The Northern Sung (960-1126) witnessed the emergence of a number of texts which tell stories about wang-sheng, or "Rebirth in the Pure Land." The appearance of these story texts at a time when the Pure Land faith gained growing popularity is an intriguing phenomenon worthy of attention. This paper studies the process in which these stories evolved from their hagiographic origins into fantastic narratives that were put together to form the texts. It compares dozens of biographies in three kao-seng chuan, viz., biographies of eminent monks, with biographies of the same individuals included in these texts, showing that authors of the latter consistently, if not consciously, increased the dramatic elements to create the effect of "rebirth in the Pure Land" in their texts. These elements include the phraseology associated with the Pure Land and scenes portraying the predictable or imminent entry into the land of bliss. The frequent use of diction related to the Pure Land, such as celestial dignitaries, heavenly music, white light, and fragrant scent, to portray marvelous and mythical ascension rather than death perhaps best explains the nature and goals of these texts. Needless to say, they helped to proselytize. Furthermore, they provided people with much more concrete testimonies than their oral counterparts of what the authors believed was an existing and reachable Pure Land. The paper has six sections. The introduction discusses the sources of the wang-seng (Rebirth in Pure Land) story texts; hagiographies such as the Kao-seng chuan and the Hsu Kao-seng chuan. Section two outlines the formation of the wang-sheng texts, discussing four of them as representative examples produced in the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the Sung (960-1279). Section three tabulates the so-called wang-seng jen (people reborn in the Pure Land) documented in the stories of the four texts. Section four compares the narrative of some wang-sheng jen in these four texts and discusses their intertextual relationship. Section five points out the shift from "plain death" portrayed in the hagiographic accounts to wang-sheng in the accounts of these four texts. The conclusion reiterates the timely arrival of the wang-sheng texts in the Northern Sung, stressing that they brought encouragement and hope to the followers of the Pure Land faith.
