Following the Footsteps of Xuanzang
(玄奘的足迹)
4 min read
Buddhism had taken root in China soon after its introduction from India in the 1st century CE. In 629, the Buddhist monk Xuanzang (玄奘, 602–664) embarked on a monumental pilgrimage to India. Born Chen Wei (陈祎), he received the Dharma name Xuanzang at his Buddhist ordination. His motivation was not merely devotional: he sought authoritative Sanskrit texts to resolve doctrinal disputes within China’s Buddhist community.
Xuanzang departed from the Tang capital Chang’an (长安, present-day Xi’an [西安]) and followed routes used by merchants trading with the Western Regions—paths that later became known collectively as the Silk Road.
Enduring perilous deserts and mountain passes, Xuanzang traveled across Central Asia into India, and onward to Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. In his travelogue, Great Tang Records of the Western Regions (大唐西域记), he vividly described the hardships of the journey: “Rivers of sand are vast and treacherous, with scorching heat and demonic winds; no one could escape unharmed… There is only desolation, devoid of human or bird. At night, demonic fires glitter like stars; by day, fierce winds hurl sand like instant rain” (沙河阻远, 鬼魅热风, 遇无免者…四顾茫然, 人鸟俱绝, 夜则妖魑举火, 烂若繁星, 昼则惊风拥沙, 散如时雨).
After years of travel, Xuanzang reached his ultimate destination: Nalanda Monastery in northeastern India, then the most important center of Buddhist learning in the world. Nalanda was a vast monastic university comprising some ten large temples and more than ten thousand Mahayana (大乘佛教) monks engaged in the study of the orthodox Buddhist canon. During his years in India, Xuanzang studied under eminent scholars and traveled widely to engage in philosophical debate. His mastery of Buddhist doctrine drew the attention of Indian elites. In 643, King Harsha convened an eighteen-day religious assembly, during which Xuanzang reportedly prevailed in debates against hundreds of participants, earning the honorific title “Mahayana Deva.”
In 645, after seventeen years abroad, Xuanzang returned to Chang’an. He was greeted by cheering crowds and granted an imperial audience by Emperor Taizong (唐太宗). Xuanzang brought back approximately 657 Sanskrit manuscripts. He took up residence at the Temple of Great Benefaction (大慈恩寺), where he devoted the remainder of his life to teaching and translating Buddhist texts. In total, he translated 1,335 chapters of sutras and treatises, including the Great Prajna Sutra (大般若经), the Samdhinirmocana Sutra (解深密经), and the Great Bodhisattva Sutra (大菩萨藏经). He also translated Chinese works into Sanskrit—including the Dao De Jing (道德经) and the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (大乘起信论)—introducing them to India.
Drawing on his travels, Xuanzang authored the Great Tang Records of the Western Regions, a foundational geographical and ethnographic work. Among his translations, the Great Prajna Sutra proved especially influential and remains recited daily in temples and monasteries across China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and beyond.
To house the scriptures he brought back, Xuanzang oversaw the construction of the Large Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔; photo below) at the Temple of Great Benefaction. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is the earliest and largest surviving square brick pagoda of the Tang dynasty and remains a major landmark in Xi’an.
Xuanzang’s epic journey later inspired the Ming dynasty novelist Wu Cheng’en (吴承恩) to write Journey to the West (西游记, c. 1592), one of the most beloved works of Chinese literature. Although based loosely on Xuanzang’s pilgrimage, the novel’s protagonist is the mythical Monkey King, Sun Wukong (孙悟空), portrayed as Xuanzang’s first disciple.
Xuanzang was not the first Chinese monk to undertake a pilgrimage to India. In 399, the monk Faxian (法显) led a group of monks from Chang’an on a similar journey. Returning fourteen years later at the age of seventy-seven, Faxian had traveled through today’s Xinjiang, visited major pilgrimage sites in India, and returned to China by sea via Sri Lanka and Sumatra. In his final years, he translated six volumes of Buddhist scriptures. His translation of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (摩诃僧祗律) remains one of the five major monastic codes in Chinese Buddhism. Faxian also recorded his travels in A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (佛国记), the earliest Chinese eyewitness account of Buddhist practices and sacred sites in South Asia.
Xuanzang exerted a monumental influence on Buddhism and cultural exchange between China and India. His translations, philosophical writings, and travel records provided Chinese Buddhists with a more accurate understanding of Indian Buddhist thought and played a decisive role in shaping the Yogācāra (瑜伽行派) tradition in China. His teachings also influenced other schools of Buddhism, and his legacy continues to shape Buddhist studies and Sino-Indian cultural relations to this day.
Additional resource for readers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCxKBcDWcgI
Photo credit: ChinaDaily.com