Xinghua Cunjiang

Xinghua Cunjiang was the principal dharma heir of Linji Yixuan and the master responsible for continuing the main line of Linji transmission. He received Linji's transmission through a demanding process—Linji struck him repeatedly and tested him thoroughly before confirming his realization. This rigorous testing became the model for dharma transmission in the Linji school for all subsequent generations.

Xinghua's own teaching maintained the intensity and directness of Linji's style. He transmitted the Dharma to Nanyuan Huiyong, through whom the Linji lineage would continue to Fengxue, Shoushan, and eventually branch into the Yangqi and Huanglong subschools. Without Xinghua's faithful transmission, the entire Linji tradition—which became the dominant school of Chan and the basis of Japanese Rinzai Zen—would not have survived beyond its founder's generation.