The background of monk ci creation in Song Dynasty

Since Buddhism was introduced into China, it has never stopped merging with the traditional culture of China. Literature, as an important manifestation of social culture, is constantly influenced by Buddhism in its dissemination process. With the translation and dissemination of Buddhist scriptures, the increase of communication between monks and scholars, and the popularity of temple lectures, Buddhism has played a wide role in all aspects of ancient literature in China. Among the literary phenomena of the integration of Buddhism and literature, the lyrics of monks deserve attention. The theme of the existing Song Dynasty monk ci works involves Buddhism, scenery description, lyricism, singing and so on. Among them, Buddhist Zen ci is an important attempt by monks to expand the functions of ci.