About Xuansha Shibei
Lived 835 – 908 (aged 72–73). Xuansha Shibei was a Chinese poet.
Xuansha Shibei (, 835–908) was a Chinese Chan monk in the lineage of Qingyuan Xingsi and a predecessor of the Fayan school of Chan Buddhism.
Biography Xuansha Shibei was born in Fuzhou in 835 and became a monk on Mount Furong in 860. He first studied with a monk named Yitong and later with the Hongzhou master Furong Lingxun. Shibei travelled to Kaiyuan Temple in Zhongling (, modern-day Jiangxi), where he received monastic precepts from the Vinaya master Daoxuan in 864. Two years later, he visited Chan master Xuefeng Yicun and became his disciple. Xuansha followed the precepts so precisely that he received the nickname Bei Tuotuo (with "Tuotuo" meaning Dhutanga). He subsequently left Xuefeng and established a cloister on Mount Sheng (also known as Mount Xuansha) named Xuansha . In 898, he was summoned to live in the cloister of Anguoyin in Fujian by the king of Min. He died in 908.
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Important facts
People in Xuansha Shibei's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Xuansha Shibei's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Xuansha Shibei?
Tang dynasty Chan Buddhist monk
When was Xuansha Shibei born?
Xuansha Shibei was born in 835.
When did Xuansha Shibei die?
Xuansha Shibei died in 908.
What was Xuansha Shibei's occupation?
Xuansha Shibei was a poet.
What nationality was Xuansha Shibei?
Xuansha Shibei was Chinese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Xuansha Shibei. https://biography.guide/xuansha-shibei/
MLA: "Xuansha Shibei." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/xuansha-shibei/.
Chicago: "Xuansha Shibei." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/xuansha-shibei/.
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