File:Faxian_statue_in_Maritime_Experiential_Museum_&_Aquarium_Singapore.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Faxian
Sign in to saveAlso known as Fa Hien, Fa Hsien, Fa Xian, Fa-hsien, Fa-Hien, Fathian, Fat-hian, Fat Hian
Faxian (337–), formerly romanized as Fa-hien , Fa-hsien, and Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled on foot from Jin China to medieval India to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His birth name was Gong Sehi. Starting his journey about age 60, he traveled west along the overland Silk Road, visiting Buddhist sites in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. The journey and return took from 399 to 412, with 10 years spent in India.
Key facts
- Religious biography.background
- FFA500
- Religious biography.image
- Faxian statue in Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium Singapore.jpg
- Religious biography.caption
- Statue of Faxian, The Maritime Experiential Museum, Singapore
- Religious biography.religion
- Buddhism
- Religious biography.alias
- Gong Sehi
- Religious biography.monastic name
- Fǎxiǎn
- Religious biography.parents
- Tsang Hi (father)
- Religious biography.birth_date
- 337 CE
- Religious biography.birth_place
- Pingyang Wuyang (), in modern Linfen City, Shanxi
- Religious biography.death_date
- (aged 85)
- Religious biography.works
- Foguoji (A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms)
- Religious biography.birthname
- Gong Sehi
- Chinese.p
- Fǎxiǎn
- Chinese.w
- Fa-hsien
- Chinese.l
- Splendor of the Dharma
- Chinese.y
- Fat3-hin2
- Chinese.h
- Fap5-hien3
- Chinese.poj
- Huat-hién
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Gong
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Liu Song dynasty
- Place of birth
- Xiangyuan County
- Place of death
- Nanjing
- Occupation
- translator
- Languages spoken
- Sanskrit
- Religion
- Buddhism
- Notable work
- Record of Buddhist Kingdoms
- Image
- Fa Hsien at the ruins of Asoka's palace.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- date of birth
- 0340-01-01
- date of death
- 0422-00-00
- Commons category
- Faxian
- religious name
- 法顯
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Works
- Translations
- French
- English
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- External links
Faxian (337–), formerly romanized as Fa-hien , Fa-hsien, and Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled on foot from Jin China to medieval India to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His birth name was Gong Sehi. Starting his journey about age 60, he traveled west along the overland Silk Road, visiting Buddhist sites in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. The journey and return took from 399 to 412, with 10 years spent in India.
Faxian's account of his pilgrimage, the Foguoji or Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms, is a notable independent record of early Buddhism in India. He returned to China with a large number of Sanskrit texts, whose translations greatly influenced East Asian Buddhism and provide a for many historical names, events, texts, and ideas therein.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Faxian” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.