Jìngxiū is primarily remembered as the author of the first preface to the 'original'  Zǔtáng jí in one fascicle, probably composed around 952. Before this, likely between 926 and 944, he had composed a work known as the Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhūzǔshī sòng 泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌 (Eulogies for the Patriarchs newly composed by Qiānfó [Dèng] of Quánzhōu). This collection of thirty-eight tetrasyllabic octave eulogies 頌 or praise verses 讚 survives through a Dūnhuáng 敦煌 manuscript referenced Or.8210/S.1635 (British Library, London; digitized by the International Dunhuang Project 國際敦煌項目) and its partial integration into the Zǔtáng jí. In addition to the poems recorded in the Zǔtáng jí, the Jǐngdé chuándēng lù 景德傳燈錄  〔T 2076〕 records two regulated heptasyllabic octave verses (qīyán lǜshī 七言律詩) composed by Jìngxiū in its fascicle 29 (see Zhōnghuá dàzàngjīng biānjí júbiān 1994, Vol. 74, pp. 374–75; Féng 2019, p. 877). These are titled Shì zhí zuòchán zhě 示執坐禪者 ( “Teaching the one who clings to seated meditation”) and Shì zuòchán fāngbiàn 示坐禪方便 ( “Teaching the skillful means of seated meditation”).

Among the most informative sources on Wéndèng are: (1) the Zǔtáng jí, (2) the Zǐyún kāishì zhuàn 紫雲開士傳 (Biographies of the Founders of the Zǐyún [Monastery]) compiled by Shì Dàguī 釋大圭 (1304–?) in the Yuan dynasty 元代, and (3) the Quánzhōu Kāiyuánsì zhì 泉州開元寺志 (Gazetteer of the Quánzhōu Kaiyuan Monastery), also known as the Wēnlíng Kāiyuánsì zhì 溫陵開元寺志 (Gazetteer of the Wēnlíng Kaiyuan Monastery), Wēnlíng 溫陵 being an alternative name of Quánzhōu.

According to these sources, Wéndèngʼs family name was Ruǎn 阮 and he was a native of Xiānyóu county 仙游縣 of Quánzhōu prefecture. He became a monk at the Pútí Cloister 菩提院 of the Lónghuá monastery 龍華寺 located in Xiānyóu county, and took the full precepts at the age of twenty. Wéndèng is said to have initially studied the vinaya 律部 and regularly lectured on the Guân Mílè púsà shàngshēng Dōushuàitiān jīng 觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經  〔T 452〕 . After having reportedly heard that Chan was the superior tradition, Wéndèng decided to go and study under the guidance of Chan masters. The Zǔtáng jí recounts that he first met with three of Xuěfēng Yìcúnʼs disciples, namely Gǔshān Shényàn 鼓山神晏 (d. 936~944?), Chángqìng Huìléng 長慶慧稜 (854–932), and Xuánshā Shībèi 玄沙師備 (835–908), before he went to study with Bǎofú Cóngzhǎn and became his dharma-heir. Subsequently, Wéndèng set out to travel in the regions of Wú 呉 and Chǔ 楚 (i.e., the Jiāngnán 江南 region), including Mt. Héng 衡山 (i.e., Nányuè 南嶽). Eventually, he returned to Quánzhōu, where he served as abbot of three Buddhist monastic institutions.

Wéndèng was first invited by Wáng Yánbīn 王延彬 (886–930), nephew of Wáng Shěnzhī 王審知 (862–925) and cìshǐ 刺史 (prefect) of Quánzhōu prefecture, to serve as abbot of the Qiānfó Cloister 千佛院 of the Quánzhōu Kāiyuán monastery 泉州開元寺, a branch temple that he had built during the Tiānchéng 天成 era (926–930) of the Later Táng 後唐. Thereafter, in the beginning of the first year of the Kāiyùn 開運 era (944) of the Later Jìn 後晉 (936–947), Wéndèng was invited by Huáng Shàopō 黃紹頗 (d. 944), then cìshǐ of Quánzhōu prefecture, to serve as the third and last abbot of the Zhāoqìng monastery. Shortly after, Zhū Wénjìn 朱文進 (d. 945; r. 944–945) bestowed on him the dharma-name Chan master Míngjué 明覺禪師. In the 11th month of the first year of the Kāiyùn era (944), the Zhāoqìng monastery was destroyed by fire when Liú Cóngxiào 留從效 (906–962) regained control over Quánzhōu prefecture in favor of the Wáng family. Eventually, Wéndèng was invited by Liú Cóngxiào, who had become military commissioner 節度使 of the Qīngyuán military office 淸源軍 in the seventh year of the Bǎodà 保大 era of the Southern Tang 南唐 (949), to serve as the first abbot of the Nánchán monastery 南禪寺. According to the gazetteers, this monastery was built by Liú Cóngxiào, perhaps in the southern garden of his secondary residence 別墅, and the properties of the Zhāoqìng monastery were transferred there. If we follow Kinugawa Kenji 衣川賢次 (2010), it was between this event and the composition of the Zǔtáng jíʼs preface that Liú Cóngxiào conferred on Wéndèng the name Chan master Jìngxiū 淨修禪師. In addition, in line with Ishii Shūdō 石井修道 (1986, p. 181), Kinugawa (2010, pp. 23–24) has suggested that the Nánchán monastery also continued to be referred to as the Zhāoqìng monastery, before its name was changed to Chéngtiān monastery 承天寺 in the fourth year of the Jǐngdé 景德 era (1007). This could explain why, in his preface to the Zǔtáng jí, Wéndèng introduces himself as abbot of the Zhāoqìng monastery and refers to it while it had already ceased to exist at the end of 944.

Eventually, the gazetteers record that Xú Xuàn 徐鉉 (916–991) praised Wéndèngʼs merit at the Northern Sòng court and that Zhào Kuângyìn 趙匡胤 (927–976; r. 960–977; temple name Sòng Tàizǔ 宋太祖) subsequently conferred on him the name Zhēnjué 眞覺. Finally, in the fifth year of the Kāibǎo 開寶 era (972), Wéndèng passed away, reportedly due to illness, and the Ruìguâng 瑞光 stūpa was erected for him.

ID in the Person Authority Database 人名規範資料庫 of the Buddhist Studies Authority Database Project 佛學名相規範資料庫建置計畫, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts 法鼓文理學院: A003634 (http://authority.dila.edu.tw/person).

ID in the China Biographical Database Project 中國歷代人物傳記資料庫 (CBDB), of Harvard University, Academia Sinica 中央硏究院, and Peking University 北京大學: 0094071 (https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cbdb).

Selected Bibliography

Facsimiles and Photographic Reproductions

Jǐngdé chuándēng lù. 景德傳燈錄. 1994. In Zhōnghuá dàzàngjīng: Hànwén bùfèn. 中華大藏經: 漢文部分. Edited by Zhōnghuá dàzàngjīng biānjí júbiān 中華大藏經編輯局編. Beijing: Zhōnghuá shūjú 中華書局, Vol. 74, pp. 1–395.

Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhūzǔshī sòng. 泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌, Or.8210/S.1635. British Library, London, United Kingdom. Digitized by the International Dunhuang Project 國際敦煌項目.http://idp.bl.uk/.

Sodōshū. 祖堂集. 1994. Edited by Zen bunka kenkyūjo 禪文化硏究所. Kyoto: Zen bunka kenkyūjo 禪文化硏究所.

Edited Primary Sources

Bā Zhòu 巴宙 [Pachow W.], ed. 1965. Dūnhuáng yùnwén jí. 敦煌韻文集. Gāoxióng 高雄: Fójiào wénhuà fúwùchù chūbǎn 佛教文化服務處出版.

Dù, Jiéxiáng 杜潔祥, ed. 1982. Zhōngguó fósì shǐzhì huìkān. 中國佛寺史志彙刊. Vol. 8. 110 vols. Taibei: Míngwén shūjú; Dānqīng túshū gōngsī.

Féng, Guódòng 馮國棟, ed. 2019. Jǐngdé chuándēng lù. 景德傳燈錄. Zhèngzhōu 鄭州: Zhōngzhōu gǔjí chūbǎnshè.

Lǐ Yùkūn 李玉昆. 1995. “Dūnhuáng yíshū Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhū zǔshī sòng yánjiū 敦煌遗书《泉州千佛新著诸祖师颂》硏究.” Dūnhuángxué jíkān. 敦煌學辑刊 27 (1): 33–35, 8.

Sūn Chāngwǔ 孫昌武, Kinugawa Kenji 衣川賢次, and Nishiguchi Yoshio 西口芳男, eds. 2007. Zǔtáng jí. 祖堂集. 2 vols. Beijing: Zhōnghuá shūjú.

Van Cutsem, Laurent. 2020. “Chán Master Jìngxiūʼs 淨修禪師 Preface to the Zǔtáng jí 祖堂集 (K.1503): A TEI-Based Edition.” Database of Medieval Chinese Texts. 中古寫本資料庫. Ghent; New Taipei: Ghent University and Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts 法鼓文理學院. https://www.database-of-medieval-chinese-texts.be/views/texts/zutang_ji/showText.php.

----.  2020. 2021. “The Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhūzǔshī sòng 泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌 (S.1635): A TEI-Based Edition.” Database of Medieval Chinese Texts. 中古寫本資料庫. Ghent; New Taipei: Ghent University and Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts 法鼓文理學院. https://www.database-of-medieval-chinese-texts.be/views/texts/zutang_ji/showText.php.

Xiàng Dézhēn 向德珍. 2005. “Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhūzǔshī sòng yǔ Zǔtáng jí 'Jìngxiū Chánshī zàn' jiàolù 《泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌》與《祖堂集》 '淨修禪師讚' 校錄.” Jiǔ-zhōu xuélín. 九州學林 3 (4): 160–89.

Zhāng Huá 張華, ed. 2001. Zǔtáng jí. 祖堂集. Zhèngzhōu 鄭州: Zhōngzhōu gǔjí chūbǎnsh.

Zhāng Měilán 張美蘭, ed. 2009. Zǔtáng jí jiàozhù. 祖堂集校注. Beijing: Shāngwù yìnshūguǎn.

Secondary Literature

Anderl, Christoph. 2004. Studies in the Language of Zu-Tang Ji. Oslo:  Unipub. vol. 2 Acta Humaniora 213.

Demiéville, Paul. 1970. “Le Recueil de la Salle des Patriarches, ‘Tsou-t’ang Tsi’.” T’oung Pao 56 (4/5): 262–86.

Ishii Shūdō 石井修道. 1985. “Senshū Kaigenji shi no Shōkei Shōtō no den ni tsuite 『泉州開元寺志』の招慶省僜の傳について .” Indogaku bukkyōgaku kenkyū 34 (1): 270–77.

----. 1986. “Senshū Fukusen Shōkei-in no Jōshū Zenji Shōtō to Sodōshū 泉州福先招慶院の淨修禪師省僜と『祖堂集』 .” Komazawa daigaku bukkyōgakubu kenkyū kiyō 44 : 155–97.

Jorgensen, John. 2005. Inventing Hui-Neng, the Sixth Patriarch: Hagiography and Biography in Early Ch’an. Leiden:  Brill.

Kinugawa Kenji 衣川賢次. 2007. “Guânyú Zǔtáng jí de jiàolǐ 關於祖堂集的校理 .”  In Sūn, Chāngwǔ, Yoshio Nishiguchi,  Kenji Kinugawa, eds. Zǔtáng jí 祖堂集 . Beijing:  Zhōnghuá shūjú. vol. 2 933–54.

Kinugawa Kenji 衣川賢次. 2010. “"Quánzhōu Qiānfó xīnzhù zhūzǔshī sòng yǔ Zǔtáng jí 《泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌》與《祖堂集》 .” Zhōngzhèng dàxué zhōngwén xuéshù niánkān 14 : 1–31.

Van Cutsem, Laurent, and Christoph Anderl. 2021. “A Translation and Study of Chán Master Jìngxiūʼs 淨修禪師 Preface to the Zǔtáng jí 祖堂集 .” Religions 12 (11): 39.

Welter, Albert. 2006. Monks, Rulers, and Literati: The Political Ascendancy of Chan Buddhism. New York:  Oxford University Press.

Yanagida Seizan 柳田聖山. 1953. “Sodōshū no shiryō kachi (1): Tōki Zenseki no hihanteki sochi ni kansuru hitotsu no kokoromi 『祖堂集』の資料價値 (一): 唐期禪籍の批判的措置に關する一つの試み .” Zengaku kenkyū 44 : 31–80.

Yanagida, Seizan 柳田聖山. 1964. “Sodōshū no honbun kenkyū (1) 祖堂集の本文硏究 (一) .” Zengaku kenkyū 54 : 11–87.

Yanagida Seizan 柳田聖山. 1967. Shoki Zenshūshisho no kenkyū 初期禪宗史書の硏究 . Kyoto:  Hōzōkan.

Yanagida, Seizan. 1980. Sodōshū sakuin 祖堂集索引 .

Yanagida, Seizan 柳田聖山. 1990. Sodōshū 祖堂集 . Daijō Butten: Chūgoku Nihon hen 大乘佛典: 中國日本篇 . Tokyo:  Chūō kōronsha. vol. 13

Yáng, Zēngwén. 2006. Táng Wǔdài Chánzōng shǐ 唐五代禪宗史 . Beijing:  Zhōngguó shèhuì kēxué chūbǎnshè.