Dàxǐng 大醒 (1899-December 3, 1952)
From Jiangsu. At the age of 23 (in 1922), he graduated from Dōngtái 東台 Normal University. He read Hānshān's 憨山 Mèngyóu jí 夢游集 and Yìnguāng 印光 bestselling writings and decided to leave home. He ordained under under Xiàngzhī 讓之 at Yangzhou's Tiānníng 天寧 Temple in 1924. After ordination, he heard Tàixū 太虛 lecture and as a result entered the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary during its second term. In the summer of 1925, he went to Lúshān 廬山 to a special camp to study Buddhism and English for propagation purposes, along with Mǎnzhì 滿智 and Huìjué 會覺.
In March, 1928, Dàxǐng, Zhīfēng 芝峰 and Mǎnzhì were instructed by Tàixū to take over the Minnan Buddhist Seminary 閩南佛學院 in Xiamen. That same year Dàxǐng also started producing the magazine Xiàndài sēngqié 現代僧伽 (Modern Sangha), which became Xiàndài fójiào 現代佛教 (Modern Buddhism) in 1932.
In 1932, Dàxǐng and Zhifeng away left the Minnan Buddhist Seminary. The following year, Dàxǐng went to 汕頭, and there continued working on the 現代佛教, but that year he was asked to edit the HCY. He did and continued promoting radical Buddhism and 人間佛教, even editing one issue of the HCY in 1934 dedicated to that (人間佛教專輯). In 1935 he went to Japan to look at the state of Buddhism there, and wrote a record of it when he came back. He then went back to Jiangsu and started the 覺津佛學院, complete with its own periodical. When the War of Resistance broke out he organized and headed a monks’ brigade, which trained to protect Buddhism and the nation, but after the government moved he became passive and moved to Shanghai’s 靜安 Temple. Gap in life story…. With the end of the war he became head secretary of the new Chinese Buddhist association. In summer of 1946 he succeeded TX to become abbot of Zhejiang’s 雪竇 Temple. At the beginning of 1949 he brought the HCY to Taiwan. 228. He lived at Taipei’s 善導 Temple but high blood pressure forced him to move to Xinzhu in 1950. After a year he moved back. In March of 1952 he had a stroke that paralyzed half his body, and he died on December 13th. He wrote many works in the his lifetime, and he spent his whole career pushing for reform of the monastic and temple systems.