Xuanzang

Xuanzang, whose secular surname was Chen and given name Yi, was a native of Goushi in Luozhou (present-day Yanshi, Henan). A renowned Tang-dynasty monk, Buddhist translator and traveler, he founded the East Asian Consciousness-Only school of Chinese Buddhism. His birth and death years are not recorded in the available data; the commonly cited dates are 602–664. He traveled west to India in search of Buddhist teachings for seventeen years and studied under Silabhadra at Nalanda. After returning home he directed the translation of Buddhist scriptures and, drawing on his journey, wrote the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, which documents the geography, customs and religious life of Central Asia and South Asia, making him a major figure in cultural exchange between China and other civilizations. Eleven of his works are held here, including the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, the Yogacarabhumi-sastra, the Cheng Weishi Lun, the Heart Sutra, the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra and the Samdhinirmocana Sutra, spanning travel, medicine and religion and showing the lasting influence of his translations and writings.