Despite the advancements in the studies on Ch'en Buddhist history, there appears to be very little systematic discussion and research on the formation and the evolution of the leadership lineage in early Ch'en Buddhist community. In particular, there is very little scholarly discussion revolving around the practice of "retreating to somewhere covert (退藏於密)" of Patriarch Shenxiu (神秀) and Patriarch Huineng (慧能). This research aims to answer those questions by analyzing relevant literature. This study hypothesizes that the gradual evolution of the leadership lineage in early Ch'en Buddhist community is shaped by the political environment within the community. The reason of "retreating to somewhere covert (退藏於密)" of Shenxiu (神秀) and Huineng (慧能) , which is also one of the Buddhist traditions, is mainly for eluding conflicts of interest among factions of Ch'en Buddhism and keeping their distance from politics.