About the Book If one intends to delve into the intricacies and tendencies of the Gupta Dynasty, their Empirical understandings, Fa-hein's travel notes of his visit of the Indian sub-continent and erstwhile Ceylon from AD 399-414 are perhaps the best available resources for it. His accounts share, the glimpses of the fundamentals of religion, practices and culture. It is an invaluable crowned gem of knowledge which provides in-depth sights of the prevalence of Buddhism in Central Asia and South-East India. It is a thrilling, awe-inspiring odyssey of journeying through the ravenous seas, to reach India.
In his wonderful translation of these diaries, which is collectively titled A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, the readers rejoice in the English translation by James Legge, the originally composed notes and parallel supportive writings in Chinese Mandarin. Legge never hesitates in sharing his primary resources for his works and therefore the book is accompanied with an annotated reference. In addition to this, the book also contains of a travel map of Fa-hein's journey along with exquisite illustrations of ancient art of China depicting the life of Buddha.
Preface SEVERAL times during my long residence in Hong Kong I endeavoured to read through the Narrative of Få-hien;' but though interested with the graphic details of much of the work, its columns bristled so constantly now with his phonetic representations of Sanskrit words, and now with his substitution for them of their meanings in Chinese characters, and I was, moreover, so much occupied with my own special labours on the Confucian Classics, that my success was far from satisfactory. When Dr. Eitel's Handbook for the Student of Chinese Buddhism' appeared In 1870, the difficulty occasioned by the Sanskrit words and names was removed, but the other difficulty remained; and I was not able to look into the book again for several years. Nor had I much inducement to do so in the two copies of it which I had been able to procure, on poor paper, and printed from blocks badly cut at first, and so worn with use as to yield books the reverse of attractive in their appearance to the student.
Introduction Nothing of great importance is known about Få-hien in addition to what may be gathered from his own record of his travels. I have read the accounts of him in the Memoirs of Eminent Monks,' com piled in A.D. 519, and a later work, the 'Memoirs of Marvellous Monks,' by the third emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1403-1424). which, however, is nearly all borrowed from the other; and all in them that has an appearance of verisimilitude can be brought within brief compass.
.Book's Contents and Sample Pages
