Born 602,
Chin-liu, China
Died 664,
Sian, China

Hsüan-tsang was born the youngest of four sons in the town of Chin-liu, China. His father was a member of the Mandarin class of officials who governed China. It is said that Hsüan-tsang started reading the sacred Buddhist texts at the age of eight. Impressed by Hsüan-tsang’s studiousness, one of his older brothers, a Buddhist monk, had him brought to the monastery in Luo-yang, a city on the Yellow River. Hsüan-tsang did so well that he was one of only 14 students in China awarded a scholarship to come to the monastery to study Buddhist texts.

Journey across Asia

At the fall of the Sui dynasty in 618, China experienced a period of strife and upheaval. In order to escape this, Hsüan-tsang went to the new capital of...