Chi-sung (契嵩1007-1072), an extremely learnt monk from Yun-men Zen school of North Song Dynasty, was a master of Buddhist philosophy and Zen; he learned Dharma from Master Tung Shan Hsiao Tsung (洞山曉聰), and lectured in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. Chi-sung was famous for his Tan Jin Anthology (鐔津文集) that combines Buddhism and Confucianism, which emphasizes on consistency of Confucianism and Buddhism. Additionally, certain literary collection consists of Master Kuei Feng Tsung-mi (圭峰宗密)(780-841) from late Tang Dynasty suggesting both consistency of Zen and a structural scale that combines three religions. Meanwhile, the collection also contains theories of balancing the education styles from Master Yung Ming Yen Shou (永明延壽)(904-975), and thus ideological origins and impacts on future generations in this literature are extremely far-reaching. The debate of the prose begins with an introduction of historical views from Zen aspects before Monk Chi-sung; accordingly, works of Chi-sung, including Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Chi (傳法正宗記), Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Lun (傳法正宗論), and Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Ting Tsu Tu (and Preface) (傳法正宗定祖圖並序) shall be adopted as center of documentation of historical views from Zen aspects to analyze differences between Tsung-mi and Chi-sung, to explore their heritages and varieties among organizational structures, as well as presented the meanings in Zen history. Starting from Pao Lin Chuan (寶林傳), latter classic writings of Zen “Teng Shih” (燈史) like Tsu Tang Chi (祖堂集), Snug Kao Seng Chuan (宋高僧傳), Ching Te Chuan Teng Lu (景德傳燈錄), and Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Chi (傳法正宗記) by Chi-sung, adopted the same narrating system that followed an axis. Nonetheless, it was Tsung-mi’s historical views from Zen aspects that had the greatest influence on Chi-sung; particularly his Chan Men Shih Tzu Cheng His Tu (禪門師資承襲圖) that affected the development of Chi-sung’s Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Ting Tsu Tu (傳法正宗定祖圖). It is also possible to see insistence and writing backgrounds of heritage legitimacy for Zen masters. Moreover, it is obvious that Chi-sung clearly considered and stated Yun-men Sect (雲門宗) as the first of all heritages, and its lineage is unshakably righteous. Chi-sung showed rigorous attitudes in his academic research in Chuan Fa Cheng Tsung Lun (傳法正宗論), as well as containing spirits of “learning the ultimate truth, and knowing the ins and outs of things” with hope to accomplish clarifying lineal descent from others though forms of arguments. However, chaotic conditions showed in his documentation recollecting and research conclusions. Nevertheless, after the publishing of Ching Te Chuan Teng Lu (景德傳燈錄) during early North Song Dynasty, issues of legitimacy of Zen heritage were not as fierce as the two descents in Tang Dynasty; still, after the chaos in the five Dynasties during the entire North Song Dynasty, debates on legitimacy of Zen heritage seemed to end in Chi-sung’s time. That is why his research outcomes and historical views from Zen aspects contain profound significance to the era.
