to Ksitigarbha — the bodhisattva who vowed not to achieve buddhahood until all hells are emptied. For over twelve centuries, pilgrims have climbed its forested slopes to pray for deceased loved ones, venerate the incorrupt body of the Korean monk Kim Gyo Gak, and encounter the concentrated weight of grief transformed into devotion.
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Quick Facts
Location
Chizhou, Anhui, China
Coordinates
30.4639, 117.8244
Last Updated
Mar 29, 2026
Learn More
Kim Gyo Gak, a Korean monk who practiced on Jiuhua Shan for seventy-five years during the Tang Dynasty, became identified as a manifestation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva after his body was found incorrupt. This identification transformed the mountain into one of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains and the primary site for prayers on behalf of the dead.
Origin Story
The mountain was known long before its Buddhist identity. The poet Li Bai visited around 730 CE and, gazing at its peaks, wrote: 'Looking up at Jiuhua Peak, the sky's green lotus flowers bloom in nine brilliancies.' His poem gave the mountain its name — Jiuhua, Nine Glories or Nine Flowers.
But the mountain's soul arrived from Korea. Kim Gyo Gak, a monk of possible royal or aristocratic background, came to Tang Dynasty China and climbed Jiuhua Shan, finding a natural cave where he settled into practice. He lived on herbs and spring water. He meditated. For seventy-five years, he remained on the mountain.
When Kim Gyo Gak died in 794 CE at the age of ninety-nine, his body was sealed in a burial urn. Three years later, when the urn was opened, the body was found completely preserved — joints flexible, skin warm. This was recognized as the mark of extraordinary spiritual attainment, and Kim Gyo Gak was identified as an incarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the one whose vow encompasses all suffering beings.
A local landowner named Wen-ke and his son, moved by Kim Gyo Gak's devotion, donated land for temple construction and eventually became monks themselves. They are commemorated alongside Kim Gyo Gak in the tradition of the Three Saints of Jiuhua.
Key Figures
Kim Gyo Gak (金乔觉)
A Korean monk, possibly of royal lineage, who practiced on Jiuhua Shan for seventy-five years during the Tang Dynasty. His incorrupt body, found three years after his death in 794 CE, was identified as a manifestation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, establishing the mountain's sacred identity.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Dizang Wang Pusa)
The bodhisattva who vowed not to achieve buddhahood until all hells are emptied — the most radical compassionate commitment in Mahayana Buddhism. Jiuhua Shan is his earthly bodhimanda, the place where his presence is most concentrated.
Li Bai
The Tang Dynasty poet who visited the mountain around 730 CE and gave it the name Jiuhua — Nine Glories — in a poem comparing its peaks to lotus flowers. His words became the mountain's name.
Wen-ke (闵公)
A local landowner who donated land for temple construction after being inspired by Kim Gyo Gak's practice. He and his son both became monks, commemorated as two of the Three Saints of Jiuhua.
Spiritual Lineage
The religious lineage at Jiuhua Shan flows from Kim Gyo Gak's individual practice to a mountain-wide monastic tradition spanning over twelve hundred years. The Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism has been prominent, but the mountain's defining identity is devotional rather than sectarian — it is Ksitigarbha's mountain, and Ksitigarbha devotion crosses all Buddhist lineages in China. The tradition of bodily preservation continued after Kim Gyo Gak, with several later monks' bodies found incorrupt and enshrined at various temples. The mountain weathered the Cultural Revolution and has fully recovered as both a monastic center and pilgrimage destination.
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