Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun
Yunnan (monastery restoration) · 1988
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Xuyun (Hsu Yun)
Xuyun (Hsu Yun)
1840 CE–1959 CE · Modern · Quanzhou
claimed 1840–1959 CE (the traditional 1840 birth-date, implying ~120 years, is debated)
Xuyun, 'Empty Cloud' (claimed 1840–1959 CE), was the towering figure of the modern Chinese Chan revival and among the most influential Buddhist teachers of his era. Born in Quanzhou, Fujian, he spent an extraordinarily long life rebuilding ruined monasteries, restoring monastic discipline, and transmitting all five of the classical Chan houses; many leading 20th-century Chan masters, in China and the diaspora, trace their lineage to him. His traditional 1840 birth-date—implying a life of nearly 120 years—is debated by scholars, and is presented here as the tradition's claim rather than settled fact.
Did you know?
A life that spanned two centuries
The Chan master Xuyun is commonly dated 1840-1959, which would make him about 119 years old at his death (traditionally reckoned as 120 in the Chinese counting system). His life is said to have spanned the late Qing empire, the short-lived Republic of China, and the early People's Republic; his birth year of 1840 is debated among scholars, though his 1959 death is well documented.
How we know
Xuyun (Hsu Yun): commonly dated 1840-1959; death (13 Oct 1959) securely documented, 1840 birth traditional but disputed; 1959-1840 = 119 yrs Western count, 120 by traditional Chinese (sui) reckoning.
Life journeyclick any stop, or use ←/→Trace on the map →
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Stop 1 of 2Born
Quanzhou
What they did here
DOCUMENTED ORIGIN: born in Quanzhou prefecture in Fujian; ordained as a young man and trained across many of the great Chan monasteries.
About Quanzhou
Quanzhou, a port city in Fujian province, China, was a great medieval maritime trade hub and a centre of several religions, Buddhism among them. It was the birthplace, in 1840, of Xuyun (Hsu Yun), the long-lived Chan master who became one of the most influential figures in the revival of Chinese Buddhism in the early twentieth century.
The world in their lifetime
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Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Xuyun (Hsu Yun)’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.