Overview and Impressions of Xuanzang's "The Tang Dynasty's Journey to the West" - Xuanzang Sanzo's journey in search of Buddhism in India, which became the model for the "Journey to the West"!
The book introduced here is "Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions" written by Xuanzang and translated by Mizutani Shinsei, published by Heibonsha in 1999.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
In the early 7th century, the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang embarked on a journey to India to seek the Dharma. This is a meticulously annotated account of this remarkable book, one of the best travelogues in the history of the world.
The journey of Genjo Sanzo in search of the Dharma. Traveling through more than one hundred countries, he visited the land of the Buddha and recorded the geography, people, language, customs, and products of the region. The first volume of this valuable record of 7th-century Asia, the best-known travelogue of the world, takes us as far as Gandhara.
In the second volume of this valuable record of seventh-century Asia, the best of the world's travel literature, the author visits a variety of Buddhist sites in northern India and describes the rich traditions of the region.
The third volume is the climax of the series. The third volume is the climax of the series, which takes us to Makada, the place where Buddha attained enlightenment, to visit places associated with him, and to return home.
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The current work, "The Great Tang Dynasty of the Western Regions" is the model for that "Journey to the West". As a monk who traveled from China to India, the previous articleThe Biography of High Priest Hoken (Butsuguoki) - The earliest record of travel to India by a Chinese monk! The story of Hoken's arduous journey of seeking the Dharma, which also brought him to Sri Lanka."Hoken is also famous, but Xuanzang is by far the most well-known.
He is so famous in Japan that the name "Sanzou Priest = Genzyou." What made him world famous was that he traveled all the way from China to India in search of the Sanzou (a group of sutras: Sutra, Ritual, and Theory) and successfully brought and translated a large number of sutras into China.
This work, "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty," is a book that describes the journey of Xuanzang.
But as soon as you start reading this book, you realize that the narrative is so bland...
It is quite different from the exciting adventure stories we imagine.
Let me give you an example.
(vii) the country of the seven aboriginal peoples of the world
wandering lordless samuraiThe country is more than 600 ri from east to west and more than 300 ri from north to south. The capital city has a circumference of 5 to 6 ri. The products, climate, human feelings, customs, and writing system are the same as those of the Yinzhi Kingdom, but the language is a little different. Threads of fine threadrug (esp. felt)The fine woolen fabrics are highly valued by the neighboring countries. There are dozens of monasteries and more than 1,000 monks who study all the teachings of the Mahayana.
Heibonsha, Xuanzang, translated by Mizutani Shinsei, Da Tang Xi Ruiki, Vol. 1, p. 50.
Basically, "Chronicle of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" is told in this tone until the end. The book is more like an information book than a travelogue in terms of names of countries, sizes, climates, religious conditions, etc. Even the holy places such as Bodhgaya and Kushinagara, which are coveted by Buddhists, are not mentioned. Even in the holy lands such as Bodhgaya and Kushinagara, which are coveted by Buddhists, Xuanzang's personal feelings are rarely mentioned. It is an extremely cool narrative.
What is the reason for this? I wondered why this was so different from the exciting and tumultuous "Journey to the West," but there was a reason for this.
In the book "Genjo Sanzo" published by Kodansha, this was described as follows.
The "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" is generally known as a book on the travels of Master Xuanzang. The first half of his biography, "Biography of Sanzang Master Dajionji" (Vol. 1-5), gives a detailed account of how he traveled through the western regions and in what order he made his itinerary.
Kodansha, Huiritsu/Hiccup, translated by Kazutoshi Nagasawa, Genjo Sanzo, p. 6
I see, that's what you meant!
Taizong was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In other words, the "Chronicle of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" was a "geography book" created by order of the Tang Emperor. The Tang Dynasty was very concerned about the management and defense of the Silk Road, so geography and information on the Western Regions must have been a thirst-quencher. Because of these circumstances, Xuanzang's personal impressions and episodes were omitted from the book, and it is likely that the information in the book was written in a straightforward manner.
And as the above quote says, if you want to know the episodes of Xuanzang's journey, you will find them not in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" but in the first five volumes of the "Biography of Sanzang Priest of the Great Ci En Temple".
Kodansha's "Genjo Sanzo" is truly a Japanese translation of volumes 1-5 of this "Daijionji Sanzo Housho Den".
I also read this one right after reading "The Tang Dynasty Chronicles of the Western Regions" and it was still overwhelmingly interesting to learn about the episodes and feelings of the journey.
Frankly, "The Great Tang Dynasty of the Western Regions" itself was quite a painful read.
However, as I was reading it, it occurred to me.
I started by asking myself "Why did a book with so little geographical information have such an impact on so many people?" I came to realize that the fact that the people of that time, with no means of transportation like we have today and little information about the area, let alone photographs, actually visited the area and brought back a large amount of information, was in itself an incredible feat for the people of that time. I came to realize that the fact that they actually visited the area and brought back a large amount of information was in itself a tremendous achievement for the people of that time.
We modern people can view information, photos, and even videos of the Silk Road traveled by Xuanzang by doing a quick search on our smartphones.
In the past, however, access to such information was almost nonexistent.
There is India, where the Buddha existed, far away. There are holy places. There are many wonderful sutras!"
Such a vague image must have been growing.
Moreover, the road to India is too harsh. It is a journey to prepare for death. Moreover, at the time when Genjo set out on his journey, it was forbidden to leave China. At a time when it was extremely difficult to enter and leave China, Genjo violated the law and set out on his journey to India.
Considering this background, even if the descriptions are simple, we can somehow feel the process of Xuanzang's opening up the unknown world one by one. I imagine that the value of the information itself was incomparably higher than it is today.
The Chinese monk Xuanzang risked his life to travel in search of the Dharma. Each of these countries is described here.
The land of longing, a mysterious country that Chinese and Japanese monks would never be able to visit even if they wanted to, and that they have never seen before, is depicted clearly in the unassuming descriptions. It is precisely because the descriptions are so plain that they may have stirred up even more yearning and imagination for the mysterious land.
I want to travel around India like Genjo Sanzo. I want to make a pilgrimage to the holy places."
I would like to see it myself. I would like to see it myself.
I am sure that there must be countless monks who felt this way.
I read the book with the feeling that Xuanzang's greatness was even more remarkable because of the lack of information in those days.
The "Tang Dynasty Chronicle of the Western Regions" itself is rather bland and I had a hard time reading it, but it was very stimulating to imagine my trip to India while reading this book. I would recommend this work in combination with "Genjo Sanzo".
The above is "Xuanzang's Journey to the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty: Genjo Sanzo's Journey in Search of the Law in India, the Model for the "Journey to the West"! The above is "Genjo's Journey to the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty
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