Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t7.4

v2.c14.s4.t7.4

In March of lunar calendar, Zhenguan 17ᵗʰ year of Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong dispatched Li Yibiao to serve as an envoy to India and Wang Xuance, leader of Huangshui County in Rongzhou as vice commissioner, who led a delegation of 20 people to escort the Indian envoy and his attendants back to their country. In December of lunar calendar (early 644 CE) of that year, they arrived in Magadha. Moreover, there were other persons like Shi Weicai, who was once responsible for the inscription on the Dajue Temple Stone Tablet and Song Fazhi, a craftsman. They decided to start a trip back to Tang after February 11ᵗʰ of lunar calendar, 645 CE, which was more than a year after their arrival. This was the second time that envoys sent by Emperor Taizong arrived in India, and also the most important India-China diplomatic event in the period of the reign of Emperor Taizong, which lasted for a very long time with an abundance of valuable historical materials left for later generations.