Hwen-thsang

Hwen-thsang, or HIOUEN-THSANG, a Buddhist monk of China, who was born near Honan about 605, and who in 629 set out on a pilgrimage to India, travelling by way of the Desert of Gobi, Tashkend, Samarcand, Bamiān (q.v.), and Peshawar. He remained in India a period of thirteen years (631-44), visiting the sacred places connected with his religion, and studying its sacred books. He died in 664 in a convent at Chang-ngan (now Singan). Owing to the many curious notices he gives of matters which came under his observation, and the high degree of trustworthiness which his narrative possesses, his memoirs are regarded as one of the most important works on the history of India in general, and of Buddhism in particular, during the period stated. The account of his travels was written, not by himself, but under his supervision, and was completed in 648. According to a remark added to the title in the imperial Chinese edition, the work would seem to have been translated from Sanskrit into Chinese; but this can only mean, as Stanislas Julien observes, that the fundamental part of the work relating to history, legends, &c., was taken from Hindu sources. Besides this book, there exists a biography of Hwen-Thsang written by two of his disciples. Both works were translated into French by Stanislas Julien (Paris, 1853 and 1857-58), and an abstract of these by H. H. Wilson appeared in the 17th volume of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. See also Huen Tsiang in Trübner's Oriental Library (1888).