Chan (禪: Pinyin chán) or (Wade-Giles) Ch'an is the original Chinese form of Japanese 'Zen' Buddhism. They are derived from a synthesis of Indian Mahayana Dhyana (meditational) Buddhism with Chinese Taoism. The union of the two philosophies was possible because of the work of Buddhist missionaries who brought the Buddhist Dharma to China. Legend has it that the chief among these missionaries was Bodhidharma. He is generally credited with bringing Dhyana Buddhism to China around the year 440 CE. Chan Buddhism, while distinct, was historically taught alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries.
It is not possible to say which is the 'correct' form of the word Chan since the original word is from the Sanskrit adapted into Chinese, then into Japanese, and converted subsequently via Romanization into Western characters and punctuation.
See also: Dialectic, Universal Dialectic, Shaolin, Shaolin Quan, Kung Fu, Buddhism in China.
