Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s5.t10.5

v1.c7.s5.t10.5

Before Yi-Jing, Faxian, an eminent monk of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Xuanzang, an eminent monk of Tang Dynasty had travelled to India for further study on Buddhism, and respectively produced two important works, *Biographies of Faxian* and *Journey to the West During the Great Tang*. The travel of Yi-Jing happened in the second year of Xianheng of Tang Dynasty, over 40 years later than that of Xuanzang. He spent more than 10 years in India and stayed about 10 years successively in the South Seas area. He took the round trips by sea. Since Yi-Jing stayed in India and the South Seas area for quite a long time, his writings have abundant contents and serve as important materials for research on India-China relation in early Tang Dynasty and the history, culture, geography and religion of India and the South Seas area.