The Cultural Value of Xuanzang's Great Tang Records on the Western Regions

2023-07-21

The Millennium Silk Road once left the footprints of numerous historical celebrities, among which one of the most famous was Master Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty. Lu Xun called him "a man who seeks law by sacrificing his life", Liang Qichao praised him as "a man through the ages", and Emperor Taizong of Tang spoke highly of him as "the leader of law". The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, written by Xuanzang, is an ancient Chinese cultural book that records what Xuanzang saw and heard during more than ten years before and after his journey to the west. It is composed of Xuanzang's oral statement following the edict of Emperor Taizong of Tang of the Tang Dynasty and his disciples' argumentation. It is known as one of the three major travel records in the East (the other two are Marco Polo's Travels to the West and Yuanren's Travels to the Tang Dynasty). It is generally believed that from the perspective of Xuanzang's era, the impact of Xuanzang's journey to the west was basically one-way - mainly reflected in the impact of Culture of India on Chinese culture at that time. Xuanzang brought back to Chang'an the knowledge, Buddhist classics and thoughts he had gained during his study tour in India. He translated scriptures and preached methods, and created a legislative sect, which promoted the spread of Buddhism in ancient China and promoted the localization of Buddhism. However, if we look at the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions in a longer historical context, we will find that the cultural value of Xuanzang's trip transcends time and space. It not only brings about the absorption of Chinese culture to Culture of India's culture, but also produces the historical influence of China on India, which has a certain world significance. ▲ The standing statue of Dehua white glazed Xuanzang on display in the National Museum of China. The completion and dissemination of Great Tang Records on the Western Regions issued by the Xinhua News Agency. From the historical records, Emperor Taizong of Tang of the Tang Dynasty asked Xuanzang to write Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, with the main purpose of learning as much as possible about the Western Regions. On the first day of February in the 19th year of the Zhenguan Reign of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong met Xuanzang in the Yiluan Hall and asked him about his travels to the west. He was particularly interested in the geographical customs and political conditions of the Western Regions. He talked with him for a long time. During the conversation, "the emperor also called the mage, saying, 'Buddhism is far away, spiritual traces, and religious teachings. The previous history cannot be specified. The teacher has seen it himself. It is advisable to build a biography to show that he did not hear it.'", One of the main problems faced by Xuanzang was to eliminate the threat of the Turkic military alliance in the west and north to the Central Plains Dynasty, and further properly handle the relationship between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Turkic tribes, which was the grand historical background of Xuanzang's westward journey. For more than 100 years from the late Northern and Southern dynasties to the early Tang Dynasty, in the northern and western borders of the Central Plains Dynasty and the region extending to Central Asia, the tribal alliance composed of Turks as the main body has been a quite powerful military and political force. At that time, Turks controlled all channels from the Central Plains to the Western Regions. After the Turkic split into the east and west, dozens of countries and regions from Central Asia to India were within the Sphere of influence of Western Turkic Khaganate. The Old Book of Tang, The Turkic Biography records: "Tong Yabghu Qaghan Khan (Western Turkic Khaganate) was brave and resourceful, and good at attacking and fighting. So he joined Tiele in the north, rejected Persia in the west, and connected with Kuaobin in the south. He was aware of his return. He controlled hundreds of thousands of strings, dominated the western regions, and according to the old Wusun region.... The prosperity of Xirong was unprecedented." In the fourth year of Zhenguan in Emperor Taizong of Tang (AD 630), with the military victory of the Tang army, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate problem was solved, What we need to face later is mainly the Western Turkic Khaganate problem. In the whole Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty

Edit:XiaoWanNing    Responsible editor:YingLing

Source:Guangming Daily

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