Great Tang Records on the Western Regions
Great Tang Records on the Western Regions | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin Dà Táng Xīyù Jì | | |
Wade–Giles | Ta4 T'ang2 Hsi1-yü4 Chi4 |
The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions is a narrative of Xuanzang's nineteen-year journey from Chang'an in central China to the Western Regions of Chinese historiography. The Buddhist scholar traveled through the Silk Road regions of what is today Xinjiang in northwest China, as well as neighboring areas in Central Asia and south China. Beyond these Chinese locations, Xuanzang also travelled around the perimeter of India, as far south as Kanchipuram.[1] Xuanzang's travels demarcate not only an important place in cross-cultural studies of China and India, but also cross-cultural studies throughout the globe.[1] The text is set up as both an account of Xuanzang's religious pilgrimage as well as his report of the surrounding towns and provinces of Tang China.[1]
The book was compiled in 646, describing travels undertaken between 626 and 645.[2] Bianji, a disciple of Xuanzang, spent more than one year editing the book through Xuanzang's dictation.
Background
While trade relations between India and China had been ongoing since 1st century CE and had been strengthened through the
Xuanzang's travels were motivated by his deep interest in Buddhist lore. While he was not legally authorized by the Tang court to leave China, he managed to journey to India and record his meetings with kings of various Indian kingdoms. Of particular note is emperor Harsha, whom Xuanzang managed to convince to send an emissary to Emperor Taizong of Tang. These diplomatic relations allowed Xuanzang to return to China without facing legal repercussions, instead granting him an audience with Taizong, who ultimately commissioned Xuanzang to write a record of his journeys to be entered into the official Tang records.[4]
Overview
The book contains more than 120,000
Importance
The text is of a great value to modern historians and archaeologists.
References
Citations
- ^ a b c "The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing" (PDF). Columbia University.
- ^ University of Hawaii Press.
- JSTOR 44144424.
- ^ S2CID 153696415.
- ^ New Bamiyan Buddha find amid destruction Archived May 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- JSTOR 20078877.
Sources
- Zhu, Yunqiu and Wang, Lixin. Da Tang Xiyu Ji Zhong De Yinduren Xingxiang (The Image of Indians in the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions). Journal of Shenyang University. 2005.2. p. 98-102. ISSN 1008-9225.
- Tang, Qinfu (2001). History of Chinese Historiography. Taiyuan: Shanxi Education Press. ISBN 7-5440-2111-4. p. 230-232.
- Xie, Fang, "Da Tang Xiyu Ji" ("Great Tang Records on the Western Regions"). Encyclopedia of China, 1st ed.
- Zhang Xiuping et al. (1993). 100 Books That Influenced China: Da Tang Xiyu Ji. Nanning: Guangxi Renmin Press. ISBN 7-219-02339-1. p. 392-398.
- T. C. Kuo and H. M. Chou, "The contribution of Xuanzang's Great Tang Records on the Western Regions to the research of religious culture," 2016 International Conference on Advanced Materials for Science and Engineering (ICAMSE), Tainan, 2016, pp. 322-324.
Translations
- Beal, Samuel (1884). Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols. Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. Volume 1 (PDF 21.5 MB) Volume2 (PDF 16.9 MB)
- Beal, Samuel (1911). The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. Internet Archive (PDF 14.3 MB)
- Julien, Stanislas, (1857/1858). Mémoires sur les contrées occidentales, L'Imprimerie impériale, Paris. Vol.1 Vol.2
- Li, Rongxi (translator) (1995). The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN 1-886439-02-8
- Watters, Thomas (1904). On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 A.D. Volume1. Royal Asiatic Society, London. Volume 2
- Sen, Tansen. “In Search of Longevity and Good Karma: Chinese Diplomatic Missions to Middle India in the Seventh Century.” Journal of World History, vol. 12, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1–28. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20078877.
Further reading
- Bhat, R. B., & Wu, C. (2014). Xuan Zhang's mission to the West with Monkey King. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 2014.
- Jain, Sandhya, & Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books.
External links
- Da Tang Xiyu Ji "Records from the Regions West of the Great Tang Empire" — Chinaknowledge.de.
- 10 part (high quality) documentary Xuanzang's Pilgrimage