Introduction
The context of seventeenth-century China
Reenvisioning Buddhism in the late Ming
The Literati and Chan Buddhism
The rise of Chan Buddhism
The principle of Chan
Clashes among enlightened minds
The divergence of interpretation
The Yongzheng Emperor and imperial intervention
Lineage matters
The debate about Tianhuang Daowu and Tianwang Daowu in the late Ming
The lawsuit about Feiyin Tongrong's Wudeng yantong in the early Qing
The aftermath
Critical analysis
Explaining the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism
The pattern of Buddhist revival in the past
Concluding remarks.