About this objectHyecho (혜초/ 慧超), a Buddhist monk from Silla, kept an account of his multi-year, 20,000 km pilgrimage by sea and land to the sacred sites of India and beyond. This 8th century manuscript—往 五 天 竺 國 傳—written in Literary Sinitic (the official written language of China), recounts his journey as far as his return to the borders of China, where it was found.
After visiting the four sacred sites of Buddha's life in northern India he writes that his 'long-cherished wish had been fulfilled'. He then continues to walk to south India and back, giving details of the peoples, their languages, food and customs. He expresses his homesickness in a poem during this period, but he was never to return to Silla. He lived the rest of his life in Wutaishan [EXH90] in north China.
Date Made8th c.
PeriodSilla
Place MadeDunhuang
Subject and Association KeywordsPilgrimage
Subject and Association KeywordsBooks
Subject and Association DescriptionLearn More: Lopez 2017.
