正史對歷史人物的描述常甚簡略而片面，多半只記述人物的宦海升沈，而忽略其文化、宗教生活。此種缺憾，造成吾人對許多歷史人物認識之偏差及不足。讀《宋史》＜文苑傅＞的張即之本傅，即可獲此印象。本文深入探討張即之(1186-1266)的文化舆宗教生活及表現，描繪出張即之的完整形象。有數點可資參考：其一，他舆同時期的名僧笑翁妙堪(1177-1248)情同兄弟手足，並舆笑翁弟子無文道璨(1213-1271)宛若父子師徒。其二，他舆多位禪師結成至交，舆物初大觀(1201-1268)尤其親近。所交禪僧都擅詩文，樂意舆他交遊唱和，尊他為師。其三，他致仕之後獻身抄寫佛經，近三十年毫無倦怠。所抄佛經多種，如《金剛》等經，都一再抄寫而不殫煩。寫經之同時，他舆禪師經常互動，被視為叢林善知識、「帶髪僧」。他的博學多聞，激發了南宋禪僧對士人文化之重視，熱衷「外學」而學有所得。其「文學僧」之作為，推翻了禪僧「反道德主義」或「毁典籍主義」之形象。

Biographies in standard dynastic histories are notoriously sketchy and biased, because they are concerned primarily with the ups and downs of political careers and fail to provide accounts of cultural and religious lives. This flaw can misguide readers by leading them astray from impartial and thorough knowledge needed to understand historical personages. When reading the biography of Zhang Jizhi 張即之 (1186-1266) in the Song History, the feeling of insufficiency is readily apparent. In this article, I delve into Zhang Jizhi's cultural and religious life, portraying him as fully as possible as a literatus and a patron of Buddhism. I bring up a number of points that, in my view, merit readers' attention. First of all, Zhang Jizhi enjoyed a brotherly relationship with the monk Xiaoweng Miaokan 笑翁妙堪 (1177-1248), as well as a father-son type relation with Wuwen Daocan 無文道璨 (1213-1271), who was Miaokan's disciple and Jizhi's protégé. Second, Jizhi established a special bond with younger Chan monks of his time, particularly with Wuchu Daguan 物初大觀 (1201-1268). These were eminent monks who were eager to engage Jizhi in exchange of verse and to show their reverence for him as their teacher. Third, Jizhi dedicated himself to hand-copying Buddhist scriptures for nearly thirty years after his retirement, during which he copied countless scrolls of sutras, including the Diamond Sutra. Many of these he copied more than two or three times. Amidst the copying of sutras, Jizhi actively interacted with his monk friends, making him widely recognized as a "non-tonsured monk" and a friend of the monastery (kalyanamitra). His extensive learning and scholarly attainment encouraged his monk friends in appreciating literati culture. They came to yearn for the "external learning" (waixue), which they soon mastered. Their mastery of this learning made them literary monks, which dispels the myth of Chan antinomianism and biblioclasm that are still believed to have been an integral part of the Chan belief.