Mainly as a result of Hu Shih's ground-breaking studies on the history of Ch'an Buddhism, Shen-hui has been generally accepted as the crucial figure who led the southern Ch'an to prominence at the expense of the Northern school. This artic1e challenges some of the established views on Shen-hui's life and career. The author, for instance, doubts that Shen-hui's 734 debate with Ch'ung-yuan played any important part in the Southern Ch'an's struggle with the Northern Ch'an. No evidence shows that Ch'ung-yüan belonged to the Northern school. The contribution to the T'ang campaign against the An Lu-shan rebellion is also problematic. This work argues that the Southern Ch'an's victory over the Northern Ch'an was a gradual process rather than a sudden phenomenon. It was not, as Hu Shih c1aimed, a victory single-handedly brought about by Shen-hui. Both Shen-hui's disciples and members of the Southern Ch'an outside the Shen-hui circ1e contributed to this development. This artic1e also makes some suggestive explanations regarding the dec1ine of the Ho-tse tradition (i. e., the Shen-hui school).
