Through the Lens of Chinese Travelers

For generations, visiting and exploring a foreign country has been an exciting activity. Immersion in new cultures and traditions, as well as new experiences and familiarity with people who once seemed foreign, not only helps to broaden the lens of our thinking telescope but also helps to provide new perspectives on a region. This time, it was about the Chinese travelers who visited the Indian subcontinent in a quest to achieve authentic Buddhist texts and knowledge.

Image source: Epic Explorers (YouTube)

While the Indian subcontinent was witnessing the rise and fall of vast empires on its eastern border and beaming with its wave of Buddhist traditions hundreds of years ago, it also drew a number of foreign travelers looking for original Buddhist texts. The accounts of these Chinese visitors who set foot on the subcontinent aided in providing unbiased perspectives on the subcontinent's cultural, social, and economic positions at the time.

These international visitors, who journeyed all the way from China through Central Asia, were nothing less than new perspectives for historians later on. Furthermore, their observations aided in the establishment of several themes and viewpoints about ancient India that would otherwise be impossible.

Fa-Hien was the first of many Chinese Buddhist monks who came to the Indian subcontinent to learn and master Buddhism. During the reign of Chandragupta II, he visited India. Fa-Hien, pronounced Faxian, began his journey on foot from China to India via the Gobi Desert in 399 AD. As a Buddhist monk, his goal in traveling to the Indian subcontinent was to locate original Buddhist texts. He went to many places, including Peshawar, Taxila, Mathura, Kannauj, and, of course, Pataliputra. Because his goal was to establish and locate Buddhist religious doctrines, his travelogues do not explicitly mention the political history of the time.

However, as a traveler, he was quick to observe his surroundings and make reasonable interpretations. His written account provides insights into the social, cultural, economic, and religious conditions during Chandragupta II's reign. Fa-Hien, interestingly, never mentioned Chandragupta II in his accounts, but he described the king as generous and kind. He was enthralled by the Dharamshalas, built for travelers with all the amenities.

The Chinese traveler also noted that corporal punishment was limited in the Gupta kingdom, and people tried to settle disputes amicably. His account also mentions Hinduism and Buddhism coexisting and points to a tolerant society. Fa-Hien was particularly interested in the chariot possessions carried out in those days, and he described them in detail.

Despite the fact that Fa-Hien's accounts of the state of the Gupta empire are brief, he assists scholars and historians in drawing valuable conclusions about the socio-economic conditions of the society at the time.

Following in the footsteps of Fa-Hien, another Chinese monk decided to travel to India in search of Buddhist treasures of knowledge and texts. His goal was to find authentic Buddhist texts and what better place to look than the roots? He was a monk, a traveler, a translator, and a scholar. Hiuen Tsang arrived in the Indian subcontinent in 630 AD.

In his account, he mentions several deserted monasteries and temples in Taxila, Pakistan. He traveled from Taxila to Kashmir, where he noticed the prevalence of Buddhism. Hiuen then traveled south from Kashmir to Kannauj, the capital of the Harshavardhan kingdom at the time. Harsha invited him to the Kumbh Mela in Prayag. Hiuen also spent time in Nalanda, studying Buddhist doctrines in depth. Tsang returned and wrote ‘Si-yu-ki’, a book containing records from Western countries, including the Indian subcontinent.

These Chinese travelers who sought their Western neighbor for original Buddhist texts and to further their knowledge of Buddhism also contributed to the presentation of organized accounts of the social and cultural temperament of the Indian subcontinent. Because of their travels and journeys, the ancient history of the land was given a new perspective.

Fa-Xian , Image source: Historic Travels in India