Yi Jing was one of the three renowned pilgrims from ancient China, his two predecessors being Fa Xian and Xuan Zang. Fa Xian, was the first monk to embark on a pilgrimage to India, where he stayed for 15 years (399-414 CE). Xuan Zang on the other hand lived in India for 17 years (629-645 CE).

Yi Jing was born in 635 CE in Fanyang, in Chaozhou. When he was seven years old (641 CE), he studied under his tutors Shan Yu and Hui Xi. He received novice ordination at the age of 14 and subsequently took full ordination at the age of 20 as the minimum age required. Since he was 18 years old, Yi Jing has dreamt of undertaking a pilgrimage to India, but his dream was only realized when he reached the age of 37 (671 CE).

While residing in the capital (Chang’an), Yi Jing witnessed the colossal funeral ceremony of Xuan Zang who died in 664 CE, conducted under the direction of the emperor. Moved by the noble intentions of Xuan Zang, Yi Jing endeavored to realize his long-awaited dream to travel to India, which at the time was the center of learning of Buddhism. Before leaving for India, he returned to his hometown to request the blessing of one of his teachers, Hui Xi. He also visited the grave of his other teacher, Shan Yu, to pay homage.

In the eleventh month of the year 671 CE (at the age of 37) Yi Jing sailed from China (Guangdong) for 20 days and landed in Foshi. He resided in Foshi for six months to learn Sabdavidya (Sanskrit grammar) and then left for Moluoyou (Melayu), where he stayed for two months. On the twelfth month, in 671, he proceeded from Jiecha (Kedah) to India, visiting various places and finally arrived at Tamralipti (a port on the East coast of India) on the eighth day of the second month in the year 673 CE. On the fifth month he resumed to India and stayed at Nalanda for 10 years (675-685 CE).

After collecting sacred books of Buddha’s teachings, he began his journey home. Yi Jing returned to Tamralipti and from there sailed for two months to the southeast, arriving in Jiecha, where concurrently a ship from Foshi has arrived, which typically occurs in the first or second month of the year. Yi Jing stayed in Jiecha until winter and then travelled by ship to the south. After one month of traveling, he arrived in Moluoyou (Melayu), which has then become Foshi (Shili Foshi) and there are many states (under it). The arrival time is usually also falls on the first or second month of the year.

Yi Jing stayed in Shili Foshi for four years, beginning in circa 685-689 CE. In 689 CE, Yi Jing boarded a ship with the intention to send a letter to Guangzhou (Guangdong) to request for paper and ink to be used for copying sutras and the costs of hiring scribes, but accidentally returned home to China for three months. Since some 500,000 slokas from the Tripitaka teachings he brought (from India) were left in Foshi, he intended to return. Yi Jing at the time was already 55 years old.

On the first day of the eleventh month of the year 689 CE, Yi Jing along with two other monks Zhen Gu (Salagupta) and Dao Hong departed from Guangdong to Foshi. Yi Jing again stayed in Foshi for approximately five years (late 689-695 CE). In Shili Foshi, Yi Jing met a monk named Da Jin who returned to Chang’an (Xi’an Fu) on the 15^th day, fifth months of the year 692 CE and Yi Jing entrusted him with 10 volumes of Sutras and Sastras (Commentaries), ‘Nanhai Ji Gui Neifa Zhuan’ consisting of four volumes and ‘Datang Xiyu Qiufa Gaoseng Zhuan’ comprising two volumes.

Yi Jing returned to China in the mid-summer of 695 CE, and was well-received by Empress Wu Zetian (the empress in power at the time). He resided abroad for 25 years and visited more than 30 places. Yi Jing brought home some 400 Buddhist texts, 500,000 slokas as well as a real plan of Vajrasana (seat of Awakening) of the Buddha.

In total, Yi Jing stayed in Sumatra for about 10 years, from late 671 until 672 CE (at least 8 months); between 685-689 CE (four years); and late 689 until 695 CE (around five years).

The Works of Yi Jing

Yi Jing translated about 56 writings totaling 230 volumes. Among his famous writings comprise:

1. ‘Nanhai Ji Gui Neifa Zhuan’ (南 海 歸 內 法 傳) written in 691-692 CE. This book was translated by Prof. Takakusu (1896) from Chinese into English under the title ‘A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India and the Malay Archipelago’, and has been translated into Indonesian under the title ‘Kiriman Catatan Praktik Buddhadharma dari Lautan Selatan,’ published by Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia (2014).

2. ‘Datang Xiyu Qiufa Gaoseng Zhuan’ (大 唐 西 域 求 法 高 僧 傳; ‘Memoirs of Eminent Priests who visited India and Neighbouring Countries to search for the Law under the Great T’ang Dynasty’), also written in 691- 692 CE, was translated by Professor Chavannes from Chinese into French under the title “Memoire a l’epoque de la grande dynastie Tang sur les religieux eminents qui allerent chercher la Loi dans les pays d’Occident” (1894).

3. ‘Mulasarvastivada-ekasatakarman’ (根 本 说 一 切 有 部 百 一 羯 磨), written upon his return to China, between 700-703 CE.

In addition, there are three more writings of Yi Jing which he mentioned in his other works but are not found in the India Office Collection:

1. 西 方 記 (Xifang Ji). The Record of the West. Yi Jing refers to this work in Chapter IX of ‘Nanhai Ji Gui Neifa Zhuan’.

2. 西 方 十 德 傳 (Xifang Shide Zhuan). The Lives of the Ten Virtuous Men of the West. Yi Jing refers to this work in Chapter XXXIV of ‘Nanhai Ji Gui Neifa Zhuan’.

3. 中 方 錄 (Zhongfang Lu). The Record of the Madhyadesa. Yi Jing mentions this work in ‘Datang Xiyu Qiufa Gaoseng Zhuan’.

Yi Jing passed away in 713 CE at the age of 79 years. His life and works were highly praised by Emperor Zhongzong, as stated in the preface of the Tripitaka catalogue.

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Source: ‘A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India and the Malay Archipelago’ by Prof. Takakusu. Publisher: Oxford at the Clarendon Press (1896).