Fenyang Shanzhao

Fenyang Shanzhao was one of the most important figures in the revival of the Linji school during the Song dynasty. A student of Shoushan Xingnian, he brought the Linji tradition to a level of sophistication and influence that it had not enjoyed since Linji himself. He was a master of both the encounter dialogue and literary forms, composing verses on the hundred classic koans that helped establish the literary dimension of Chan practice.

Fenyang's three teaching methods—the saying, the gesture, and the shout—became the organizing framework for understanding the range of pedagogical tools available to the Linji teacher. His two principal students, Shishuang Chuyuan and Langye Huijue, carried his teaching forward. Through Shishuang Chuyuan, the lineage divided into the Yangqi and Huanglong branches, which together would dominate Chinese Chan for the remainder of the Song dynasty and beyond.