Xuanzang, formerly known as Chen Yi, was born in Luoyang, Henan. His legal name was Xuanzang, and later he was commonly known as Tang Priest. This is also his most famous name. He is a descendant of Chen Ya, a famous minister in the Eastern Han Dynasty. His father's name is Chen Hui. Although this man has a low reputation in history, he is a very learned man. Of course, reading a lot is essential.
The ancients paid attention to: learning to be excellent is an official. Now that Chen Hui has learned to be excellent, he also wants to be an official. But his official position is not big, and he was just a county official in the Sui Dynasty. Others are officials for a better life, while Chen Hui seems to be an official only for a better study. Later, when the Sui Dynasty perished, Chen Hui lived in seclusion and studied Confucian classics.
Xuanzang in film and television
Chen Yi, the fourth son of Chen Hui, was also influenced by the scholar spirit of Chen Hui since childhood, especially the Confucian classics, and showed superb attainments since childhood. Later, Chen Hui died, and his brother became a monk, while Chen Yi, who was still young at that time, followed his brother and converted to Buddhism. From then on, Chen Yi also became Xuanzang.
The Sui Dynasty was short-lived, and the beginning and end of the Sui Dynasty was accompanied by Xuanzang's painstaking study. During this period, Xuanzang studied Buddhism more thoroughly, and gradually he felt that the Buddhist scriptures introduced into the eastern soil were actually only a small part, and there must be a bigger world where Buddhism rose.
Xuanzang who went to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures.
Xuanzang is proficient in many Buddhist scriptures, but he is still not satisfied. At this time, the Central Plains was already the world of the Tang Dynasty. He wants to go out to study Buddhist scriptures, and he needs an ultimatum to get through customs, and he needs permission from the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. So in the first year of Zhenguan, he wrote to Emperor Taizong asking to go out to learn from the scriptures, but it was not approved, which made Xuanzang very hit, but he was determined not to change.
By chance, Xuanzang learned that Emperor Taizong had agreed to eat when the hungry people went out, so he put on makeup and mixed with the hungry people, and went to Tianzhu (that is, India) for a long journey.
Tang Priest in Film and Television
However, unlike Journey to the West, Xuanzang, an apprentice who was unable to reach heaven, experienced difficulties and obstacles along the way, and his life was dying several times. However, he overcame thousands of difficulties with perseverance, which can be said to be a narrow escape, but he finally reached Tianzhu as he wished. At that time, Tianzhu was divided into five parts: east, west, north and south. Xuanzang traveled all over Tianzhu to find a teacher to learn, which made him the most famous at that time.
In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, civil strife occurred in the court of Byzantine Empire. Later, Constantine ascended the throne and held a Buddhist academic debate in Tianzhu, with hundreds of thousands of people attending. They've always chosen Xuanzang as a pawn? In the name of God? This Buddhist conference lasted 18 days, and all the participants admired Xuanzang's profound knowledge, pious mind and eloquent ability.
Xuanzang who returned from the scriptures.
Xuanzang gained a lot in learning from the scriptures in Tianzhu, but he never forgot his purpose of learning from the scriptures, that is, to bring all these scriptures back to the Central Plains. Finally, in the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, Xuanzang returned to Chang 'an with 657 scriptures, a large number of Buddha statues and seeds of South Asian flowers and fruits, which can be said to be full of food.
Xuanzang's return naturally caused a sensation. Emperor Taizong also felt that Xuanzang had made great contributions, so he prepared to reward Xuanzang, but he was rejected. Think about it, too. How can a person who only cares about Buddhist scriptures pay attention to these external substances? Xuanzang knew there were more important things, because he brought them back.
Tang Priest in Film and Television
In fact, the rulers in the early Tang Dynasty were not very satisfied with Xuanzang's practice. Although Emperor Taizong also wanted to reward Xuanzang, he had to do it. He repeatedly advised Xuanzang to abandon Buddhism and become a common custom, but Xuanzang refused.
Because there is no secularism in his heart, only Buddhist scriptures, so he tried to get rid of the control of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty many times, preferring to do translation work in a small temple rather than being repeatedly imprisoned at the feet of the emperor.
Xuanzang was the first person to translate Tianzhu into India. In the following ten years, Xuanzang translated 75 Buddhist scriptures, with more than10 million words. Xuanzang contributed a lot to the later development of Buddhism in China. His perseverance and perseverance alone made people admire him.
Xuanzang died a natural death.
When Xuanzang translated Buddhist scriptures, he also orally recorded what he saw, heard and felt when he went to study Buddhist scriptures, and recorded the customs and habits of hundreds of countries, city-states and different nationalities, which had a great influence on later generations.
Tang Priest in Film and Television
People live and die, even monks who have attained the Tao cannot live forever. In the first year of Tang Linde, Xuanzang met his own death, and before that, he had been translating scriptures. The biography of Master Sanzang of the Tang Dynasty recorded that Xuanzang stopped doing this on his own, and his death was over, so Xuanzang put down the pen he had held for a lifetime.
Not long after, Xuanzang was seriously ill, so he called his disciples to arrange the funeral. More than a month later, Xuanzang died. When Xuanzang was buried, more than one million people mourned, and finally his spiritual bones were buried in Bailuyuan.