a critical history of medieval Chan literature Cole, Alan 1964- creator author. text bibliography Electronic books. cau 2016 2016 monographic eng 1 online resource. "Chan Buddhism--better known as 'Zen'--produced an enormous amount of literature, and yet many Chan advocates, medieval and modern, insist that Chan and its truths can be found in neither language nor literature. Patriarchs on Paper explores this paradox by considering several genres of Chan literature that appeared during the Tang and Song dynasties (c. 600-1300), including genealogies, biographies, dialogues, poems, monastic handbooks, and koans. Looking carefully at this body of literature, Alan Cole shows how Chan authors gradually constructed, in ever more artful portrayals, images of the perfectly simple masters of the past, best known for their freedom from literature and cultural norms. Patriarchs on Paper explores how this kind of 'fantasy Buddhism' interacted with its more traditional Chinese forms and in so doing sheds new light on how Chan's illustrious ancestors were created in literature to satisfy a wide range of agendas"--Provided by publisher. Introduction: Chan -- what is it? -- Making history : Chan as an art form -- Plans for the past : early accounts of how perfect truth came to China -- Portable ancestors : Bodhidharma gets two new families -- More local Buddhas appear : Jingjue, Huineng, Shenhui -- Truth, conspiracy, and careful writing : a new version of Huineng -- The Platform Sutra and other conspiracy theories -- Chan "dialogues" from the Tang Dynasty -- Chan compendiums from the Song Dynasty -- Rules for purity : handbooks for running Chan monasteries -- Koans and being there -- Conclusions : Chan, a Buddhist beauty. Alan Cole. Includes bibliographical references and index. a-cc--- Zen literature, Chinese China History and criticism Zen Buddhism History of doctrines Middle Ages, 600-1500 RELIGION / Comparative Religion RELIGION / Buddhism / Zen BQ9264.4.C62 294.3/9270951 Cole, Alan, 1964- author. Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2016] (DLC) 2016021494 9780520959750 0520959752 2016023440 22573/ctt1gk5bp1 JSTOR http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1369498 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1369498 DLC 160519 20200709060514.0 ocn950084370 eng