Xuanzang and the Silk Route
Contents: Foreword. Introduction. 1. Aspects of the two colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan/Marylin M. Rhie. 2. Bamiyan and the International Gandhara Tradition/Ronald M. Bernier. 3. Buddhism in Bamiyan/S.K. Pathak. 4. The Buddhas of Bamiyan: Symbols of Afghanistan's Forlorn Past/Juliette (Jet) van Krieken-Pieters. 5. Buddhist Temples beyond the Great Wall/Nandana Chutiwongs. 6. Empress Wu, Maitreya and Xuanzang/Patricia Karetzky. 7. The Etymology of the Word Bamiyan and Hsuan-tsang/Lokesh Chandra. 8. The folkloristic aspects of the characters in the novel "Journey to the West"/Priyadarsi Mukherji. 9. India and Afghanistan: Past, present and future/B.B. Lal. 10. India's Northwestern cultural area and its impact in China/Charles Willemen. 11. Legendary Xuanzang: Some of His narratives reported in Central Asian Art/Chhaya Bhattacharya-Haesner. 12. Mahayana and Hinayana in Central Asian Buddhist History--according to Hsuan-tsang and other evidence/Mariko Namba Walter. 13. Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhism and Buddhist deities from Xinjiang/Radha Banerjee. 14. A Sino-Sanskritic linguistic fragment from Tung Huang/Saroj Kumar Chaudhuri. 15. Sutras translated by Xuanzang and Dunhuang wall-paintings/Fan Jinshi. 16. The syncretic symbolism of the cosmic Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan/Mary Storm. 17. Suye and the journey to the West/Grigory Semenov. 18. The thirteenth century restoration of Bodhgaya/W.B. Douglas. 19. Xuanzang's contribution to Chinese Buddhism/Malati J. Shendge. 20. Xuanzang's Stay at Nalanda as depicted in the "Scroll on the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang"/Ineke Van Put. Note on contributors.
"China as we know is a great civilization and Xuanzang's (who is popularly known as Hsuan-tsang) visit to India was a great event. The noted Chinese traveller and Buddhist pilgrim, Xuanzang, reached India in AD 630, having undertaken arduous journey across Central Asia. A Chinese emperor called him "the jewel of the empire". Nearly fourteen years of his life (from AD 630 to AD 644) were spent visiting Buddhist temples and monasteries, cities and places of interest in the Indian subcontinent. He was a keen observer of men and affairs. Apart from being a devout monk, he has left behind a fascinating and authentic account of India's history, geography, economy and society of the times when King Harsha (AD 606-47) ruled over Northern India. This volume contains articles on the life and achievement of Xuanzang. Dharmamaster Xuanzang came to India particularly in search of Buddhist texts which were not available in China. He studied his favourite text Yogacarabhumisastra under the famous teacher Shilabhadra of Nalanda. He was a great recorder of historical sites of the Silk Route. His description of the Silk Route countries in Afghanistan and Gandhara are valuable for the political and cultural history of these lands. The study of Bamiyan monasteries and Colossal Buddhas have inspired Art historians to make a thorough study of the cultural history of Afghanistan.
The articles in this present volume show, through wide range of studies, not only Xuanzang's love and knowledge of Buddhism, but only an account of various countries and their cultural heritage." (jacket)
