| dc.description.abstract | “Implementing Buddhism through Writing,” is the most significant characteristics of the Ch’an Buddhism in the Sung Dynasty. The government valuing culture in the Early Sung, which also affected the relationship between religion and the government. Take T’ai-tsu, T’ai-tsung, and Chen-tsung for example, they were all friendly with Buddhism. Sung emperors’ supporting culture development also reflected in the exam of central monkish officials.
During the mid-term of the Northern Sung, monks and literati debated in the Classical Prose Movement. While some literati were against Buddhism, whereas others enjoyed Ch’an. Some Ch’an monks were more like literati. In the late Northern Sung, Hui-tsung favored Taoism and resisted Buddhism. Despite difficult situation, Hui-hong, K’o-ch’in and other masters of Wen-tzu Ch’an were still active at that time. They even produced many renowned works of Wen-tzu Ch’an. On the other hand, the prevalence of printing technology made Ch’an masters’ Gong-An and quotations more popular. Literati wrote prefaces for Ch’an books which also made them more widespread. These texts of Wen-tzu Ch’an strengthen the influence of Gong-An, such as the interaction between poetry and Ch’an Buddhism, discussion on calligraphy through Ch’an as well as the assimilation of tea and Ch’an in the Sung Dynasty. The late Northern and early Southern Song, the progress of binding technology made the textual research of Gong-An more convenient, so the climate of studying Gong-An were risen and developed. However, some Ch’an monks despised it. In the meantime, Ch’an masters’ quotations became the model for Neo-Confucians’ quotations.
After the Southern Song, plenty of anthologies and collected works of Ch’an were produced. A roll of manuscript called ＂ Wen-tzu Ch’an ＂ even appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and Hui-hong’s status was raised again. Those were the reverberation of Wen-tzu Ch’an. On the whole, Wen-tzu Ch’an movement in the Northern Sung is undoubtedly a complex cultural phenomenon. This article attempts to explore the movement of Wen-tzu Ch’an beyond religion and philosophy which will be helpful to understand the relationship among Ch’an culture, politics, society, and even other aspects such as interaction with the literati in the Northern Sung. | en_US |