Faxian
Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled to India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) between 399 and 413 CE, and one of the best-known Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to India.
Journey
According to James F. Hancock, Faxian set out in 399 CE at the age of 60. He spent ten years crossing the deserts and mountains of the Silk Road to reach India, where he visited the major Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and then spent two years in Ceylon. He came home by sea, a dangerous voyage through the Strait of Malacca, arriving in 413. He spent his last years translating the Buddhist texts he had brought back, and died at the age of 88.[1]
The voyage home
Faxian's description of the sea, as quoted by Hancock, is one of the earliest vivid accounts of long-distance sailing in the Indian Ocean. He wrote of pirates "to meet with whom is speedy death", of an ocean where there was "no knowing east or west" except by the sun, moon and stars, of ships drifting helplessly in dark and rainy weather, and of waves that shone with a fire-like brightness. Merchants on board were terrified, because there was no anchorage in the deep sea and a hidden rock meant certain wreck.[1] His account is a source for geographers and historians of navigation as well as for students of Buddhism.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hancock, James F. (2021). "Ancient South East Asian Maritime Trade". Spices, Scents and Silk: Catalysts of World Trade. CABI. section "The Chinese Pilgrims – Chroniclers of the Ancient Spice and Silk Routes". ISBN 9781789249774.