Biography
From Zhejiang, his family was somewhat poor and he could only attend a few years at traditional schooling. In 1914 he was tonsured in his town. Around 1917 he went to 諦閒’s 觀宗 Temple in Ningbo where they were holding a precepts ceremony on the occasion of his 60th birthday. In 1918, some Beijing laypeople gave Dixian money to found the Guanzong xueshe, where Zhifeng and several others were the student-monks.
In 1920 he returned to his native 溫州 and served in several different roles at the 興陀 Temple. In 1923 he matriculated at a study session at 漢口 FXY then in September became a student at the second session of the Wuchang FXY, where he graduated in June 1924. In the Summer of 1923 he participated in the First World Buddhist Congress. In the fall of 1924 he went home to his first temple and while studying Tiantai and Consciousness-Only he taught people in his locality, becoming one of the first monks to try to raise the educational quality at in his locality. In 1925 he was asked by TX to join Daxing in helping Manzhi at the Minnan FXY, which he did, teaching many things with an emphasis on C-O. There he also set up the semi-monthly publication of 現代僧伽, later 現代佛教. (SDC says Zhifeng and Daxing were there for six years from 1928-1933, SDC 2.906)
1928/29 were hard times for Buddhism as the local magistrate 馮玉祥 wanted to enforce laws to turn temples into educational facilities. In reaction to this XDSQ began to give voice to radical reform factions within Buddhism. When Yu Deyuan returned to Xiamen in 1930 to study at Xiamne U., he and Zhifeng became acquainted and got professors invited from the U. to the FXY, and got Zhifeng invited to the U. to give a lecture on the 成唯識論.
In 1932, when TX retired from Nanputuo Temple to leave town, Zhifeng and Daxing did likewise. The 人海燈, which was a weekly associated with a local newspaper, and was edited by Zhifeng, collapsed when he left. First he went to Suzhou, but TX ordered him to Wuchang to edit the HCY, which though edited in Wuchang, was being published in Shanghai by Buddhist Books during this period.
Issue 14, 7 was a special edition dedicated to Mijiao and based in part on 王弘願 1926 translation from Japanese of the 密宗綱要. TX had not liked this work and publication of this issue led to Zhifeng quitting the HCY (after being forced into editing through issue #9, SDC 2.907), handing editing duties over to Daxing, and leaving Wuchang for Ningbo where, with 幻法, a classmate from Wuchang, he started teaching monks. [In charge of Minnan FXY from 1928-1932, see page 275a., Zhīfēng 芝峰, “Jìnhuà de rénshēng 進化的人生 (Evolving Humanity),” HCY 1 (1936), MFQ 192.275-277.]
In April 1935, TX asked him to Wuchang to lecture with the hope that he would stay and help Fafang run the FXY and the 世界佛學苑圖書館, but he didn’t. 254. In 1937 due to the war he moved to 靜安 Temple. In 1939, TX asked him to participate in a Buddhist Org, but he turned it down. During the war he shuttled back and forth between E. Zhejiang and 靜安. In 1943 he accepted 東初’s offer to teach and translate (from Japanese) at 鎮江焦山FXY. In 1945 TX started another org. and this time Zhifeng joined, but TX died in 1946 and Zhifeng died in 1949.
References:
XFRC, 704b. YU 1995, 249-255. SDC 2.906-910.