Chánzōng zhèngmài 禪宗正脉
Orthodox Lineage of the Chán School
compiled by 如巹 (Rújǐn), completed 1489 (Míng Hóngzhì 弘治 2)
About the work
A ten-juan Míng Chán anthology compiled by 如巹 Rújǐn, selecting what the compiler judged to be the orthodox-line (zhèngmài 正脉) transmission material from the earlier Chán lamp records and recorded-sayings literature. Effectively a curated Línjì-orthodox reader aimed at Míng practitioners.
Abstract
Rújǐn’s selections privilege the Bodhidharma-to-慧能 Huìnéng main transmission, the Línjì 臨濟 line, and (within Línjì) the Yángqí — 宗杲 Dàhuì — 法演 Wǔzǔ Fǎyǎn 五祖法演 branch. The work is typical of late-fifteenth-century Míng Chán editorial practice: conservative in its choice of source material, orthodox in its lineage claims, pedagogical in its selection of the most-quoted recorded dialogues. As an anthology rather than a genealogical compilation in the lamp-record sense, it is catalogued separately in the Chán-literature sections of the Xuzangjing.
Translations and research
No English translation. Treated briefly in surveys of Míng Chán literature; no monographic study located.
Other points of interest
The work circulated widely among Míng Chán practitioners and is cited in later Míng-Qīng commentaries; its selection principles give a useful window on what Míng orthodoxy considered canonical within the Chán textual corpus.