Zhāng Kèchéng 張克誠 (1865-1922)
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Zhāng Kèchéng 張克誠 (1865-1922) was an important Běijīng-based scholar of Consciousness-Only 唯識 in the first decade of the Republic.
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Zhāng came from a prosperous family in Guǎnghàn County 廣漢縣, Sìchuān 四川. His family established dozens of small schools in the area, and Zhāng himself received a good education. As a teenager he was interested in the Yì jīng 易經. In 1908 (Guāngxù 光緒 34), he traveled to Běijīng 北京 where he tested into a local school and began studying Russian and Mongolian. He graduated in 1911 and went to work under Yáo Xíguāng 姚錫光 at the consulate in Mongolia.
The Revolution of 1911 and the establishment of the Republic was very unsettling for Zhāng, who had a profound experience while reading the Śūraṃgama Sūtra. This experience led him to leave his job and return to Běijīng. In Běijīng he lived at Guǎngjì Temple 廣濟寺 where he became close with the abbot, Qīngyī 清一, and aided him in rebuilding the temple. After studying the Śūraṃgama Sūtra for half a year without making any progress, he began to study Consciousness-Only 唯識. This became his area of specialty, and he was well regarded for his understanding of Consciousness-Only during the last ten years of his life. One of his students, Jiǎng Wéiqiáo 蔣維喬, helped Zhāng get a job as lecturer in Consciousness-Only at Běijīng University 北京大學. Starting in 1914, Zhāng also lectured at a Lotus Society in Běijīng. During this time, Zhāng taught a number of students as was the mentor to a number of people who later became important Buddhists. In 1913 he taught Gōng Jīxī 龔緝熙, who ordained in 1924, taking the name Nénghǎi 能海.
After Qīngyī's death, Zhāng moved to Jīngfēng Temple 驚峰寺, which he helped its abbot Chāngyún 昌云 rebuild. He died there in 1922.