Portrait: AI-generated imagined likeness
Buddhist monk · translator · Writer
Tang-dynasty monk, traveler, and translator. He traveled to India by sea and recorded Buddhist monastic rules and the life of overseas students in detail. He is important for understanding Buddhist exchange linking East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
View in catalogFanyang
Birth
A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea
Book
Map: Natural Earth (PD)
He studied Buddhism in China and aspired to travel to India to deepen his understanding of scriptures and monastic discipline. Unlike Xuanzang, he used a maritime route through the southern seas.
He studied in India and Srivijaya and translated many Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. His travel accounts are important records of the Buddhist world and maritime exchange networks of the time.
On his way to India, Yijing spent a long period studying in the region of Sumatra. This shows that Southeast Asia was not simply a transit point but also a center for Buddhist learning.
Yijing's records are valuable sources for international Buddhist exchange during the Tang period. They offer a way to understand the movement of knowledge among China, India, and Southeast Asia. Studying him also shows how institutions, belief, war, and trade could combine with individual decisions to move history.
