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374
Birth
Faxian (pronounced Fa-Hsien) was born in Wu-yang, located in China’s Shan Si province, in 374 A.D. His birth name is Sehi, but he later changed his name to Faxian, meaning “splendor of dharma”. -
377
Monastery
At the age of three, Faxian went to live in a Buddhist monastery. At this monastery, he converted to Buddhism. His father sent him here because his three older brothers had died in childhood and he wanted to protect him. -
404
Yarkand
25 days after leaving Khotan (present town Hetian), Faxian reached Yarkand (a caravan town). -
404
Kashgar
One month after leaving Yarkand, Faxian reached Kashgar (the westernmost part of China. It is not China Turkestan). -
406
Pamir Mountains and Indus River
Leaving Kashgar, he traveled through the Pamir Mountain and the Indus River in 406. Then he went throuh Gilgit and down the Kabul River to the city Peshawar. Then he went across the Punjab plains into the "heartland" of India. -
412
Ganges River
Traveled down the Ganges River in 412, visiting holy sites along the way. -
414
Tamrilipti
Faxian reached Tamrilipti in 414. -
414
Sri Lanka
Left Sri Lanka in 414. -
414
Reaches the Shantung Peninsula
In 414, On his way to the Peninsula, (leaving from Sri Lanka) his ship got wrecked on a small island off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Then he reached Java and stayed there for 5 months until a ship to China came. Then the ship got blown off course and drifted for 70 days until it turned northward and reached land on the Shantung Peninsula in northnern China in 414. -
415
The Capital of China
In 415, Faxian went to the capital of China (at that time, in Nanjing), where he translated some of the texts that he had brought back. -
416
Memoir
Faxian completed his manuscript at a monastery in the province of Hupei. This story of his travels i called the Fo-Kwe-Ki (Memoirs of the Buddhist Realms). It told the future Chinese pilgrims of the way to India overland and by the sea. -
462
Death
Faxian died when he was 88 years old in the monastery in the province of Hupel. -
Father's Death
When Faxian was ten, his father died. His uncle asked him to return home. -
Returning Home
Faxian eventually listened to his uncle and came home, but it was only for a short time for when his mother died. -
Monk-Hood
When Faxian was 20 years old, he became a full monk. -
Manuscripts
Fa-Hsien felt that the Chinese translations of the Buddhist manuscripts where inadequate. So, when he was 25, he set out to retrieve the original manuscripts from India so he could make new translations. He set off towards North China (through the cities Xi'an and Xining). Then he went on to the south side of the Nan Shan mountains to Dunhaung and on to the dried lakebed of Lop Nor. Then he traveled along the Tarim and Khotan and Tivers around the Takia Makan desert and arrived at Khotan. -
Magada
Then Faxian reached Magada (a holy city near modern Patna) and stayed there three years. During those three years, he collected and copied Buddhuist texts.
