Description

Taishō 2087

Volume 51

The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, generally known as the Records of Western Regions, is an account of Xuan-zhuang’s travels in Central Asia and India from C.E. 627, when he set out from China, until his return in 645, and was compiled on the basis of Xuan-zhuang’s own travel records by his disciple Bian-ji. It deals with such subjects as the state of Buddhism at the time and the geography, customs industry and government of the 110 countries which he himself visited and of 28 countries about which he heard from other people. It is thus a valuable historical document, and recording as it does distances, directions and measurements as well as giving accurate transliterations of native words, it is unsurpassed in its geographical descriptions by any other work. It also serves as an indispensable guidebook in archaeological excavations and expeditions

Source
Compiled by Bian-ji, translated into the Chinese by as Datang xiyu ji (大唐西域記). 12 fascicles.