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Note by Bianji
I, Bianji, the descendant of a remote progenitor who believed in high culture,
cherished the ambition even as a child to lead a life of seclusion. When I had
just reached school age I cut my hair, changed into religious robes, and
became a disciple of Venerable Daoyue of the Sarvāstivāda school in the
great Zongchi Monastery. Although I met a learned teacher my stupidity ren-
dered me as useless as a piece of rotten wood that cannot be carved into
shape. I was lucky to have entered the stream of the Dharma but I failed to
saturate myself in the dew of learning, and I merely ate my fill all day long
and did nothing but face the wall to pass the years. Fortunately the time came
for me to take part in this fine gathering of intellectuals where, even with my
ability as meager as that of a sparrow, I worked at the end of a long line of
brilliant scholars, resembling lofty swans, in writing this
Record
with my
smattering of literary knowledge. I am not a student who is well versed in
ancient writings and my compositions are devoid of ornamental phrases. I
worked just like one who carves a piece of rotten wood with a blunt burin,
toiling as laboriously as a lame person. I respectfully listened to the words,
committed them to writing, and put them in proper order. Under the orders
of the Secretary of State I compiled the
Record
as it is presented here. Due
to my shallow wisdom and limited ability, I must have made many uninten-
tional omissions and there may be surplus words that should have been
deleted. Formerly, when the highly talented historian Sima Zichang wrote
his
Historical Records,
succeeding to his father’s task as grand historian,
even he sometimes only mentioned the given name of a person and neglected
the second name. As regards places, he often only denoted the name of the
county without indicating that of the prefecture. So it is said that even a
discreet scholar when working alone on a heavy and complicated task is apt
to be neglectful, let alone a person of slow wits and poor capability, such as
myself. How could I expect to be perfect and consummate in my work?
The different topographical conditions and social customs, the territorial
limits and native products, the temperament and intelligence of different peo-
ples, as well as the cold and warm climates of the four seasons in various
regions have been ascertained and described in detail, good or bad, according
to the actual facts. As regards the personal names of people of different tribes,
351
947b
The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions
they are given together with the names of their countries of origin. Indian
customs and teachings are divided into two categories, namely, religious and
secular. All these are briefly narrated but a full description can be found in
the preceding preface. Such matters as social etiquette, ceremonies, household
registration, brave warriors, and religious recluses are not described in detail.
The Buddha contacted people through the employment of supernatural
powers and taught them with spiritual admonition, and it is said that his
divine Way is deep and mysterious, its principles alien to the human world,
and that whatever profundities he exposed in his spiritual admonitions are
concerned with things beyond the sky. Brief accounts, with succinct notes,
have been given for all the places where the Buddha left his auspicious traces,
and for the ruins connected with the good names of former sages. The roads
wound and zigzagged and the boundaries of different countries unevenly
interlocked with one another. Descriptions of the places of the Master’s
journey have been presented in sequence, without editorial arrangement. The
different parts of India, irrespective of national boundaries, are indicated at
the end of the description of each country, in order to give a rough idea of
its whereabouts. Where the word “going” is used in the narration, it means
that the Master visited the place in person; the word “reaching” signifies that
he merely gathered information [about a place] for his record. It is variously
written in a straightforward way, according to facts, or in a mild and round-
about way to put it in a graceful style with well-balanced words, in order to
submit a trustworthy record to His Supreme Majesty the Emperor.
In the seventh month in the autumn of the twentieth year (of the Zhenguan
reign, 646
C.E.
) I completed the compilation, inscribed it on pure white silk,
and presented it to the Emperor for his perusal, despite my uncertainty whether
it would meet His Majesty’s expectations. However, the risky journey to a
distant land was actually undertaken under the prestige of the imperial court
and the composition of the topographical record of foreign countries was
done with curiosity under His Majesty’s inspiration. It was not only Kuafu
who had the strength to chase the sun to the remotest realms; the opening
up of the Western Regions can by no means be solely due to the merit of the
Marquis of Bowang. Vulture Peak is made known in China through this
Record,
and Deer Park is rendered as familiar as the outer garden of the impe-
rial palace. It enables one to visualize what happened a thousand years ago
352
Fascicle XII
and see the sights along the ten thousand-
li
journey as if one had visited the
places in person. All of this has not been heard of since the remote past, nor
was it recorded in previous books.
The Emperor’s supreme virtue covers all, and different countries with
diverse customs have come to offer allegiance. The tradition of honesty and
magnanimity has spread to far regions, even wild and out-of-the-way locales,
without exception. This
Record
may serve as a supplement to the
Shanhai
jing;
let it be published as a chronicle and distributed to the concerned author-
ities as a general reference.
End of Fascicle XII of
The Great Tang Dynasty
Record of the Western Regions
353
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