Chen master Fayan Wenyi's法眼文益（885-958）biography is first found in the Song gaoseng zhuan宋高僧傳（Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled in the Song；988）. In Fayan Wenyi’s life, the accounts of his enlightenment experience vary the most among his later biographical sources. The controversy starts with the Song gaoseng zhuan’s description that Wenyi first studied with Chan master Changqing Huiling長廣慧稜（854-932）and then continued to study with Luohan Guichen羅漢桂琛（867-928）. Later biographers have to decide which lineage Wenyi belongs to, provide justification, and further elaborate upon Wenyi’s enlightenment experience. The author compares Wenyi’s biographies from different periods of time, namely the Song gaoseng zhuan, the Jingde chuandeng lu景德傳燈錄（Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp；1004）, the Chanlin sengbao zhuan禪林僧寶傳（Biographies of Samgha Treasure of the Chan School；1124）and the Liandeng huiyao聯燈會要（A collection of Essential Material from the Chan’s Successive Records；1183）in order to see the development and discrepancies exhibited in each of Wenyi’s biographers. By examining Wenyi’s biographies are more accurate than the others. Rather, it is more important to understand the historical meanings behind the discrepancies of these biographical materials.
