Chénggǔ 承古
Northern-Sòng Chán master, by later tradition Yúnménzōng 雲門宗 — though in fact the claim of direct dharma-succession to Yúnmén Wényǎn 雲門文偃 (864–949) is retrospective: as Wéiqīng’s preface to KR6q0377 notes, “he never met Yúnmén, yet is claimed as his direct heir” 不見雲門而稱嫡嗣. Known by tradition as Gǔ tǎzhǔ 古塔主 (“Old Stupa-Keeper”) for his long retreat in the stupa of Yúnjū Hóngjué 雲居弘覺 at Yúnjūshān 雲居山, where students gathered around him in his pre-abbacy years. Native of Xīzhōu 西州. Died on the 4th of the 11th month of Qìnglì 5 (4 December 1045).
As a young scholar of wide reading and some fame, left home to study first under Jǐngxuán 警玄 and then under Nányuè Yǎ 南嶽雅, who accepted him as rùshì 入室 disciple. Had his awakening on reading Yúnmén Wényǎn’s duìjī 對機 sayings — whence his later self-identification (and the tradition’s retrospective assignation) as a Yúnmén heir. Opened public teaching at Zhīshān 芝山; in Jǐngyòu 4 (1037) the statesman Fàn Zhòngyān 范仲淹, then shǒu Póyáng 守鄱陽 (prefect of Poyang), invited him to Jiànfúsì 薦福寺, where he taught until his death.
His single-juan yǔlù (KR6q0377; X73 n1447) was compiled by his disciple 文智 Wénzhì and prefaced c. 1097 by Língyuán Wéiqīng 靈源惟清, with a later second preface that is internally datable to the mid-12th century and plausibly attributable to Dàhuì Zōnggǎo 大慧宗杲. Eight named dharma-heirs per Jiànzhōng jìngguó xùdēnglù 建中靖國續燈錄.