Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.56

v2.c13.s3.t2.56

He copied scriptures and made portraits. Later, he boarded a merchant ship and after 14 days and nights, he reached Simhala. Xuanzang also paid a visit. In the *Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang*, he wrote: “Danmolidi is one thousand four hundred or five hundred *li* in circumference, and its capital is more than 10 *li* in circumference. The country is near the sea, with the dampness of a low-lying land. During the season of sowing and reaping, flowers and fruits are abundant. The weather here is warm and hot. People here are strong and brave, believing in good and evil. There are more than 10 Buddhist temples, with thousands of monks and there are more than 50 temples. There are different beliefs. The country is near the sea and is at the intersection of land and water, with many treasures so people in this country are generally rich.” Faxian had also wanted to go to Simhala by sea from here but a south Indian monk thought that the sea route was more risky and advised him to choose the land route. So he went in a southwesterly direction to Udra (in the north of Odisha today). Monk Yijing from the Tang period boarded a Persian merchant ship from Guangzhou to India on his pilgrimage in November of 671. He stayed for half-a-year in Srivijaya (Sumatra in present-day Indonesia), then went to Tamralipta and met with another monk Dachengdeng who had lived there for many years. He stayed there for one year and learned Sanskrit. They went to central India together. Before leaving India, he again resided in Tamralipta to translate Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and then returned to China by ship directly from there.