It was originally called "The Biography of Travels to Tianzhu", also known as "The Biography of the Eminent Monk Fa Xian", or simply "The Biography of Fa Xian". Chinese and foreign communication works. Written by Shi Faxian (about 337-about 422) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. One roll. Faxian's common name was Gong, and he was from Wuyang, Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi). He became a novice at the age of three and received the great ordination at the age of twenty. In the third year of Long'an in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (known as Yu Yixizhong), he and his classmates Huijing and others set out from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) to Tianzhu to seek Dharma. They traveled through more than thirty countries and returned to China via the sea route in the eighth year of Yixi. They traveled more than 40,000 miles over a period of fourteen years. Based on what I saw and heard, I compiled it into a compilation with more than 9,500 words. It describes the Buddhist culture, historical legends, mountains and terrains, products and climate, architectural styles, customs and habits of more than 30 ancient countries in northwest my country, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. The trade winds contained in this book are the earliest systematic records of trade winds in Chinese literature. Shanshan's notes record the location, culture, customs and other information of the ancient city that were buried in the quicksand. It is the earliest accurate record of South Asia and Southeast Asia existing in my country, and is an important historical material for studying geography and the history of transportation between China and the West. It is valued by scholars around the world and has translations in English, French, German, and Japanese.
