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{{Short description|Record of the travels of Buddhist monk Xuanzang}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|title=''Records of the Western Regions''
|pic=大唐西域記（四庫）.jpg
|piccap=A page from the edition of the ''Records of the Western Regions'' compiled as part of the ''[[Siku Quanshu]]'', an 18th-century [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] encyclopedia
|t=《大唐西域記》
|s=《大唐西域记》
|p=Dàtáng Xīyùjì<br>Dà Táng Xīyùjì<br>Dàtáng Xīyù Jì<br>Dà Táng Xīyù Jì
|w=Ta T'ang Hsi-yü Chi
|l=Records of the [[Western Regions]] during the [[Tang Empire|Great Tang]]
}}

The '''''Records of the Western Regions''''', also known by its [[Classical Chinese|Chinese name]] as the '''''Datang Xiyuji''''' or '''''Da Tang Xiyu Ji''''' and by various other translations and [[Romanization of Chinese|Romanized transcriptions]], is a narrative of the Chinese [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Monk #Buddhism|monk]] [[Xuanzang]]'s 19 year journey from [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]] through the [[Western Regions]] to [[medieval India]] and back during the mid-7th century CE.

The book was compiled in 646, describing travels undertaken between 626 and 645.<ref name=uhpress/> [[Bianji]], a [[Śrāvaka|disciple]] of Xuanzang, spent more than one year editing the book through Xuanzang's dictation. The text presents an account of Xuanzang's route with religious details as well as reports of the people and places he encountered.<ref name=columbia/> It is now considered not merely a landmark work in the [[history of Buddhism]] and [[Indo-Chinese relations]] but also in [[cross-cultural studies]] across the world.<ref name=columbia/>

Xuanzang's [[Buddhist pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] began in the [[Capitals of China|imperial capital]] of [[Chang'an]] (now [[Xi'an]] in China's [[Shaanxi Province]]) and followed the overland [[Silk Road]] through what is now [[Gansu]] and [[Xinjiang]] in northwest China. He travelled through [[Central Asia]] around the [[Himalayas]] to [[India]], where he reached as far south as [[Kanchipuram]].<ref name=columbia>{{cite web|url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/travel_records.pdf|title=The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing|publisher=[[Columbia University]]}}</ref> He then returned to [[China]] where, despite the illegality of his departure, his travels and scholarship were celebrated by the [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]].

== Background ==
While trade relations between India and China had been ongoing from at least the 1st century CE, and had been strengthened through the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|expansion of Buddhism into China]] from the time of the [[Three Kingdoms]], it was not until the expansion of the [[First Turkic Khaganate|Turkic Khaganate]] began to threaten the borders of India and China that embassies were sent between the two regions for military alliances.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ray|first=Haraprasad|title=Indo-Chinese Diplomatic Relations in Historical Perspectivethe South Indian Chapter |date=2000|jstor=44144424|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=61|pages=1093–1103}}</ref> Xuanzang is credited as being one of the first diplomats to establish such a relation between [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]] and the Kingdom of Kannauj.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Tansen|date=2001|title=In Search of Longevity and Good Karma: Chinese Diplomatic Missions to Middle India in the Seventh Century|jstor=20078877|journal=Journal of World History|volume=12|issue=1|pages=1–28|doi=10.1353/jwh.2001.0025|s2cid=153696415 }}</ref>

Xuanzang's travels were motivated by his deep interest in Buddhist lore. While he was not legally authorized by the Tang court to leave China, he managed to journey to India and record his meetings with the kings of [[Medieval India|various Indian kingdoms]]. Of particular note is emperor [[Harsha]], whom Xuanzang managed to convince to send an emissary to [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]]. These [[Indo-Chinese relations|diplomatic relations]] allowed Xuanzang to return to China without facing legal repercussions, instead granting him an audience with Taizong, who ultimately commissioned Xuanzang to write a record of his journeys to be entered into the official Tang records.<ref name=":0" />

==Overview==
The book contains more than 120,000 [[Chinese characters]] and is divided into twelve volumes, which describe the geography, land and maritime transportation, climate, local products, people, language, history, politics, economic life, religion, culture, and customs in 110 countries, regions and city-states from [[Xinjiang]] to [[Afghanistan]], [[Eastern Iran]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Nepal]], [[Northern India]], and [[Sri Lanka]], among other regions.

==Legacy==
The text is of a great value to modern historians and archaeologists.<ref name=uhpress>{{cite web|url=http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-4509-9781886439023.aspx|title=The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]}}</ref> The ''Records'' is an important document of [[Central Asia]] during the early 7th century, as it provides information of a [[Buddhism in Afghanistan|Buddhist culture existing in Afghanistan]] during that time and the earliest textual evidence for [[Buddhas of Bamiyan|Buddhist sculptures at Bamiyan]].<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMwnIv89hH3Q7rvdzmDQH9zCL6KA New Bamiyan Buddha find amid destruction] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505224108/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMwnIv89hH3Q7rvdzmDQH9zCL6KA |date=May 5, 2011 }}</ref> His travels are also credited with being partially responsible for the spread of sugar-making technology in [[medieval China]] and [[Medieval India|India]]. This is significant because sugar plays a crucial role in Buddhist doctrine.<ref>Sen, Tansen. "In Search of Longevity and Good Karma: Chinese Diplomatic Missions to Middle India in the Seventh Century." Journal of World History, vol. 12, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1–28. JSTOR, JSTOR, {{JSTOR|20078877}}.</ref> The text also has equal importance in the study of the [[history of India]], and archaeologists have been using it to fill in certain gaps in Indian history.<ref name=uhpress/> It also allowed historians to locate important archaeological sites in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="uhpress" /> The book is known for having "exact descriptions of distances and locations of different places",<ref name=uhpress/> and has served as a guidebook for the excavation of many important sites, such as [[Rajagrha]], the Temple at [[Sarnath]], the [[Ajanta Caves]], the ruins of the [[Nalanda mahavihara|Nalanda ''mahāvihāra'']] (great monastery) in [[Bihar]],<ref name=uhpress/> and the ruins of [[Vasu Vihara|Vasu Bihar]] in the [[Pundravardhana|ancient city of Pundra]]. The text inspired ''[[Journey to the West]]'', a [[Classic Chinese Novels|Classic Chinese novel]] published in the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name="uhpress" />

==Translations==
* Beal, Samuel (1884). ''Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang''. 2 vols. Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. [https://archive.org/details/siyukibuddhistre01hsuoft Volume 1] (PDF 21.5 MB) [https://archive.org/download/siyukibuddhistre02hsuoft/siyukibuddhistre02hsuoft.pdf Volume2] (PDF 16.9 MB)
* Beal, Samuel (1911). ''The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li'' by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. [https://archive.org/details/ajf4729.0001.001.umich.edu Internet Archive] (PDF 14.3 MB)
* Julien, Stanislas, (1857/1858). ''Mémoires sur les contrées occidentales'', L'Imprimerie impériale, Paris. [https://archive.org/details/mmoiressurlesco01juligoog Vol.1] [https://archive.org/details/mmoiressurlesco00juligoog Vol.2]
* Li, Rongxi (translator) (1995). ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions''. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. {{ISBN|1-886439-02-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Watters |first=Thomas |title=On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 A.D. Volume1|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924071132769#page/n3/mode/2up|year=1904|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society, London}} [https://archive.org/details/onyuanchwangstr01wattgoog Volume 2]
*Sen, Tansen. "In Search of Longevity and Good Karma: Chinese Diplomatic Missions to Middle India in the Seventh Century." Journal of World History, vol. 12, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1–28. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20078877.

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
* Zhu, Yunqiu and Wang, Lixin. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015640/http://engine.cqvip.com/QK/85080X/200501/20166491.html?SUID=EGBNBFDHDNCBCOPIBOLGEMCBCDOIPNFP Da Tang Xiyu Ji Zhong De Yinduren Xingxiang (The Image of Indians in the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions)]''. Journal of Shenyang University. 2005.2. p. 98–102. ISSN 1008-9225.
* Tang, Qinfu (2001). ''History of Chinese Historiography''. Taiyuan: Shanxi Education Press. {{ISBN|7-5440-2111-4}}. p. 230–232.
* Xie, Fang, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095916/http://203.72.198.245/web/Content.asp?ID=51048&Query=1 "Da Tang Xiyu Ji" ("Great Tang Records on the Western Regions")]. ''[[Encyclopedia of China]]'', 1st ed.
* Zhang Xiuping et al. (1993). ''100 Books That Influenced China: Da Tang Xiyu Ji''. Nanning: Guangxi Renmin Press. {{ISBN|7-219-02339-1}}. p. 392–398.
* T. C. Kuo and H. M. Chou, "The contribution of Xuanzang's Great Tang Records on the Western Regions to the research of religious culture," 2016 International Conference on Advanced Materials for Science and Engineering (ICAMSE), Tainan, 2016, pp. 322–324.

==Further reading==
{{Wikisource|Zh:大唐西域記|大唐西域記}}

*Bhat, R. B., & Wu, C. (2014). Xuan Zhang's mission to the West with Monkey King. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 2014.
*Jain, Sandhya, & Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books.

==External links==
* [http://www.chinaknowledge.org/Literature/Science/datangxiyuji.html Da Tang Xiyu Ji "Records from the Regions West of the Great Tang Empire"] — Chinaknowledge.de.
* 10 part (high quality) documentary [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVEJzp4h_MY ''Xuanzang's Pilgrimage'']

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Tang Records On The Western RegiOns}}
[[Category:7th-century Chinese books]]
[[Category:Chinese classic texts]]
[[Category:Chinese prose texts]]
[[Category:Tang dynasty literature]]
[[Category:Texts about the history of Buddhism]]
[[Category:Travel books]]

Records of the Western Regions - Revision history

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