Ch'an Master Kuan-hsiu，also called Te-yin, surnamed Chiang，was a native of Chin-hua County in Chekiang Province. Since childhood，he received Confucian education，but he renounced secular life to become a monk at the age of seven. He was devoted to reading sutras and serious religious practices in his teens. Meanwhile he indulged himself in chanting and writing poetry，and was very often engaged in chorus poetry-chanting together with his neighbors. Before twenty he won great renown for his poetry. The Master excelled in both religious practices and arts, and his achievements have rarely found a peer since the late T'ang Dynasty. In this article，the author uses materials collected from various works of history，biographies, calligraphy，literature, and paintings to relate the Master's life in three aspects：his deeds, his religious practices, and his achievements in arts.
