Quest for the Dharma: The Childhood, Education, and Indian Pilgrimage of Yijing (635–713 CE)

Abstract

This research paper explores the life, rigorous education, and monumental transcontinental pilgrimage of Yijing (635–713 CE), one of the three great Chinese pilgrim-scholars of antiquity alongside Faxian and Xuanzang. Driven by a deep desire to obtain authentic Vinaya canons, correct widespread misinterpretations of monastic discipline in China, and honor the dying wishes of his preceptor Hui-hsi, Yijing undertook an arduous fifteen-to-sixteen-month journey from Guangzhou to eastern India between 671 and 673 CE. After passing through maritime Southeast Asia—including extended stays in Srivijaya (Bhoja/Palembang) and Kedah—he crossed the Bay of Bengal, navigated the Nicobar Islands, and arrived at the port of Tamralipti before settling in for a decade-long residency (675–685 CE) at Nalanda University. Unlike Xuanzang, who emphasized extensive regional sightseeing, Yijing focused intensely on linguistic mastery, scriptural acquisition, and textual study, amassing roughly 400 distinct Buddhist works. Following his return via Srivijaya, Yijing established a prolific state translation bureau in China under the imperial patronage of Empress Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhongzong. Over his lifetime, he translated over fifty Buddhist texts, authored key historical treatises such as the Nan-hai-chi-gui-nei-fa-zhuan and Da Tang Xiyu Qiufa Gaoseng Zhuan, and permanently bridged the cultural and religious exchange between South and East Asia.