with similar aims, to legitimize the assertions of later
lineages descended through Xingsi and Shitou Xiqian
(700–790).
By acknowledging several branches, Chan was able
to capitalize on its clan identity as an extended family.
This framework served as the organizing principle for
the classic works of Chan lineage formation compiled
in the Song, the transmission histories, or lamp records
(denglu): the Zutang ji (Patriarch’s Hall Anthology,
compiled 952); the Jingde chuandeng lu(Jingde-Era
Transmission of the Lamp Record,compiled 1004); the
Tiansheng guangdeng lu(Tiansheng-Era Record of the
Propagation of the Lamp,compiled 1036); the Jianzhong
jingguo xudeng lu(Jianzhong jingguo-Era Supplementary
Lamp Record,compiled 1101); the Zongmen liandeng
huiyao(Combined Lamp Record of the Chan Lineage,
compiled 1183); the Jiatai pudeng lu(Jiatai-Era Uni-
versal Lamp Record,compiled 1202); and the Wudeng
huiyuan(Concise Compendium of the Five Lamp [His-
tories],compiled 1252). The common metaphor em-
ployed throughout these works is the notion of
transmitting the lamp or flame (chuandengor zhuan-
deng), with the lamp representing the light of enlight-
enment or the teachings of Buddhism. In the Chan
context, dharma transmission represents not just a par-
ticular teaching or principle, but the secret essence of
the Buddha’s awakening, referred to variously as “per-
fect wisdom,” the “dharma-eye,” the “mind-teaching,”
or the “mind-essence.” The transmission of the dharma
is likened to the passing of a flame from one lamp to
another, representing the transmission of Buddha’s en-
lightenment from one generation to the next.
As an organizing principle, these works share the be-
lief in a common lineage of Chan ancestors, or patri-
archs, extending from S ́akyamuni and MAHAKAS ́YAPA
through the series of Indian patriarchs culminating
with Bodhidharma, who brought the transmission to
China, initiating the series of Chinese Chan patriarchs.
These transmission records are principally concerned
with documenting the profusion of Chan masters fol-
lowing the sixth patriarch, and organizing them ac-
cording to lineage. The genesis of the so-called five
houses or five clans (Weiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yun-
men, and Fayan) of Chan Buddhism is found in these
records. Organized in this fashion, the master–disciple
relation serves as a surrogate father–son relationship,
linking practitioners to the larger tradition of Chan an-
cestors and providing identity based on specific lin-
eages. In this way Chan came to mirror the Chinese
clan system, organized around common ancestors, pa-
trilineal style relationships, factional branch lineages,
and so on. The Chan clan came to represent a set of
familial style relationships. Individual monks belong-
ing to a lineage were related vertically as spiritual fa-
thers, sons, grandfathers, grandsons, and so on. They
were related to other Chan branch lineages horizon-
tally as would be siblings, cousins, uncles, and nephews.The last decades of the Song dynasty witnessed the
production of two works, the Shimen zhengtong(Or-
thodox Lineage of the Buddhist Tradition,compiled in
1237) and the Fozu tongji(Comprehensive History of
the Buddhas and Patriarchs,compiled between 1258
and 1269), which presented the universal history of
Buddhism from the Tiantai perspective. These works
held that the essence of Buddhism was embodied in
Tiantai teaching and practice, which had been faith-
fully transmitted from S ́akyamuni through the Indian
patriarchs, to the Tiantai patriarchs in China. Like their
Chan counterparts, the Tiantai records were structured
around the principle of patriarchal succession. How-
ever, unlike Chan, they proposed that Tiantai patri-
archs and their descendants occupied the central and
dominant position of Buddhism in China. As in the
case of Chan lineages, the essentially congruent Tiantai
lineages presented in these works cannot be accepted
uncritically, but should be regarded as products of a
process aimed at securing prestige, patronage, and spe-
cial privilege for Tiantai during the Song period (Shi-
nohara, pp. 524–525).By the Song dynasty, Dharma-transmission was
formalized through the granting of a dharma-scroll
conferred by a master on deserving disciples. The
“dharma-scroll” contained a list of names through
whom the transmission had passed, from S ́akyamuni
down through the current master. In effect, it consti-
tuted the dharma-lineage of the particular sect in ques-
tion, and authorized the recipient to teach. According
to Holmes Welch (The Practice of Chinese Buddhism:
1900–1950,p. 157), this system was still practiced in
China in the twentieth century. In addition to dharma-
lineages, individual monastery lineages listed the
names of abbots who served at them.The notion of lineage framed in the Chinese con-
text had great impact on the development of Buddhism
throughout East Asia. Lineage as a basis for sectarian
identity was promoted in Japan and Korea, where na-
tive versions of Chinese Buddhist schools prospered,
and native lineages were grafted onto their Chinese
predecessors. Contemporary Zen priests in Japan con-
tinue to receive dharma-scrolls or dharma-certificates
as authentication of their status in a Zen lineage. Men-LINEAGE