As a prominent monk with great virtue, Hsuan Zang seemed to be still living in the people’s mind in the world history. Years ago when I studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A. I met my instructor Professor Yamuna Kachru who moved from India to America, and asked me something about the monk. She detauled about Hsuan Zang vividly, which left me an extremely deep impression of him. The Indian-American professor’s good memory of Hsuan Zang resulted from Hsuan Zang’s tremendous contributions to the world cultural exchanges. Her detailed information on an ancient Chinese told us again that he was well known as the first cultural emissary between China and India. It’s an obviously interesting event that following his original way to India again will be an adventurous but attractive tour. Thus, a few words for him should be necessary.

Hsuan Zang was born in Goushizhen Town, Yanshi County, Henan Province in 602. His original family name was Chen with the second name Hui. He looked handsome with broad forehead and dense eyebrows. He was determined to be a monk just at his age of 13. He felt very happy to live his peaceful life in the temple everyday. He tried his best to learn much more Buddhist knowledge, and visited some famous temples or Buddhist believers. He used to discuss with more and more Buddhist scholars across China. Gradually he mastered all the Bible-like books on Buddhism. He understood (1) the Ancient Buddhist Books, (2) Buddhist Disciplines, and (3) Buddhist Theories. The three kinds of Buddhist stuff were of importance to every Buddhist believer. His another given name, Tang San-Zang, that means his great achievements had brought glory to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) for he had mastered the above-mentioned three-essential stuff of Buddhism.

However, he was never satisfied with himself in understanding Buddhist theory and practice. He used to argue with disciples or the elder of Buddhist monastery. Often did he find something he hesitated to make sure of. In order to seek for the first-hand Buddhist doctrine, he was determined to get every difficulty to carry out his unchangeable goal. Alone he started off his dangerous journey to the West along the ancient Silk-Road ①. through Liangzhou (Gansu Province) and Yumen West to ancient India for true Buddhist books at his age of 27. He met many unimaginable obstacles or perils along the way no one had touched. Scorning ten thousand torrents and a thousand crags, meandering across uncountable narrow rocky paths, he had overcome one difficulty after another. Sometimes he was so thirsty that he could hardly find any water in the great Gobi Desert. Once he fainted in the vast desert over which no birds were flying and on which no grass were growing up. Nevertheless he kept on marching forward, and he encouraged himself in silent speech that "I prefer to die for the West rather than be alive to return to the East." During his long journey, he had stayed in a small kingdom Gaochang ②. for three years in spreading his Buddhist idea so as to have an opportunity to keep fit.