The life and legacy of Xuanzang: a Buddhist seeker, philosopher, and intrepid traveler who became the world's most famous pilgrim. In the fall of 629, Xuanzang (600-662), a twenty-nine-year-old Buddhist monk and scholar left the capital of China to begin an epic pilgrimage across the country, through the deserts of Central Asia, and into India. His goal was to locate and study authentic Buddhist teachings, then bring them back to his homeland. Over the course of the next sixteen years, he walked thousands of miles and visited hundreds of Buddhist monasteries and places of pilgrimage. He studied with prominent teachers all along the way, compiling a written record of Central and South Asia that still paints the clearest picture of the region's religions during that period. When he finally returned to China in 645, Xuanzang carried 657 texts, 150 relics, and at least seven statues with him. The arrival of these Buddhist treasures, and Xuanzang's successful efforts to translate dozens of critical texts into Chinese, created a landmark moment in the history of East Asian Buddhism. As with many premodern religious figures, the legends surrounding Xuanzang's life have taken on lives of their own.

His story has been retold and repurposed by generations of devotees and historians, and it remains a vital narrative for hundreds of millions of people in Asia and beyond. This book charts a course between the earliest, most reliable accounts of Xuanzang's life and the fantastic legends that later developed, such as those in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West . By examining the life, the writing, and the legacy of Xuanzang, scholar Benjamin Brose separates the myth from the man: a solitary, determined monk whose impact on Chinese Buddhism has never been equaled.