teaching of Mazu Daoyi, and the Thảo Đường, which incorporated nianfo chanting techniques; both were founded by Chinese monks. A new Thiền school was founded by King Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308); called the Trúc Lâm "Bamboo Grove" school, it evinced a deep influence from Confucian and Taoist philosophy. Nevertheless, Trúc Lâm's prestige waned over the following centuries as Confucianism became dominant in the royal court. In the 17th century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyên Thiều introduced the Linji school (Lâm Tế). A more native offshoot of Lâm Tế, the Liễu Quán school, was founded in the 18th century and has since been the predominant branch of Vietnamese Zen. Some scholars argue that the importance and prevalence of Thiền in Vietnam has been greatly overstated and that it has played more of an elite rhetorical role than a role of practice. The Thiền uyển tập anh (, "Collection of Outstanding Figures of the Zen Garden") has been the dominant text used to legitimize Thiền lineages and history within Vietnam. However, Cuong Tu Nguyen's Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A Study and Translation of the Thien Tap Anh (1997) gives a critical review of how the text has been used to create a history of Zen Buddhism that is "fraught with discontinuity". Modern Buddhist practices are not reflective of a Thiền past; in Vietnam, common practices are more focused on ritual and devotion than the Thiền focus on meditation. Nonetheless, Vietnam is seeing a steady growth in Zen today. Two figures who have been responsible for this increased interest in Thiền are Thích Nhất Hạnh, and Thích Thanh Từ, who lives in Da Lat. Theravada Buddhism The central and southern part of present-day Vietnam were originally inhabited by the Chams and the Khmer people, respectively, who followed both a syncretic Śaiva-Mahayana (see History of Buddhism in Cambodia). Theravāda spread from Sri Lanka to Cambodia during the 15th and 16th centuries, became established as the state religion in Cambodia and also spread to Cambodians living in the Mekong Delta, replaced Mahayana. Đại Việt annexed the land occupied by the Cham during conquests in the 15th century and by the 18th century had also annexed the southern portion of the Khmer Empire, resulting in the current borders of Vietnam. From that time onward, the dominant Đại Việt (Vietnamese) followed the Mahayana tradition while the Khmer people continued to practice Theravada Buddhism. In