Records of the Western Regions

Records of the Western Regions
A page from the edition of the Records of the Western Regions compiled as part of the Siku Quanshu, an 18th-century Qing encyclopedia
Traditional Chinese	《大唐西域記》
Simplified Chinese	《大唐西域记》
Literal meaning	Records of the Western Regions during the Great Tang
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dàtáng Xīyùjì Dà Táng Xīyùjì Dàtáng Xīyù Jì Dà Táng Xīyù Jì Wade–Giles Ta T'ang Hsi-yü Chi

The Records of the Western Regions, also known by its Chinese name as the Datang Xiyuji or Da Tang Xiyu Ji and by various other translations and transcriptions, is a narrative of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang's nineteen-year journey from Tang China through the Western Regions to medieval India and back during the mid-7th century. The book was compiled in 646, describing travels undertaken between 626 and 645.^[1] Bianji, a disciple of Xuanzang, spent more than one year editing the book through Xuanzang's dictation. The text presents an account of Xuanzang's route with religious details as well as reports of the people and places he encountered.^[2] It is now considered not merely a landmark work in the history of Buddhism and Indo-Chinese relations but also in crosscultural studies across the world.^[2]

Xuanzang's pilgrimage began in the imperial capital of Chang'an (now Xi'an in China's Shaanxi Province) and followed the overland Silk Road through what is now Gansu and Xinjiang in northwest China. He travelled through Central Asia around the Himalayas to India, where he reached as far south as Kanchipuram.^[2] He then returned to China where, despite the illegality of his departure, his travels and scholarship were celebrated by the emperor Taizong.