生平

早期生活

玄奘的曾祖陈钦曾任东魏上党（今山西长治）太守，祖父陈康为北齐国子监博士官，父亲陈惠在隋初曾任江陵县令，大业末年辞官隐居，此后潜心修养。他有三个哥哥，二哥名陈素，早年于洛阳净土寺出家，以讲经说法闻名于世，号长捷法师。

《大唐大慈恩寺三藏法师传》卷一这样记载：幼年的玄奘人品高贵、智慧聪明、个性独立，在八岁那年父亲陈惠坐在旁边为他的孩子讲授《孝经》，玄奘听到「曾子避席」时，忽然整理好衣服站起来，陈惠问玄奘为什么突然起身，年幼的玄奘回答：「曾子听闻老师的教诲就起身聆听，今天我要奉行慈父的家训，怎么还能坐著呢！」父亲陈惠很高兴，认为这个孩子将来一定有所成就，还特别召告族人宗亲这件事。玄奘的智慧从小时候已经是这样成熟，之后更是精通经书妙义，因此童年的玄奘就喜欢阅读先圣先贤的书籍，不是高雅正派的书不看、不是圣贤哲人的门风不学，而年幼的玄奘不结交童蒙稚友、足迹不曾到过市集，也不曾参与旁杂无义的言谈，就算街头锣鼓喧天、巷尾戏曲歌舞叫声、男女聚集交谈笑声等嘈杂喧嚣，玄奘都不曾因为好奇而前往观看。

玄奘于隋朝仁寿二年出生，少时因家境困难随自己二哥长捷法师住净土寺，学习佛经五年。在这期间他学习了声闻乘和缘觉乘，而他本人偏好后者。他十一岁（613年）就熟读《妙法莲华经》、《维摩诘经》。十三岁时（615年）洛阳度僧，玄奘向被派来考查的大理卿郑善果表示自己出家的意愿是「意欲远绍如来，近光遗法」，因而被郑善果破格入选。玄奘出家以后看见诸位沙弥聚集放逸，大谈戏论，于是告诉诸位沙弥说：「经中不是这样说吗！『出家之人是为了求证无为法。』岂能再像无知小儿一般一直嬉戏，徒然浪费一生光阴。」其间听景法师讲《涅盘经》，执卷阅读爱不释手，直到废寝忘食的地步，随从严法师学《摄大乘论》更加喜爱，乃至将《摄大乘论》一次读完，再览就没有遗漏，大众皆感惊异，乃至令玄奘升座复述，玄奘法音或高或低分析详尽，尽得严法师宗旨，因此博得大众的钦敬，少年时期的玄奘已经显露出积极的修学态度，并获得美好的名声。

隋炀帝大业末年，兵乱饥荒，618年隋朝灭亡。玄奘提议长捷法师一同前往唐朝首都长安参学，后得知当时名僧多在蜀地，因而又建议同往成都。在那里听宝暹讲《摄论》、道基讲《杂心论》、惠振讲《八犍度论》。三、五年间，究通诸部，声誉大著。唐高祖武德五年（622年），玄奘在成都（据传在成都大慈寺）受具足戒。

武德七年（624年）玄奘私下与商人结伴离开成都，沿江东下参学。先到了荆州天皇寺。讲《摄论》、《杂心》，淮海一带的名僧闻风来听。六十高龄的大德智琰也对他执礼甚恭。讲毕以后，再次北上寻觅先德参学，到相州访休法师质问疑惑滞碍之法，继往赵州从道深学《成实论》，又到扬州听惠休讲《杂心》、《摄论》。贞观元年（627年），玄奘重游长安学习外国语文和佛学。先后从道岳、法常、僧辩、玄会诸师钻研《摄论》、《俱舍论》、《涅盘论》，他很快就穷尽各家学说，其才能倍受称赞，声誉满京师。仆射萧瑀奏请令他住庄严寺。

西行求法

玄奘感到多年来在各地所闻异说不一，特别是当时流行的摄论宗（后并入法相宗）、地论宗两家有关法相之说多有乖违，因此渴望得到总赅三乘学说的《瑜伽师地论》，以求融汇贯通一切，于是决心前往印度求法。因得不到唐朝发放的过所（护照），所以始终未能如愿以偿。

贞观三年（629年），玄奘毅然由长安私发，冒险前往天竺。经八百里莫河延迹到高昌国时，得高昌王麴文泰礼重供养，复欲强留玄奘以为国之导师，玄奘「水浆不涉于口三日，至第四日，麴文泰发觉玄奘气息渐惙，深生愧惧，乃稽首礼谢」，遂与玄奘结为义兄弟，相盟自天竺返国时更住高昌三载受其供养，讲经说法。离开高昌后，玄奘继续沿著西域诸国越过帕米尔高原，在异常险恶困苦的条件下，终于到达天竺。

在天竺的十多年间，玄奘跟随、请教过许多著名高僧，停留过的寺院包括当时如日中天的著名佛教中心那烂陀寺，向该寺的住持戒贤法师学习《瑜伽师地论》与其馀经论；瑜伽行派大师戒贤是护法的徒弟、世亲的再传弟子。在贞观十三年，他曾在那烂陀寺代戒贤大师讲授《摄大乘论》和《唯识抉择论》。此后，玄奘还徒步考察了整个南亚次大陆。

贞观十七年（643年）学成以后，他立真唯识量论旨，在曲女城无遮辩论法会上等待十八天，结果无人敢出来辩难使其不战而胜，由此名声鹊起、威震天竺，被当时大乘行者誉为摩诃耶那提婆（iAST Mahāyānadeva महायानदेव），亦即「大乘天」，被小乘佛教徒誉为木叉提婆（iAST Mokṣadeva मोक्षदेव），亦即「解脱天」。

翻译经文

643年，玄奘载誉启程归国，带回657部佛经。贞观十九年（645年），回到长安，受到唐太宗的热烈欢迎。玄奘初见太宗时即表示希望前往嵩山少林寺译经，但没有得到批准，被指定住长安弘福寺。652年（永徽三年），玄奘在长安城内慈恩寺的西院筑五层塔，用以贮藏自天竺携来的经像。即今天的大雁塔，在唐太宗（李世民）大力支持下，玄奘在长安设立译经院（国立翻译院）、大慈恩寺与今西安北部约150公里的铜川市玉华宫内，将约1,300卷梵文经论译成汉语，参与译经的优秀成员来自全国及东亚诸国。玄奘本身最感兴趣的是「唯识」部分。这些佛经后来从中国传往朝鲜半岛、越南和日本。显庆二年（657年）五月，高宗下敕，要求「其所欲翻经、论，无者先翻，有者在后」。九月，玄奘借著陪驾住在洛阳的机会，第二次提出入住少林寺的请求，「望乞骸骨，毕命山林，礼诵经行，以答提奖」。次日，高宗回信拒绝。

玄奘依翻译佛典与对经文的阐释而开创了中国法相唯识宗，其学说却深深地影响了其他诸多宗派。玄奘一生所翻经论，合七十四部，总一千三百三十八卷（目前学界流行说法为七十五部，一三三五卷），为中土一切译师之最。

考古证验

由玄奘口述、弟子僧辩机笔撰的《大唐西域记》，堪称中国历史上的经典游记。尤有甚者，由于印度历史纪录的缺乏，这本珍贵的游记更成为历史文化学者研究古天竺地理历史时不可或缺的文献，而近现代以来，根据该书记载所进行之考古遗迹挖掘，亦证明玄奘当时所述真实可信，允为瑰宝。

凤栖原野

龙朔三年（663年）十月玄奘译完最后一部佛典《大般若经》之后感慨说：「向在京师，诸缘牵乱，岂有了日？」玄奘于麟德元年二月五日深夜、六日子时（664年3月8日0～1时）圆寂，享寿六十二岁。初葬于白鹿原云经寺；669年，改葬于少陵原（又称凤栖原），建有舍利塔，并在此兴建兴教寺。

玄奘初葬于白鹿原古籍记载明确，但葬于云经寺缺少证据，仍需考证。

名号

玄奘的生日

玄奘出生月日，史书都无记载。但在玄奘故里偃师市缑氏镇陈河村，陈氏后裔们世代传承，于每年农历三月初九举行玄奘诞辰纪念活动。但还有一种说法，说玄奘生日是农历正月十四。现徵求部分学者意见，普遍认为在确无历史记载的情况下，陈氏后裔的传承也应是一种依据，所以采用隋文帝仁寿二年农历三月初九（602年4月6日）为玄奘诞辰纪念日。

然根据《大唐大慈恩寺三藏法师传》卷十纪载，唐高宗显庆五年(660年)玄奘开始翻译大般若经，当时曾对玉华寺僧众说道：「玄奘今年六十有五，必当卒命于此伽蓝…」，依此推算玄奘生年应不晚于隋文帝开皇十七年(597年)。

玄奘唐麟德元年二月五日夜半圆寂（公历664年3月7日）。

评价

道宣在《续高僧传》指出玄奘西行具有「宣述皇猷」之效。玄奘本人对唐太宗歌功颂德，如说唐太宗「握乾符，清四海，德笼九域，仁被八区，淳风扇炎景之南，圣威镇葱岭之外」。玄奘每天都要应付来自朝臣权贵的访问和供养，最终使他感到身心疲惫。

玄奘翻译了数千卷的佛经，但陈寅恪认为译文过于艰涩生硬，远不如鸠摩罗什的译文通俗易读。黄念祖居士谓：「罗师乃七佛译师，应秦人尚简之机，所译文约义丰，精妙畅达，至理圆彰。玄奘大师之译经，准确完备，力保原面，虽篇幅稍增，而原语具存，辞义详明，可免误解杜撰之弊。」

日本语中就有一句格言提及玄奘：「弘法夺『大师』之名，秀吉夺『太閤』之名，玄奘夺『三藏』之名」（）。

玄奘顶骨舍利

一般认为，玄奘的顶骨舍利现供奉于世界上九个地方，分属于中国大陆、台湾、日本、印度，有不少学者撰文论证此观点。

1944年被掠夺到日本，最早安放在东京佛教联合会所在的增上寺，后为了防止被战火毁坏改放到埼玉县的慈恩寺。第二次世界大战结束后，当时在慈恩寺寄居的日本佛教联合会顾问水野梅晓就舍利是否归还的问题徵求蒋中正的意见，蒋答覆说：「顶骨不用归还了，中日合作在于文化交流，能在日本弘扬三藏法师的遗德，我感到很高兴，而且，因为祀奉之地是和法师有一些因缘的地方，所以我觉得可以把这里定为祀奉之地。」日本佛教界决定将顶骨舍利供奉在慈恩寺。1949年，日本东部铁道公司根浸先生捐赠十六吨重花岗岩，在多方协助下开始修建玄奘塔；1953年5月落成。1980年，慈恩寺开启玄奘塔取出部分舍利，由住持大岛法师分赠与奈良法相宗药师寺高田法师。1981年，药师寺举行落成典礼。

台湾玄奘寺的顶骨舍利系于1955年自日本慈恩寺迎回供奉，而玄奘大学的顶骨舍利则为1998年自南京迎回。

印度那烂陀大学所供奉者系于1955年迎自中国。

关于玄奘法师是否迁葬紫阁寺、可政和尚发现玄奘顶骨之事尚存争议（也就是说日本人在南京发现的玄奘顶骨的真伪尚存争议）。

有关图片

File:玄奘故居.jpg|玄奘故居

File:CeilingofDayanTemple.jpg|陕西西安大雁塔中的天花板

File:Xuanzang Da Yan Ta statue.jpg|西安大雁塔前玄奘雕像侧影

File:慈恩寺玄奘灵骨塔.JPG|玄奘灵骨塔

File:Xuanzang Memorial Hall Nalanda.jpg|印度那烂陀寺遗址旁的玄奘纪念馆，2007年落成

File:Xuanzang_w.jpg|玄奘西行图，东京国立博物馆藏

流行文化中的玄奘

• 神魔小说《西游记》中唐三藏以玄奘三藏为原型。一般人对玄奘的印象多来自《西游记》。

• 手机游戏《Fate/Grand Order》中以魔术师职阶的女性从者登场，其宝具为《五行山：释迦如来掌》。

• 摇滚乐《蓝莲花》

相关文艺作品

孙书云21世纪重走玄奘西行之路，以英文与中文出版游记《万里无云》。

玄奘西行1370年纪念之际，大型禅画《玄奘西行途中》（郭德福绘）被载入《世界美术集》。

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

Less common romanizations of "Xuanzang" include Hyun Tsan, Hhuen Kwan, Hiuan Tsang, Hiouen Thsang, Hiuen Tsang, Hiuen Tsiang, Hsien-tsang, Hsyan-tsang, Hsuan Chwang, Huan Chwang, Hsuan Tsiang, Hwen Thsang, Hsüan Chwang, Hhüen Kwān, Xuan Cang, Xuan Zang, Shuen Shang, Yuan Chang, Yuan Chwang, and Yuen Chwang. Hsüan, Hüan, Huan and Chuang are also found. The sound written x in pinyin and hs in Wade–Giles, which represents the s- or sh-like [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant|ɕ]] in today's Mandarin, was previously pronounced as the h-like [[Voiceless velar fricative|x]] in early Mandarin, which accounts for the archaic transliterations with h.

Another form of his official style was "Yuanzang," written 元奘. It is this form that accounts for such variants as Yuan Chang, Yuan Chwang, and Yuen Chwang.

Tang Monk (Tang Seng) is also transliterated /Thang Seng/.

Another of Xuanzang's standard aliases is Sanzang Fashi (三藏法师 Sānzàngfǎshī, literally Sanzang Dharma (or Law) Teacher): 法 being a Chinese translation for Sanskrit "Dharma" or Pali/Prakrit Dhamma, the implied meaning being "Buddhism".

"Sanzang" is the Chinese term for the Buddhist canon, or Tripiṭaka ("Three Baskets"), and in some English-language fiction and English translations of Journey to the West, Xuanzang is addressed as "Tripitaka."

Early life

Xuanzang was born Chen Hui (or Chen Yi) on 6 April 602 in Chenhe Village, Goushi Town (缑氏镇), Luozhou (near present-day Luoyang, Henan) and died on 5 February 664 in Yuhua Palace (玉华宫, in present-day Tongchuan, Shaanxi). His family was noted for its erudition for generations, and Xuanzang was the youngest of four children. His ancestor was Chen Shi (陈寔, 104-186), a minister of the Eastern Han dynasty. His great-grandfather Chen Qin (陈钦) served as the prefect of Shangdang (上党; present-day Changzhi, Shanxi) during the Eastern Wei; his grandfather Chen Kang (陈康) was a professor in the Taixue (Imperial Academy) during the Northern Qi. His father Chen Hui (陈惠) was a conservative Confucian who served as the magistrate of Jiangling County during the Sui dynasty, but later gave up office and withdrew into seclusion to escape the political turmoil that gripped China towards the end of the Sui. 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 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 was essentially Confucian, at a young age, Xuanzang expressed interest in becoming a Buddhist monk like one of his elder brothers. After the death of his father in 611, he lived with his older brother Chén Sù (陈素), later known as Zhǎng jié (长捷), for five years at Jingtu Monastery (净土寺) in Luoyang, supported by the Sui state. During this time he studied Mahayana as well as various early Buddhist schools, preferring the former.

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 dynasty, 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 Abhidharma-kośa Śāstra. 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.

Taking the monastic name Xuanzang, he 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 627, Xuanzang reportedly had a dream that convinced him to journey to India. Tang China and the Göktürks were at war at the time and Emperor Taizong of Tang had prohibited foreign travel. Xuanzang persuaded some Buddhist guards at Yumen Pass and slipped out of the empire through Liangzhou (Gansu) and Qinghai in 629. He subsequently traveled across the Gobi Desert to Kumul (modern Hami City), thence following the Tian Shan westward.

He arrived in Turpan in 630. Here he met the king of Turpan, a Buddhist who equipped him further for his travels with letters of introduction and valuables to serve as funds. The hottest mountain in China, the Flaming Mountains, is located in Turpan and was depicted in the Journey to the West.

Moving further westward, Xuanzang escaped robbers to reach Karasahr, then toured the non-Mahayana monasteries of Kucha. Further west he passed Aksu before turning northwest to cross the Tian Shan's Bedel Pass into modern Kyrgyzstan. He skirted Issyk Kul before visiting Tokmak on its northwest, and met the great Khagan of the Göktürks, whose relationship to the Tang emperor was friendly at the time. After a feast, Xuanzang continued west then southwest to Tashkent, capital of modern 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 Afghanistan), to see the Buddhist sites and relics, especially the Nava Vihara, which he described as the westernmost vihara (monastery) in the world. Here Xuanzang also found over 3,000 non-Mahayana monks, including Prajnakara (般若羯罗 or 慧性), a monk with whom Xuanzang studied early Buddhist scriptures. He acquired the important text of the Mahāvibhāṣa (大毗婆沙论) here, which he later translated into Chinese.

Prajñakara then accompanied the party southward to Bamyan, where Xuanzang met the king and saw tens of non-Mahayana monasteries, in addition to the two large Buddhas of Bamiyan 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 north of modern Kabul), which sported over 100 monasteries and 6000 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 schools. Here he also met the first Jains and Hindu of his journey. He pushed on to Adinapur (later named Jalalabad) and Laghman, where he considered himself to have reached India. The year was 630.

Arrival in India

Xuanzang left Adinapur, which had few Buddhist monks, but many stupas and monasteries. His travels included passing through Hunza and the Khyber Pass to the east, reaching the former capital of Gandhara, Purushapura (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 traveled northeast to the Swat Valley. Reaching Oḍḍiyāna, he found 1,400-year-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 Shahbaz Garhi to cross the Indus river at Hund. He visited Taxila which was desolate and half-ruined, and found most of its sangharamas (temples) still ruined and desolate with the state of having become a dependency of Kashmir, with the local leaders fighting amongst themselves for power. Only a few monks remained there. He noted that it had some time previously been a subject of the Kingdom of Kapisa. He went to Kashmir in 631 where he met a talented monk, Samghayasas (僧伽耶舍), and studied there. In Kashmir, he found himself in another center of Buddhist culture and describes that there were over 100 monasteries and over 5,000 monks in the area. Between 632 and early 633, he studied with various monks, including 14 months with Vinītaprabha (毗腻多钵腊婆 or 调伏光), 4 months with Candravarman (旃达罗伐摩 or 月胃), and "a winter and half a spring" with Jayagupta (闍耶毱多). During this time, Xuanzang wrote about the Fourth Buddhist council that took place nearby, ca. 100 AD, under the order of King Kanishka of Kushana. He visited Chiniot and Lahore as well and provided the earliest writings available on the ancient cities. In 634, Xuanzang arrived in Matipura (秣底补罗), known as Mandawar today.

In 632 AD, he went to Kasur, and in 634, he went east to Jalandhar in eastern Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantly non-Mahayana 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 traveled up the river to Shrughna, also mentioned in the works of Udyotakara, before crossing eastward to Matipura, where he arrived in 635, having crossed the river Ganges. At Matipura Monastery, Xuanzang studied under Mitrasena. From here, he headed south to Sankasya (Kapitha, then onward to Kannauj), the grand capital of the Empire of Harsha under the northern Indian emperor Harsha. It is believed he also visited Govishan, present-day Kashipur in the Harsha era, in 636; Xuanzang encountered 100 monasteries of 10,000 monks (both Mahayana and non-Mahayana), and was impressed by the king's patronage of both scholarship and Buddhism. Xuanzang spent time in the city studying early Buddhist scriptures, before setting off eastward again for Ayodhya (Saketa), the homeland of the Yogacara school. Xuanzang now moved south to Kausambi (Kosam), where he had a copy made from an important local image of the Buddha.

Xuanzang now returned northward to Shravasti Bahraich, traveled 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.

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 greatest Indian university of the Indian state of Bihar, where he spent at least the next two years, He visited Champa Monastery, Bhagalpur. 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. René Grousset notes that it was at Nalanda (where an "azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade") that Xuanzang met the venerable Silabhadra, the monastery's superior. Silabhadra had dreamt of Xuanzang's arrival and that it would help spread far and wide the Holy Law. Grousset writes: "The Chinese pilgrim had finally found the omniscient master, the incomparable metaphysician who was to make known to him the ultimate secrets of the idealist systems." The founders of Mahayana idealism, Asanga and Vasubandhu, trained Dignaga, who trained Dharmapala, and Dharmapala had in turn trained Silabhadra. Silabhadra was thus in a position to make available to the Sino-Japanese world the entire heritage of Buddhist idealism, and the Cheng Weishi Lun, Xuanzang's great philosophical treatise, is none other than the Summa of this doctrine, "the fruit of seven centuries of Indian Buddhist thought."

From Nalanda, Xuanzang traveled through several kingdoms, including Pundranagara, to the capital of Pundravardhana, identified with modern Mahasthangarh, in present-day Bangladesh. There Xuanzang found 20 monasteries with over 3,000 monks studying both the Hinayana and the Mahayana. One of them was the Vāśibhã Monastery (Po Shi Po), where he found over 700 Mahayana monks from all over East India. He also visited Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur in the district of Naogaon, in modern-day Bangladesh.

Xuanzang turned southward and traveled to Andhradesa to visit the Viharas at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. He stayed at Amaravati and studied the 'Abhidhammapitakam' texts. He observed that there were many Viharas at Amaravati and some of them were deserted. He later proceeded to Kanchi, the imperial capital of Pallavas, and a strong center of Buddhism. He continued traveling to Nasik, Ajanta, Malwa; from there he went to Multan and Pravata before returning to Nalanda again.

At the invitation of Assamese king Kumar Bhaskar Varman, he went east to the ancient city of Pragjyotishpura in the kingdom of Kamarupa after crossing the Karatoya and spent three months in the region. Before going to Kamarupa he visited Sylhet, what is now a modern city of Bangladesh. He gives a detailed account of the culture and people of Sylhet. Later, the king escorted Xuanzang back to the Kannauj at the request of the king Harshavardhana, who was an ally of Kumar Bhaskar Varman, to attend a great Buddhist Assembly there which was attended by both of the kings as well as several other kings from neighboring kingdoms, Buddhist monks, Brahmans, and Jains. King Harsha invited Xuanjang to Kumbh Mela in Prayag where he witnessed king Harsha's generous distribution of gifts to the poor.

After visiting Prayag he returned to Kannauj where he was given a grand farewell by king Harsha. Traveling through the Khyber Pass of the Hindu Kush, Xuanzang passed through Kashgar, Khotan, and Dunhuang on his way back to China. He arrived in the capital, Chang'an, on the seventh day of the first month of 645, 16 years after he left Chinese territory, and a great procession celebrated his return.

Return to China

On his return to China in AD 645, Xuanzang was greeted with much honor but he refused all high civil appointments offered by the still-reigning emperor, Emperor Taizong of Tang. Instead, he retired to a monastery and devoted his energy to translating Buddhist texts until his death in AD 664. According to his biography, he returned with "over six hundred Mahayana and Hinayana texts, seven statues of the Buddha and more than a hundred sarira relics." In celebration of Xuanzang's extraordinary achievement in translating the Buddhist texts, Emperor Gaozong of Tang ordered renowned Tang calligrapher Chu Suiliang (褚遂良) and inscriber Wan Wenshao (万文韶) to install two stele stones, collectively known as The Emperor』s Preface to the Sacred Teachings (雁塔圣教序), at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

Chinese Buddhism (influence)

During Xuanzang's travels, he studied with many famous Buddhist masters, especially at the famous center of Buddhist learning at Nalanda. 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 (唯识).

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 did not 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 (窥基) who became recognized as the first patriarch of the Faxiang school. Xuanzang's logic, as described by Kuiji, was often misunderstood by scholars of Chinese Buddhism because they lacked the necessary background in Indian logic. Another important disciple was the Korean monk Woncheuk.

Xuanzang was known for his extensive but careful translations of Indian Buddhist texts to Chinese, which have enabled subsequent recoveries of lost Indian Buddhist texts from the translated Chinese copies. He is credited with writing or compiling the Cheng Weishi Lun as a commentary on these texts. His translation of the Heart Sutra became and remains the standard in all East Asian Buddhist sects; as well, this translation of the Heart Sutra was generally admired within the traditional Chinese gentry and is still widely respected as numerous renowned past and present Chinese calligraphers have penned its texts as their artworks. Additionally, he was known for recording the events of the reign of the northern Indian emperor, Harsha.

The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

Xuanzang returned to China with three copies of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. Xuanzang, with a team of disciple translators, commenced translating the voluminous work in 660 CE, using all three versions to ensure the integrity of the source documentation. Xuanzang was being encouraged by a number of his disciple translators to render an abridged version. After a suite of dreams quickened his decision, Xuanzang determined to render an unabridged, complete volume, faithful to the original of 600 chapters.

Autobiography and biography

In 646, under the Emperor's request, Xuanzang completed his book Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (大唐西域记), 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.W. Rhys Davids and S.W. Bushell, and published posthumously in London in 1905.

Legacy

Xuanzang's work, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, is the longest and most detailed account of the countries of Central and South Asia that has been bestowed upon posterity by a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim. While his main purpose was to obtain Buddhist books and to receive instruction on Buddhism while in India, he ended up doing much more. He has preserved the records of the political and social aspects of the lands he visited.

His record of the places visited by him in Bengal — mainly Raktamrittika near Karnasuvarna, Pundranagara and its environs, Samatata, Tamralipti and Harikela— have been very helpful in the recording of the archaeological history of Bengal. His account has also shed welcome light on the history of 7th century Bengal, especially the Gauda kingdom under Shashanka, although at times he can be quite partisan.

Xuanzang obtained and translated 657 Sanskrit Buddhist works. He received the best education on Buddhism he could find throughout India. Much of this activity is detailed in the companion volume to Xiyu Ji, the Biography of Xuanzang written by Huili, entitled the Life of Xuanzang.

His version of the Heart Sutra is the basis for all Chinese commentaries on the sutra, and recitations throughout China, Korea, and Japan. His style was, by Chinese standards, cumbersome and overly literal, and marked by scholarly innovations in terminology; usually, where another version by the earlier translator Kumārajīva exists, Kumārajīva's is more popular.

In fiction

Xuanzang's journey along the Silk Road, 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 fictional counterpart Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, a disciple of Gautama Buddha, and is protected on his journey by three powerful disciples. One of them, the monkey, was a popular favorite 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 (吴昌龄) about Xuanzang obtaining scriptures.

The movie Da Tang Xuan Zang was released in 2016 as an official Chinese and Indian production. It was offered as candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards due to its amazing camera work, but ultimately was not nominated.

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 was in the Patna Museum for a long time but was moved to a newly built memorial hall in Nalanda in 2007. The Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan province also claims to have part of Xuanzang's skull.

Part of Xuanzang's remains were taken from Nanjing by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942, and are now enshrined at Yakushi-ji in Nara, Japan.

Works

• Volume 2. Reprint. Hesperides Press, 1996. .

• 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. Vol. 1, Vol. 2

• 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.