Xuanzang

Xuanzang , in Chinese zh-Hant texte= 玄奘 , in Hanyu pinyin zh-Latn texte=Xuánzàng , in Lagging-Gilles zh-Latn texte=Hsiuan-tsang (602 - 664) is a famous monk Bouddhiste Chinese born with Luoyang in the Henan, junior by four wire of a family of well-read men. In 629, it leaves in pilgrimage in India from where it returns in April 645 bringing back a great number of texts in Sanskrit, increasing thus considerably the quantity of Buddhist literature available in China.

Biography

Formation

Although born in a family primarily confucéenne, Xuanzang expresses as of its young age the desire to become buddhist monk like one of his older brothers. Its wish having been exaucé, it lives during five years with this brother with the monastery, sponsored by the Dynastie Sui, of Jingtu with Luoyang. During this time, he studies the Bouddhisme S theravâda and mahâyâna, his preference going towards this last.

In 618, while Sui crumble, Xuanzang and his/her brother flee towards Chang' year (Xi' year), become the capital of the Tang, then from there more in the south with Chengdu in the Sichuan. The two brothers pass there two or three years in thorough studies.

Xuanzang is fully ordered monk in 622 at the 20 years age. It leaves then his brother and turns over to Chang' year to learn from the foreign languages and to continue its study of Buddhism. It thus starts to control the Sanskrit in 626 and probably studies the Tokharien. During this time, Xuanzang also is interested in the metaphysical school Yogâchâra.

Travel

In 629, Xuanzang claims to have had a dream which convinced it to leave in India. The Tang dynasty and the Eastern Gökturks being in conflict, the emperor Tang Taizong had prohibited any voyage abroad. Xuanzang persuades some Buddhist guards with the doors of Yumen to let it pass and flees the Empire while passing by Liangzhou in the Gansu and the province of Qinghai. It thus crosses the Gobi Desert to Hami, according to the chain of the Tian Shan towards the west, arriving finally at Tourfan in 630. It meets the king of the country there, a Buddhist, who gives him letters of introduction and valuable articles like currency of exchange for his voyage.

Continuing more in the west, Xuanzang escapes robbers and reached Yanqi then visit the monasteries theravâda from Koutcha. Always more to the west, it passes Aksu before taking towards the North-West to enter what is now the Kirghizstan. It skirts the lake Issyk Kul before visiting Tokmak in the North-West and meeting large Khan of the Western Gökturks, which maintains at the time the friendly relationship with the emperor Tang. Xuanzang continues in south-west towards Tachkent, today capital of the Ouzbékistan. From there, it continues through the desert until Samarkand. In this city under Persian influence, it finds some abandoned Buddhist temples and impresses the local king by his sermons. Setting out again towards the south, Xuanzang crosses the Pamir, reached the Amou-Daria (Oxus) then the town of Termez where it meets a community of more than thousand buddhist monks.

More to the east, it crosses Kunduz where, remained some time, there is pilot funeral rites in the honor of the Prince Tardu, died of poisoning. It meets the monk Dharmasimha there then moves in direction of the west towards Balkh in Afghanistan to see Buddhist sites and relics there. There, Xuanzang finds also more 3 000 monks theravâda among whom Prajnakara with which it studies the writings. Prajnakara then accompanies the group of travellers towards Bamiyan, more in the south, where Xuanzang meets the king and visits tens of monasteries theravâda as well as the two Buddhas giant dug in cliff that the Taliban will destroy in 2001. It takes again then its tour towards the east, passing the collar of the Shibar and going down again towards the regional capital Kapisi (with approximately sixty kilometers in the north of modern the Kabul) which counts more than one hundred monasteries and 6 000 monks of the school mahâyâna for the majority, on the famous ground of the Gandhara. Xuanzang takes part in a debate religious and made watch of its knowledge of a great number of Buddhist schools. It is there also that it meets the Hindu first jains and of its voyage. It pushes then until Nagarahâra, current the Jalalabad, where it finally considers to have achieved its goal, the India, in 630.

Life in India

Xuanzang leaves Nagarahâra where it found few buddhist monks but many monasteries and stupas. It crosses Hunza then the Passe of Khyber towards the east, reaching the old capital of the Gandhara, Peshawar. The city anything any more is not compared with its old glory and Buddhism between declining in the area. Xuanzang visits a certain number of stupas around Peshawar in particular that built by the king Kanishka in the south-east of the city. It will be redécouvert in 1908 by D.B. Spooner thanks to the account of the Chinese traveller.

Xuanzang moves then towards the North-East in direction of the Vallée of Swat. Reaching Udyana, it finds 1 400 old monasteries which counted in the past until 18 000 monks. The monks who still live there are school mahâyâna. Xuanzang continues now towards north then crosses the Indus to Hund. It moves towards the Taxila, a Buddhist kingdom mahâyâna vassal of the Cachemire, where it goes then. This new area counts more 5 000 buddhist monks in hundred monasteries and it is there that it makes the meeting of a monk of the school mahâyâna auprès of which it spends the two following years (631 - 633), studying the writings of several Buddhist schools. During this period, Xuanzang written on the Buddhist fourth council which took place very close from there, towards 100, convened at the request of Kanishka.

In 633, Xuanzang gives up the Cachemire and gets under way towards the south for Chinabhukti - perhaps modern the Firozpur - where it studies a whole year with the prince-monk Vinitaprabha.

It takes the direction of the east for Jalandhar with the Panjab in 634, visit the monasteries theravâda of the valley of Kulu, descends full south towards Bairat and Mathura on the Yamunâ which counts 2 000 monks of the two principal Buddhist schools although the hindouism is dominating there. Xuanzang goes up then the river until Srughna before turning towards the east for Matipura where it arrives in 635 after having crossed the Gange. It moves then towards the south, crosses Sankasya (Kapitha) and arrives in the capital of the Râja Harsha or Harshavardhana de Kanyakubja (Kânauj) in 636. Xuanzang counts hundred monasteries of the two principal schools there and is impressed there by the patronage which the king ensures the students and the Buddhists. It also gives an account of the army of the râja, 500 elephants, 20 000 riders and 50 000 infantrymen but the attacks of Dacoït S which it undergoes on its grounds show that Harsha does not control its territory perfectly. It spends some time in the city studying, share for Ayodhya (Saketa), fatherland of the school Yogâchâra, moves towards the south for Kausambi (Kosam) where it makes carry out a copy of a famous painting of the Bouddha.

Xuanzang takes the road of north towards Sravasti where Bouddha spent 25 rain seasons, traverses the Terai, the southernmost part of the current Nepal where it finds monasteries Buddhist abandoned, and goes to Kapilavastu, its last stop before Lumbinî, the traditional birthplace of the Buddha.

In 637, Xuanzang leaves Lumbini for Kusinâgar, the place where Bouddha reaches the Nirvāna, then visit the park with the gazelles with Sarnath where it gave its first sermon and it counts 1 there; 500 monks resident. It crosses Varanasi, Vaisali, Pataliputra (Patna) and reached Bodh-Gaya where Bouddha had reached the Illumination. Accompanied by local monks, it goes to Nâlandâ, the large ancient university of India, where it spends the two following years. It is then in company of several thousands of monks - one at that time estimates their number at ten thousand - with whom it studies the Logique, the Grammaire, the Sanskrit and the doctrines will yogâchâra, the dominating Buddhist school in this time with Nâlandâ.

Tearing off itself with difficulty with the atmosphere of study, it moves towards the Bengal where it spends the summer 638. But he thinks now of another destination, the island of Ceylon, hearth of the school theravâda. Moreover, the island is agent, since the reign of Ashoka, of a major relic, the tooth of the Buddha, which was found in ashes its to rough-hew funerary. Monks of the south come in pilgrimage persuade it to continue by the ground and to take the boat to make the crossing close to the island rather than to embark since the port of Tamralipti, current the Tamluk. It thus follows the Eastern coast, crosses the Orissa, meets and describes indigenous little indianized then enters the Andhra, the first of the areas of languages dravidiennes, and passes to Amaravati or Bezvada the rain season 639. It continues its descent and enters in country Pallava, passes to Mahaballipuram perhaps where it discovers the Descente of Gange in work.

With Kanchipuram, of the Singhalese monks in escape because of the civil war which thunders in the island disadvise him going there. It thus gives up unwillingly and visits Tanjavûr and Madurai. Perhaps it goes up then along the Western coast, crosses the country konkani (Goa) and the Maharashtra which form then the empire Chalukya and spends the rain season 641 to Nasik. He visits Ajanta without making description of it and stops a few days in the port of Baroch, Barygaza of the Greeks, large commercial port of India with the Egypt. He crosses then the Goujerat, enters the Sind, collects some information on the empire Sassanide which will be soon swept by the Arab conquest.

Curiously, Xuanzang which conscientiously visits all the Buddhist sites of India does not refer any to Sânchî, center important and active at the time of its stay since a temple, remained unfinished, is there then in construction.

It is soon of return to the prestigious university of Nâlandâ where it takes again its verbal sparring matches defending the doctrines of the Buddha against those of the Brahmane S and scientists shivaïtes and vishnouites. The rajah Bhaskara Kumara of the Assam, which heard of him, invites it to remain in his kingdom of which Xuanzang makes description. There, he thinks one moment to join China, relatively near, but moves back in front of the difficulty of the ground and the risks trained by the disease and the wild beasts. At this point in time Harsha, the last of the large Buddhist Indian kings and the suzerain of the king of Assam, states to him that it wishes his presence near him.

In spite of its attachment with Buddhism mahâyâna and like all the sovereigns of India, Harsha did not break with the Brahmans and the sects hindouists and it intends to organize an assembly between religious scientists of all obediences. During the first days of the year 643, it makes a reception munificent with the pilgrim then accompany it by going up Gange towards Kânauj. The religious scientists gather soon for the assembly and Xuanzang is shown there so skilful that it annoys its co-religionists of the Petit Vehicle. A sanctuary built by Harsha to place a statue of the Buddha there is burnt, probably by dissatisfied Brahmans, and the king escapes even an attempted murder which implies these same Brahmans. Five hundreds of them will be off-set out of the borders of India, a punishment more severe than death because it obliges them to live in the impurity. Harsha invites then Xuanzang with Prayag, current the Allâhâbâd, and they are joined there by 18 vassal of the king to attend the Kumbhamelâ whose pilgrim makes the first historical mention.

In spite of the insistence of Harsha, Xuanzang takes the road of the return. At the beginning of 644, it crosses Indus where fifty manuscripts fall into the river and are lost as well as seeds of flowers which it brought back to China. The king of the Cashmere, having learned that it would not cross its country, goes to the front of him. It is probable that the small rajahs saw in him the hope of a Chinese support against the Turkish hordes interested by their richness but which ended however and always up converting with Buddhism. They did not imagine that the Islam was going soon to break, erase the remainders of this gréco-Buddhist civilization and to stop the contact between India and the Mediterranean basin.

Xuanzang takes again the road of Pamir thus, remaking the way which had led it in India in opposite direction.

Heritage

Xuanzang is known for its enormous work of translation of the Indian Buddhist Chinese texts, thus allowing the reconstitution of Indian texts lost thanks to its translations. It is also at the origin of a Buddhist school. Its account of voyage offers a description of Buddhist India to the moment when it starts its decline. It is of an main interest for the knowledge of India of this time. The Voyage of Xuanzang and the legends which grew around this one inspired the novel Xiyouji (西游记) or the Voyage in Occident .

Basing itself on the text of Xuanzang, a French archaeological mission carried out by Zemaryalai Tarzi, a French archeologist of Afghan origin, carried out into 2005 of research in the valley of Bamiyan to find a Buddha laid down in parinirvâna whose Chinese traveller estimated the length at three hundred meters.

Appendices

Sources

the text of Xuanzang, in English
On the traces of Buddha , Rene Grousset, Asiathèque, 1991, ISBN 2-901-795-44-7
Xuan Zang: In Buddhist Pilgrim one the Silk Road , Sally Hovey Wriggins, Westview Near, 1996, ISBN 0-8133-3407-1

foreign Travellers in the Indian world

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