In the classic novel Journey to the West,
a monk entitled Tang Priest, goes on a pilgrimage to India to fetch Buddhist scriptures
back to China. Together with his disciples Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand, he overcomes
81 hardships and his mission in successful. The novel is a collection of legends,
but in history there really was such a monk. His Buddhist name was Xuanzang.
Xuanzang (602 - 664) renounced the world and became a monk when he was young. He
acquired a good command of Buddhist classic, and he found that there were a great
many errors in the translated Buddhist scriptures. Therefore, he decided to go to
Tianzhu (today's Indian Peninsula), the birthplace of Buddhism, to study and bring
back authentic scriptures.
Xuanzang started his journey to the west in 627. He crossed mountains and deserts,
overcoming numerous hardships, and finally reached Tianzhu after a journey of a
whole year.
Xuanzang studied in Tianzhu and stayed there for long as 15 years, rendering homage
to size Buddhist Holy Lands successively. His sincere commitment to Buddhism and
nuswerving determination moved many Tianzhu people. Some kings even sent several
people to copy Buddhist sutra for him. In return, Xuanzang introduced them some
Buddhist scripture that had been lost. Xuanzang also learned the language of Tianzhu,
attended huge gatherings concerning Buddhist learning and delivered speeches on
many occasions. Xuanzang's erudition won the respect of Tianzhu people.
At the age of 42, Xuanzang returned to Chang'an, bringing back 657 Buddhist scriptures,
He then commenced the work of translating Buddhist scriptures. He translated 74
Buddhist scriptures altogether, amounting to about 1,305 volumes.
Xuanzang was not only an eminent monk, but also a great translator and an envoy
for friendship between China and India. He made great contributions to the development
of Chinese culture, and for cultural exchanges between China and India and other
countries.
Reference data
Records on the Western Regions of the Great Tang Empire
After he returned to China, Xuanzang wrote a book titled Records on the Western Regions
of the Great Tang Empire. The book records in detail the different traditions
and customs, products, climates, geographical conditions, histories, languages and
religions of over 100 countries and areas in the Western Regions at that time. Most
of the contents were what he saw and heard on his journey, which are very important
materials for research into the geographical and historical conditions in ancient
Central and South Asia. Now this book has been translated into many languages, and
enjoys worldwide fame.
Previous
Next
