With regard to Chan Sect of Yunnan in the Yuan Dynasty, researchers of the older generation have made great achievements in the management of material and textual criticism of historical events. However, few researchers have paid attention to the thought of methods of meditation, especially the status of Chan Sect of Yunnan in the Chinese history of Chan Sect. Focusing on Zhongfeng Mingben–the most influential master of Chan Sect of Yunnan in the Yuan Dynasty and his disciples, this article utilizes such material as quotations of Chan Sect, historical biographies, gazetteers of Yunnan and inscriptions. On the basis of textual criticism of these documents, this thesis analyzes the origin and contents of methods of meditation in Chan Sect of Yunnan as well as the close relationship between Yunnan Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty and Chan Sect in region south of the lower Yangtze River.
