Table of contents : Contents A Brief Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Chapter one. Setting the Stage Seventeenth-Century Texts and Contexts Chapter two. Images of Nuns in the Writings of Seventeenth-Century Monks Chapter three. The Making of a Woman Chan Master Chapter four. Qiyuan Xinggang as Abbess, Dharma Teacher, and Religious Exemplar Chapter five. Passing on the Lamp: The Dharma Successors of Qiyuan Xinggang Chapter six. From Hengzhou to Hangzhou: Jizong Xingche Chapter seven. From Wise Mother to Chan Master: Baochi Jizong Chapter eight. Reviving the Worlds of Literary Chan: Zukui Jifu Chapter nine. From Beijing to Jiangnan: Ziyong Chengru A Brief Epilogue Notes Selected Bibliography Index