The Chinese lineage system is generally divided into two categories: kinship and territorial. The author suggests, however, the concept of 'Dharma Lineage' for studies on the organization of Chinese Buddhist monasteries after the Ming Dynasty. The monks, once ordained, have legally broken ties with their mundane family and lineage, and then join in the new Buddhist ties. The organization of a Chinese monastery, unlike the bureaucracy under a church system, attaches great importance to the genealogy between the master and the disciple. This mode is quite similar to the construction of lineage. This article discusses the above topic by analyzing two types of Buddhist Dharma Lineage-the inheritance lineage and the control-subordination lineage.
