Chinese Monks in India

The book opens with preliminary scholarly material, including a foreword, prologue, abbreviations, and a chart of Chinese dynasties. The main introduction explains the historical importance of I-ching’s Kao-seng-chuan as a source for the history of Buddhism and Buddhist cultural relations between India, China, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. It discusses the tradition of Chinese Buddhist biography, the place of I-ching among earlier pilgrims such as Fa-hsien and Hsüan-chuang, and the religious motivation that led monks to undertake dangerous journeys in search of authentic Buddhist scriptures and monastic discipline. The central text, “Biography of Eminent Monks Who Went to the Western Region in Search of the Law During the Great T’ang Dynasty,” is presented in English translation. Chapter One functions as a preface and lists the fifty-six monks, with details about their routes, teachers, places of study, and devotional aims. Chapter Two gives the biographies of fifteen monks in greater detail. The volume also includes the Chinese text, bibliography, and index, supporting both general readers and researchers interested in Buddhist textual transmission and Sino-Indian religious history.