Lanxi Daolong

Lanxi Daolong (traditional Chinese: 蘭溪道隆; simplified Chinese: 兰溪道隆; pinyin: Lánxī Dàolóng; Wade–Giles: Lan-hsi Tao-long; Japanese: 蘭渓道隆, romanized: Rankei Dōryū; c. 1213–1278), born in Sichuan Province, China in 1213 A.D. (Southern Song dynasty), was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, idealist philosopher, and is the founder of the Kenchō-ji sect, which is a branch of the Rinzai school.

Lanxi Daolong entered temple life at the age of thirteen. During the Song dynasty, he went to Japan at the invitation of Hōjō Tokiyori. He founded Kenchō-ji in 1253.

Lanxi Daolongs calligraphy was famous in Japan, especially Rule of Zen (法语规则). Daolong died in Kenchō-ji and was given the Posthumous Name of Dajue Zen Master (大覚禅師, Daikaku Zenji in Japanese) by Emperor Go-Uda (後宇多天皇). Throughout his lifetime, he made great contributions to promote Sino-Japanese cultural interactions.