Linji Temple is an ancient temple built in 540 during the Eastern Wei Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty a master monk by the name of Yixuan founded the Linji Sect, which eventually became one of the five major sects of Buddhism in China.

ID：019-6913 Zhengding Linji Temple, Hebei Province　　  Picture Sources：ccnpic.com

ID：019-6911 Zhengding Linji Temple, Hebei Province　　  Picture Sources：ccnpic.com

The sect developed rapidly after the middle years of the Tang Dynasty and was in great fashion for a time because it could help people achieve "awakening" by swift means or through popular epigrams. At the end of the twelfth century (during the Song Dynasty) two Japanese monks, Eisai and Shuniyo, went to China, later introducing the Linji Sect to Japan. During the Kamakura period (1192-1333) twenty of the twenty-four schools of the Chan (Zen) Sect in Japan belonged to the Linji Sect headed by Yany Qi.

ID：019-6916 Zhengding Linji Temple, Hebei Province　　  Picture Sources：ccnpic.com

ID：019-6910 Zhengding Linji Temple, Hebei Province　　  Picture Sources：ccnpic.com

Even today, many Buddhists in Japan regard Linji Temple in Zhengding as the birthplace of their sect. Chengling Pagoda was built in 867 by Xuanyi's disciples after his death as a tomb for his mantle and alms bowl. (CCNPIC Nancy Wu)