十世紀中葉，漢傳佛教所面臨的時代歷經戰亂與文風復甦，當佛教各派因典籍散佚而舉步維艱之時，原本不重視文本的禪宗，在入宋以後不論是物質或思想層面皆得到前所未有的進展。由於社會條件支持與風氣的轉變，「不立文字」到了宋代已成為禪師生產的大量文本中的書面口號。禪師們口玄理，亦出文紀，禪學流布趨勢由口語記憶轉向文本書寫，而今日對於宋代禪宗的研究，也多以該時代製造的語錄偈頌、禪詩文集為主要對象，檢視禪師的歷史樣貌與禪學思想。但是，宋代禪宗高揚的文學性，並不是訴諸「以詩證禪」就能夠妥善明。應當還要留意在特定的社會文化脈絡底下，新的典範確立了，禪門實踐中的書面形式與傳統的口述、行動一樣值得重視，進而改變關於禪的歷史記憶。究其內蘊，「宋代對禪的文學性想像」是需要再深入探討的問題。

In the middle of the 10th century, a large number of Chinese Buddhist texts were lost due to war and conflict. After entering the Song dynasty—a time when literary education was highly emphasized—Chan Buddhist tradition, which had generally disregarded written texts, made significant progress on both a material and ideological level. Owing to shifts in social conditions, one of the central teachings of“ not establishing the written word” 不立文字 merely became a written slogan within literary works. The profound and esoteric theories of Chan Buddhists were recorded in these texts, changing the dissemination of Chan away from oral memory towards the written word. Presently, research on Chan tradition during the Song dynasty is primarily based on recorded sayings, verses, and poems to examine the lives and thoughts of Chan masters. However, the highly developed literary nature of Chan cannot be regarded as the fundamental answer to the“ verification of Chan through poems” 以詩證禪 . It should instead be noted that a new paradigm had been established under specific social contexts, and the written form of Chan teachings is as important as its past orality and workings, thereby altering the historical memory of Chan tradition. Regarding these issues, a further discussion concerning the “literary imagination” of Chan Buddhism in the Song dynasty is thus needed.