author
Faxian
A Chinese Buddhist monk, traveler, and translator, he is best remembered for an extraordinary pilgrimage from China to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. His vivid travel record became one of the earliest firsthand accounts of Buddhist lands across Central, South, and Southeast Asia.
3 Audiobooks
About the author
Born around 337 CE, Faxian lived during a time when Buddhism was still developing in China. He entered monastic life young and later set out, at about age 60, on a long and difficult journey west to collect Buddhist texts and learn more about sacred sites and monastic practice.
His travels, usually dated from 399 to the early 410s, took him across Central Asia to India and on to Sri Lanka, before he returned to China by sea. Along the way he gathered scriptures and carefully observed the places he visited, leaving behind a record that historians still value for its picture of early fifth-century Buddhism and everyday life.
After returning home, Faxian devoted himself to translation work, helping bring important Buddhist texts into Chinese. He is also remembered as the author of A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (Foguo Ji), a travel narrative that preserved both the spiritual purpose of his journey and the human drama of crossing deserts, mountains, and seas.