Everything about Xuanzang totally explained
Xuanzang (pronounced
Shwan-dzang) was a famous
Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator that brought up the interaction between
China and
India in the early
Tang period.
He became famous for his seventeen year overland trip to India and back, which is recorded in detail in his autobiography and a biography.
Nomenclature and etymology
Xuanzang is also known as Táng-sānzàng (唐三藏) or simply as Táng Sēng (唐僧), or Tang (Dynasty) Monk in Mandarin; in Cantonese as
Tong Sam Jong and in Vietnamese as
Đường Tam Tạng. Less common
romanizations of Xuanzang include
Hhuen Kwan, Hiouen Thsang, Hiuen Tsiang, Hsien-tsang, Hsyan-tsang, Hsuan Chwang, Hsuan Tsiang, Hwen Thsang, Xuan Cang, Xuan Zang, Shuen Shang, Yuan Chang, Yuan Chwang, and
Yuen Chwang.
Hsüan, Hüan, Huan and
Chuang are also found. In Japanese, he's known as
Genjō, or
Genjō-sanzō (Xuanzang-sanzang). In Vietnamese, he's known as
Đường Tăng (Tang Buddhist monk),
Đường Tam Tạng ("Tang Tripitaka" monk),
Huyền Trang (the Han-Vietnamese name of
Xuanzang)
Sānzàng (三藏) is the Chinese term for the
Tripitaka scriptures, and in some English-language fiction he's addressed with this title.
Early life
Xuanzang was born near
Luoyang,
Henan in
602? as Chén Huī or Chén Yī (陳 褘) and died 5th Feb.
664 in
Yu Hua Gong (玉華宮). Xuanzang, whose lay name was Chen Hui, was born into a family noted for its erudition for generations. He was the youngest of four children. His great-grandfather was an official serving as a prefect, his grandfather was appointed as professor in the Imperial College at the capital. His father was a conservative
Confucianist who gave up office and withdrew into seclusion to escape the political turmoil that gripped China at that time. According to traditional biographies, Xuanzang displayed a superb intelligence and earnestness, amazing his father by his careful observance of the Confucian rituals at the age of eight. Along with his brothers and sister, he received an early education from his father, who instructed him in classical works on filial piety and several other canonical treatises of orthodox Confucianism.
Although his household in
Chenhe Village of
Goushi Town (緱氏 gou1),
Luo Prefecture (洛州),
Henan, was essentially Confucian, at a young age Xuanzang expressed interest in becoming a Buddhist monk as one of his elder brothers had done. After the death of his father in
611, he lived with his older brother Chensu (later known as Changjie) for five years at
Jingtu Monastery (淨土寺) in
Luoyang, supported by the
Sui Dynasty state. During this time he studied both
Theravada and
Mahayana Buddhism, preferring the latter.
In
618, the Sui Dynasty collapsed and Xuanzang and his brother fled to Chang'an, which had been proclaimed as the capital of the
Tang state, and thence southward to
Chengdu,
Sichuan. Here the two brothers spent two or three years in further study in the monastery of
Kong Hui, including the
Abhidharmakosa-sastra (Abhidharma Storehouse Treatise). When Xuanzang requested to take Buddhist orders at the age of thirteen, the abbot
Zheng Shanguo made an exception in his case because of his precocious knowledge.
Xuanzang was fully ordained as a monk in
622, at the age of twenty. The myriad contradictions and discrepancies in the texts at that time prompted Xuanzang to decide to go to India and study in the cradle of Buddhism. He subsequently left his brother and returned to Chang'an to study foreign languages and to continue his study of Buddhism. He began his mastery of Sanskrit in
626, and probably also studied
Tocharian. During this time Xuanzang also became interested in the metaphysical
Yogacara school of Buddhism.
Pilgrimage
In
629, Xuanzang reportedly had a dream that convinced him to journey to India. The
Tang Dynasty and Eastern Türk
Göktürks were waging war at the time; therefore
Emperor Tang Taizong prohibited foreign travel. Xuanzang persuaded some Buddhist guards at the gates of
Yumen and slipped out of the empire via
Liangzhou (
Gansu), and
Qinghai province. He subsequently travelled across the
Gobi Desert to
Kumul (Hami), thence following the
Tian Shan westward, arriving in
Turfan in
630. Here he met the king of Turfan, a Buddhist who equipped him further for his travels with letters of introduction and valuables to serve as funds.
Moving further westward, Xuanzang escaped robbers to reach
Yanqi, then toured the
Theravada monasteries of
Kucha. Further west he passed
Aksu before turning northwest to cross the Tian Shan's
Bedal Pass into modern
Kyrgyzstan. He skirted
Issyk Kul before visiting
Tokmak on its northwest, and met the great
Khan of the Western Türk, whose relationship to the
Tang emperor was friendly at the time. After a feast, Xuanzang continued west then southwest to
Tashkent (Chach/Che-Shih), capital of modern day
Uzbekistan. From here, he crossed the desert further west to
Samarkand. In Samarkand, which was under
Persian influence, the party came across some abandoned Buddhist temples and Xuanzang impressed the local king with his
preaching. Setting out again to the south, Xuanzang crossed a spur of the
Pamirs and passed through the famous Iron Gates. Continuing southward, he reached the
Amu Darya and
Termez, where he encountered a community of more than a thousand Buddhist monks.
Further east he passed through
Kunduz, where he stayed for some time to witness the funeral rites of
Prince Tardu, who had been poisoned. Here he met the monk
Dharmasimha, and on the advice of the late Tardu made the trip westward to
Balkh (modern day
Afghanistan), to see the Buddhist sites and relics, especially the
Nava Vihara, or Nawbahar, which he described as the westernmost monastic institution in the world. Here Xuanzang also found over 3,000 Theravada monks, including
Prajnakara, a monk with whom Xuanzang studied Theravada scriptures. He acquired the important [Mahāvibhāṣa] text here, which he later translated into Chinese. Prajnakara then accompanied the party southward to
Bamyan, where Xuanzang met the king and saw tens of Theravada monasteries, in addition to the two large
Bamyan Buddhas carved out of the rockface. The party then resumed their travel eastward, crossing the
Shibar pass and descending to the regional capital of
Kapisi (about 60 km north of modern
Kabul), which sported over 100 monasteries and 6,000 monks, mostly
Mahayana. This was part of the fabled old land of
Gandhara. Xuanzang took part in a religious debate here, and demonstrated his knowledge of many Buddhist sects. Here he also met the first
Jains and
Hindus of his journey. He pushed on to
Jalalabad and
Laghman, where he considered himself to have reached India. The year was
630.
South Asia
Xuanzang left Jalalabad, which had few Buddhist monks, but many
stupas and monasteries. He passed through
Hunza and the
Khyber Pass to the east, reaching the former capital of
Gandhara,
Peshawar, on the other side. Peshawar was nothing compared to its former glory, and Buddhism was declining in the region. Xuanzang visited a number of stupas around Peshawar, notably the
Kanishka Stupa. This stupa was built just southeast of Peshawar, by a former king of the city. In
1908 it was rediscovered by
D.B. Spooner with the help of Xuanzang's account.
Xuanzang left Peshawar and travelled northeast to the
Swat Valley. Reaching
Udyana, he found 1,400 old monasteries, that had previously supported 18,000 monks. The remnant monks were of the
Mahayana school. Xuanzang continued northward and into the
Buner Valley, before doubling back via
Shabaz Gharni to cross the
Indus river at
Hund. Thereafter he headed to
Taxila, a
Mahayana Buddhist kingdom that was a vassal of
Kashmir, which is precisely where he headed next. Here he found 5,000 more Buddhist monks in 100 monasteries. Here he met a talented
Mahayana monk and spent his next two years (
631-
633) studying Mahayana alongside other schools of Buddhism. During this time, Xuanzang writes about the
Fourth Buddhist council that took place nearby, ca.
100 AD, under the order of King
Kanishka of
Kushana.
In
633, Xuanzang left Kashmir and journeyed south to
Chinabhukti (thought to be modern
Firozpur), where he studied for a year with the monk-prince
Vinitaprabha.
In
634 he went east to
Jalandhar in eastern
Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantly
Theravada monasteries in the
Kulu valley and turning southward again to
Bairat and then
Mathura, on the
Yamuna river. Mathura had 2,000 monks of both major Buddhist branches, despite being Hindu-dominated. Xuanzang travelled up the river to
Srughna before crossing eastward to
Matipura, where he arrived in
635, having crossed the river
Ganges. From here, he headed south to
Sankasya (Kapitha), said to be where
Buddha descended from heaven, then onward to the northern Indian emperor
Harsha's grand capital of
Kanyakubja (Kanauji). Here, in
636, Xuanzang encountered 100 monasteries of 10,000 monks (both
Mahayana and
Theravada), and was impressed by the king's patronage of both scholarship and Buddhism. Xuanzang spent time in the city studying Theravada scriptures, before setting off eastward again for
Ayodhya (Saketa), homeland of the
Yogacara school. Xuanzang now moved south to
Kausambi (Kosam), where he'd a copy made from an important local image of the Buddha.
Xuanzang now returned northward to
Sravasti, travelled through
Terai in the southern part of modern
Nepal (here he found deserted Buddhist monasteries) and thence to
Kapilavastu, his last stop before
Lumbini, the birthplace of
Buddha. Reaching Lumbini, he'd have seen a pillar near the old Ashoka tree that Buddha is said to have been born under. This was from the reign of emperor
Ashoka, and records that he worshipped at the spot. The pillar was rediscovered by A. Fuhrer in
1895.
In
637, Xuanzang set out from Lumbini to
Kusinagara, the site of Buddha's death, before heading southwest to the deer park at
Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon, and where Xuanzang found 1,500 resident monks. Travelling eastward, at first via
Varanasi, Xuanzang reached
Vaisali, Pataliputra (
Patna) and
Bodh Gaya. He was then accompanied by local monks to
Nalanda, the great ancient university of India, where he spent at least the next two years. He was in the company of several thousand scholar-monks, whom he praised. Xuanzang studied
logic,
grammar,
Sanskrit, and the Yogacara school of Buddhism during his time at Nalanda.
His influence on Chinese Buddhism
During his travels he studied with many famous Buddhist masters, especially at the famous center of Buddhist learning at
Nālanda University. When he returned, he brought with him some 657
Sanskrit texts. With the emperor's support, he set up a large translation bureau in
Chang'an (present-day
Xi'an), drawing students and collaborators from all over
East Asia. He is credited with the translation of some 1,330 fascicles of scriptures into Chinese. His strongest personal interest in Buddhism was in the field of
Yogācāra (瑜伽行派) or
Consciousness-only (唯識).
The force of his own study, translation and commentary of the texts of these traditions initiated the development of the
Faxiang school (法相宗) in East Asia. Although the school itself didn't thrive for a long time, its theories regarding
perception,
consciousness,
karma,
rebirth, etc. found their way into the doctrines of other more successful schools. Xuanzang's closest and most eminent student was
Kuiji (窺基) who became recognized as the first patriarch of the Faxiang school. Hsuan Tsang's logic, as described by Kuiji, was often misunderstood by scholars of Chinese Buddhism because they lack the necessary background in Indian logic.
Xuanzang was known for his extensive but careful translations of Indian Buddhist texts to Chinese, and subsequent recoveries of lost Indian Buddhist texts from translated Chinese copies. He is credited with writing or compiling the
Cheng Weishi Lun as a commentary on these texts. He also founded the short-lived but influential
Faxiang school of Buddhism. Additionally, he was known for recording the events of the reign of the northern Indian emperor,
Harsha.
His Autobiography and Biography
In
646, under the Emperor's request, Xuanzang completed his book "
Journey to the West in the Great Tang Dynasty" (大唐西域記), which has become one of the primary sources for the study of
medieval Central Asia and India. This book was first translated into French by the Sinologist
Stanislas Julien in 1857.
There was also a biography of Xuanzang written by the monk Huili (慧立). Both books were first translated into English by Samuel Beal, in 1884 and 1911 respectively. An English translation with copious notes by Thomas Watters was edited by T. S. Rhys Davids and S.W. Bushell, and published posthumously in London in 1905. These books are however all seriously outdated and full of inaccuracies, and recent attempts are not much better.
His Legacy
Xuanzang's journey along the so-called
Silk Roads, and the legends that grew up around it, inspired the
Ming novel
Journey to the West, one of the great classics of
Chinese literature. The
Xuanzang of the novel is the reincarnation of a disciple of
Gautama Buddha, and is protected on his journey by three powerful disciples. One of them, the
monkey, was a popular favourite and profoundly influenced
Chinese culture and contemporary
Japanese
manga and anime, (including the popular
Dragon Ball and
Saiyuki series'), and became well known in the West by
Arthur Waley's translation and later the cult TV series
Monkey.
In the
Yuan Dynasty, there was also a
play by
Wu Changling (吳昌齡) about Xuanzang obtaining scriptures.
Relics
A skull relic purported to be that of Xuanzang was held in the
Temple of Great Compassion,
Tianjin until
1956 when it was taken to
Nalanda - allegedly by the
Dalai Lama - and presented to
India. The relic is now in the
Patna museum. The
Wenshu Monastery in
Chengdu,
Sichuan province also claims to have part of Xuanzang's skull.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Xuanzang'.
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