Róng 融 (Yǒngjì Róng 永濟融)
Mid-Qīng LínjìYángqí Chán master, the first recorded Mìyún-line Chán master of Manchu (Liáodōng) origin to establish mission-abbacies in his native region. Fǎhuì 法諱 Róng 融 (34th-generation Línjì), hào Yǒngjì 永濟. Lay surname Wáng 王, native of Liáozuǒ Gàizhōu 遼左蓋州 (modern Gàizhōu 蓋州, Liáoníng province). Principal dharma-heir of Jièwéi Xíngzhōu 介為行舟 (1611–1670) received at Dūmén Pǔjìān 都門普濟菴 in Běijīng during Jièwéi’s 1656–57 tenure (cf. KR6q0424).
Early life (c. 1615–1640s). Father Wáng Yǒuxián 王有賢 died when Róng was 11; mother Sūshì 蘇氏 died when Róng was 15; raised thereafter by maternal grandfather. Age 19: tonsured at Níngyuǎn Xīguān Báiyīān 寧遠西關白衣菴 by Zhèngyìn lǎosù 正印老宿. Age 22: received full precepts at Běijīng Mǐnzhōngsì 愍忠寺 from Tàixū héshàng 太虛和尚. First Chán-instruction from Jiàozōng chánshī at Liánhuáān on the “niànfó de shì shéi 念佛的是誰” huàtóu. First awakening on seeing insects in a gutter during retreat at Běijīng Xī Lónghǔyú. Age 24: ascetic labor-training at Jīnlíng Gǔlínān 金陵古林菴.
Consultation-tour (c. 1645–56). Unusually extensive multi-master consultation, preserved in dialogue-form in KR6q0427 juan 2 xíngshí: Língāo héshàng 林皋 (Sūzhōu Yáofēng); Ěrmì héshàng 爾密 (Xiǎnshèngsì); Jùdé héshàng 具德 (Guǎngxiàosì); Ruòshuǐ chánshī 若水 (Jīnmíng); Yùlín Tōngxiù 玉林通琇 (Bàoēn, pre-1659 imperial audience); Fèiyǐn Tōngróng (Jīnsù); Fúshí Tōngxián (Qīcūn); finally Jièwéi Xíngzhōu at Běijīng Pǔjìān (1656–57). Received formal yuánliú yīfú 源流衣拂 transmission from Jièwéi.
Liáodōng mission (1657–c. 1665). Returned to native Liáodōng and established a regional Chán-institutional network of seven or eight seats: Guǎngníng Lǘshān Dà Guānyīnyuàn 廣寧閭山大觀音院 (where the xíngshí was delivered 順治戊戌 = 1658); Qiānshān 千山; Guǎngníng Shuāngfēng Chányuàn 雙峰禪院 (built 順治庚子 = 1660 by patron Bái hùfǎ 白護法); Běizhènshān Xīnglóngān 北鎮山興隆庵; Guǎngníng Pǔcísì 普慈寺 (formal kāitáng 辛丑 1.8 = February 1661, opened amid polemical confrontation with the heretical-faction leader Dúbù 獨步). Returned briefly to Běijīng in 康熙壬寅 = 1662 to sweep the tomb of Yuèxīn Xiàozǔ 月心笑祖.
Historical significance. Yǒngjì Róng is the first-recorded mid-century Chán master to establish a Liáodōng mission-network from within the native Manchu-frontier population, rather than as a Han-monk import from Jiāngnán. His yǔlù is a principal documentary source for Qīng-era Liáodōng Buddhism and for the propagation of the Mìyún Línjì tradition into the Manchu homeland.
Birthdate and death-date not precisely documented — inference: born c. 1615–20 (based on ~age-44 in 1658 xíngshí); death c. 1665 or later.
Work: KR6q0427 《永濟融禪師語錄》 (2 juan, Jiāxīng Canon J28 B209, compiled by shūjì 師住 Shīzhù and 妙印 Miàoyìn).
Sources: KR6q0427 juan 1 opening kāitáng 1661.1.8 + juan 2 xíngshí (1658); Liú Xiǎojūn studies on Liáodōng Qīng Buddhism; Gǔjīn túshū jíchéng 古今圖書集成 shìjiā bù 釋家部 Liáodōng sections.