Chinese Buddhist Travel Records / “Pilgrim” Records – Their Function and Meaning

Speaker: Professor Max Deeg, Professor, School of Religious and Theological Studies, University of Cardiff, Great Britain. Publications include Das Gaoseng-Faxian-Hsuanals Religionsgeschichtliche Quelle, 2005; and The Places Where Siddhartha Trod: Lumbini and Kapilavastu, 2003

 

Chair: Dr. Himanshu Prabha Ray

 

Since the “discovery” of the Indian past as a subject of research and study in the early 19th century the reports of Chinese Buddhist travellers between the early 5th and 8th century have played a major role as historical sources. They were used to reconstruct Indian history, the state of Buddhism in the first millennium CE, and to locate archaeological sites. The most famous names are Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing who left important records about their journeys and stay in India, focusing on different aspects of Indian society, culture and religion. This talk will present the major records in their historical contexts. It will present a fresh approach to reading these texts not only as “documentaries” of some historical reality but also as Chinese sources in their own right with quite specific purpose and intentionality. This will be discussed and illustrated by selected examples from the texts