Set during the Zhenguan era of the early Tang dynasty, this book draws on historical sources such as Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and The Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the Great Ci'en Monastery to recreate Master Xuanzang's true journey west in search of Buddhist teachings. There is no mythology here. It tells only of a mortal monk who faced the hardships of traveling thousands of miles, the threat of bandits, the temptations of royal power, and the torment of loneliness. Over seventeen years, he traveled fifty thousand miles and passed through one hundred and ten countries, ultimately bringing the Buddha's wisdom back to his homeland. This is no myth. It is the legend of a real man, written over the course of his life.
