Qingshui Zushi (Patriarch of Clear Water)

Almost every legend of Qingshui Zushi comes with a vivid picture.

First, the black face. Legend says that as Chen Zhaoying meditated in the mountains, mountain goblins wanted to drive him away and smoked his face with fire. Deep in meditation, he didn't move at all, letting his whole face be blackened, and in the end he subdued the goblins with compassion. Ever since, every statue of the Patriarch has a black face. That dark face is a badge of being unmoved by anything outside.

Then the rain. One year a great drought struck Anxi; the crops died and the people fell into famine. Chen Zhaoying climbed the mountain himself, set up an altar, and fasted and prayed for rain for seven days and seven nights. On the eighth day, sweet rain fell. From then on the people regarded Qingshui Cliff as holy ground, and the Song court honored him four times, finally with the title "Great Master Zhaoying Guanghui Ciji Shanli."

In Taiwan, Qingshui Zushi gained his most famous marvel: the falling nose. Legend says that whenever plague, earthquake, or war is coming, the nose of the Patriarch's statue drops off by itself as a warning. The Penglai Laozu statue, enshrined in turn by Manka Qingshui Temple and Tamsui Qingshui Temple, is the famous Nose-Dropping Patriarch. A statue that takes off its own nose to wake everyone up: that is how Taiwanese trust in Qingshui Zushi has been passed down, generation after generation.

Qingshui Zushi was originally an eminent monk, so offerings are mainly vegetarian: fresh flowers, fruit, pastries, and clear tea. It's best to avoid meat (unlike most folk gods, so don't get this wrong).

The busiest season is his birthday on the 6th day of the 1st lunar month, and Tamsui also holds a grand festival on the 6th day of the 5th lunar month, the day he attained the Way. Common rites include passing items over the censer, pilgrimage, and lighting blessing lamps, and the Patriarch temples have a complete set of fortune poems if you want to draw a lot.

The most unusual event is the sacred pig contest held every 6th day of the 1st lunar month at Sanxia Changfu Temple: residents raise sacred pigs for several years, then carry them to the temple on his birthday to compete by weight. In recent years it has sparked debate over animal welfare, but it remains the most important religious event in Sanxia. If you want to see it, get there early on the morning of the 6th.

Qingshui Zushi's Birthday: the 6th day of the 1st lunar month. This is the most important day in Qingshui Zushi worship, and Patriarch temples all over Taiwan hold celebrations.

Sanxia Changfu Temple's sacred pig contest, New Taipei: held every year on the 6th day of the 1st lunar month, a tradition more than a century old. Local residents raise sacred pigs for several years (deliberately fed to push their weight to the limit); on his birthday the pigs are slaughtered, carried before the temple, and ranked by weight. In recent years it has also drawn wide debate over animal welfare.

Day the Patriarch attained the Way: the 6th day of the 5th lunar month. Tamsui Qingshui Temple holds its festival on this day, Tamsui's famous "great worship" (Da Bai Bai).

Lunar New Year: During the New Year holiday, many families descended from Anxi, Quanzhou migrants come to worship at Patriarch temples. It's an important time to see the social side of Taiwan's migrant faiths.