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This article is about the Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk. The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices For the ancient Chinese Confucian text, see I Ching. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the
An artist's impression of Yi Jing 义净 (635～713), Tang dynasty Buddhist monk.
An artist's impression of Yi Jing 义净 (635～713), Tang dynasty Buddhist monk.
Yi Jing's travel map of 7th century.
Yi Jing's travel map of 7th century.

I Ching or Yi Jing (Yìjìng, Yiqing, I-Tsing or YiChing) (義淨, 三藏法師義淨 635-713) was a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk, originally named Zhang Wen Ming (張文明). Events By Topic Religion Saint Aidan founds Lindisfarne in Northumbria, England ---- Events By Place Byzantine Empire Byzantine Emperor Philippicus is deposed Anastasius II is made emperor The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by The written records of his travels contributed to the world knowledge of the ancient kingdom of Srivijaya, as well as providing information about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the Nalanda Buddhist university in India. Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island of Sumatra, Southeast Asia which influenced much of the Malay Archipelago. Nālandā is the name of an ancient University in Bihar, India. He was also responsible for the translation of a large numbers of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices

Contents

Journey to Srivijaya and Nalanda

Zhang Wen Ming became a monk at age 14 and was an admirer of Fa Xian and Xuanzang, both famous monks of his childhood. Faxian ( Traditional Chinese:法顯 Simplified Chinese:法显 Pinyin ：Fǎxiǎn also romanized as Fa-Hien or Fa-hsien) (ca See also Xuanzang (fictional character Xuanzang ( pronounced Shwan-dzang) was a famous Chinese Buddhist Monk, scholar traveler Provided funding by an otherwise unknown benefactor named Fong, he decided to visit the famous Buddhist university of Nalanda, in Bihar, India, to further study Buddhism. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Traveling by a Persian boat out of Guangzhou, he arrived . The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Guangzhou ( Jyutping: Gwong²zau¹; Yale: Gwóngjàu) is the Capital and a Sub-provincial city Srivijaya (today's Palembang of Sumatra) after 22 days, where he spent the next 6 months learning Sanskrit grammar and Malay language. Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island of Sumatra, Southeast Asia which influenced much of the Malay Archipelago. Palembang is a city of 1286000 in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical He went on to record visits to the nations of Malayu and Kiteh (Kedah), and in 673 after ten days additional travel reached the 'naked kingdom' (south west of Shu). Melayu Kingdom (also known as Malayu, Dharmasraya Kingdom or the Jambi Kingdom) was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom that existed between the 4th and Kedah ( Jawi: قدح pop 1778188 is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Yi Jing recorded his impression of the 'Kunlun peoples', using an ancient Chinese word for Malay peoples. "Kunlun people have curly hair, dark bodies, bare feet and wear sarongs. " He then arrived at the East coast of India, where he met a senior monk and stayed a year to study Sanskrit. Both later followed a group of merchants and visited 30 other principalities. Halfway to Nalanda, Yi Jing fell sick and was unable to walk; gradually he was left behind by the group. He was looted by bandits and stripped naked. He heard the natives would catch white skins to offer sacrifice to the gods, so he jumped into mud and used leaves to cover his lower body; he walked slowly to Nalanda where he stayed 11 years. Nālandā is the name of an ancient University in Bihar, India. Yi Jing praises the high level of Buddhist scholarship in Srivijaya, he advised Chinese monks to study there prior to making the journey to Nalanda India.

Return home

In the year 687, Yi Jing stopped in the kingdom of Srivijaya on his way back to Tang (China). Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island of Sumatra, Southeast Asia which influenced much of the Malay Archipelago. The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by At that time Palembang was a centre of Buddhism where foreign scholars gathered, and Yi Jing stayed there for two years to translate original Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures to Chinese. Palembang is a city of 1286000 in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In the year 689 he returned to Guangzhou to obtain ink and papers (note: Srivijaya then had no paper and ink) and returned again to Srivijaya the same year. In year 695, he completed all translation works and finally returned back to Tang China at Luoyang, and received a grand welcome back by Empress Wu. Luoyang ( is a Prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. Wu Zetian ( (625 – December 16, 705 In 705 she was overthrown in a coup and Emperor Zhongzong was returned to the throne His total journey took 25 years. He brought back some 400 Buddhist translated texts. 南海寄歸內法傳 & 大唐西域求法高僧傳(Account of Buddhism sent from the South Seas & Buddhist Monks Pilgrimage of Tang Dynasty) are two of Yi Jing's best travel diaries, describing his adventurous journey to Srivijaya and India, the society of India, the lifestyles of various local peoples, and more. He translated more than 60 sutras into Chinese, including:

Buddhism in Srivijaya

Yi Jing praised the high level of Buddhist scholarship in Srivijaya and advised Chinese monks to study there prior to making the journey to Nalanda, India.

"In the fortified city of Bhoga, Buddhist priests number more than 1,000, whose minds are bent on learning and good practice. They investigate and study all the subjects that exist just as in India; the rules and ceremonies are not at all different. If a Chinese priest wishes to go to the West in order to hear and read the original scriptures, he had better stay here one or two years and practice the proper rules. . . . "

Yi Jing's visits to Srivijaya gave him the opportunity to meet with others who had come from other neighboring islands. According to him, the Javanese kingdom of Ho-ling was due east of the city of Bhoga at a distance that could be spanned by a 4-5 days journey by sea. He also wrote that Buddhism was flourishing throughout the islands of Southeast Asia. "Many of the kings and chieftains in the islands of the Southern Sea admire and believe in Buddhism, and their hearts are set on accumulating good actions. "

References

See also

External links

The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the Faxian ( Traditional Chinese:法顯 Simplified Chinese:法显 Pinyin ：Fǎxiǎn also romanized as Fa-Hien or Fa-hsien) (ca See also Xuanzang (fictional character Xuanzang ( pronounced Shwan-dzang) was a famous Chinese Buddhist Monk, scholar traveler
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