Description

Taishō 2053

Volume 50

This text, A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty, follows the life and travels of Xuan-zhuang, the author of the Record of the Western Regions of Greater Tang (Ch. Da-tang-xi-yu-ji), Taisho 100. Starting with Xuan-zhuang’s birth, this biography describes his journey lasting more than ten years from China to India in search of the Dharma, and then goes on to record his achievements after his return to China. It is thus a complete biography, and whereas Record of the Western Regions is compiled on the basis of firsthand observations of geographical features, etc., this more personal work is centered on the account of his actual journey.

Note: This work is said to be the model for the Chinese popular fable, The Monkey King (Ch.: Xi-you-ji), written during the Ming Dynasty.

Source
Composed by Hui-li (Jpn.: Eryū); supplemented by Yan-cong. 10 fascicles.