뉴스레터

This is a verse written by Hyecho [慧超], who visited the distant lands of India and Central Asia nearly 1,300 years ago and left behind a famous account of his journey. The verse was written during his long and treacherous travels, expressing his longing for Silla, his homeland, and Tang, where he had studied. Even today, the verse is poignant and moving.

With advances in transportation, we can now travel to all corners of the globe with comfort and ease. This was not the case for Hyecho. His journey, which took some seven to eight years, was carried out on foot. As challenging as the journey was, what was even greater was Hyecho's curiosity about the world, his warm openness toward strangers, and his passionate quest for the truth. Hyeocho of Silla was an early globetrotter who was open-minded and eager to take action in order to realize his goals.

It was a scroll discovered about a century ago that shed light on Hyecho's world travel. Dunhaung [敦煌], is a city situated in a rich oasis on the Silk Road, the crossroads of Chinese and Western civilizations. In 1900, many books and paintings were discovered in a small grotto (no. 17). The artifacts were taken to Europe by a number of expeditions. Among the artifacts was Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon, discovered by Paul Pelliot of France. It was a copy, 28.5cm wide and 358.6cm long. The front and back had fallen off, and only 227 lines remained.

Follower of Vajrayāna Buddhism

Hyecho, born in Silla, carried out his activities as a Buddhist monk in Tang China. Although Silla boasted an advanced Buddhist culture by the 8th century, Hyecho went to study in Tang in search of a new form of Buddhism. There, he studied Vajrayāna Buddhism (Esoteric Buddhism) for which there was great interest at the time. Vajrayāna Buddhism involves Buddhist incantations and rituals for a concrete and definite religious practice. Hyecho sought to gain a greater understanding of Buddhism by journeying to India, the birthplace of Vajrayāna Buddhism. Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon is the chronicle of his pilgrimage to India. At that time, there were some 180 Korean monks who were in China to study. Fifteen among them went on the pilgrimage to India. Ten of them lost of their lives during the perilous journey and only five made it back to either Tang China or Silla.

Upon his return from the pilgrimage for which had risked even his life, Hyeocho, in 733, received teachings from Vajrabodhi, a leading figure in Vajrayāna Buddhism, and participated in translating Buddhist scriptures. Then in 780, he recited the scriptures on Mount Wu Tai in China, considered a holy site for Vajrayāna Buddhists. Apart from that, there is little else that is known about Hyeocho's life. From the tidbits of historical records, it can be gathered that Hyecho was born around 700 and went to Tang China to study quite early on in his life. He undertook the pilgrimage to China from around 720 to 728. He spent the rest of his life practicing and teaching Vajrayāna Buddhism as a monk. He is thought to have died some time after 780 in Tang China.

Map of the pilgrimage chronicled in Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon

India and Central Asia in Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon

Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon [往五天竺國傳] literally means the memoir of a journey to the five kingdoms of India. Hyecho left Chang'an [present-day Xi'an], the capital of the Tang dynasty, around 720 and departed on a boat from Guangzhou [廣州]. He voyaged through India and Central Asia and returned to Chang'an around 728.

The extant portion of Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon begins with Hyeocho's account of India's northeast. He visits Vaishali; Kushinagar, where Guatama Buddha passed into Nirvana; and Varanasi, where Guatama Buddha delivered his first sermon. Hyeocho then moves on to Central India. It takes him three months from central India to reach the southern regions of the country. From there, he journeys for another two months to reach western India. After three months, he reaches Punjab in the upper reaches of the Indus River. In a month's time, he passes through Taxila (in present-day Pakistan) and then enters Kashmir.

A month later, Hyeocho arrives in Gandhara, where Buddhist art reached brilliant heights. He goes north from there, passing through Oddiyana, and then west, to Afghanistan. He visits Bamyan and then heads to Tokhara. He travels west for a month to reach Persia, and then the Arabian Peninsula. He hears about the Göktürks of Samarkand, passes through Tohara and Wahan, and reaches the Pamir Mountains, considered the "Roof of the World." He then enters Chinese territory. He follows the Northern Silk Road between Tian Shan mountain range and Taklamakan Desert to pass through Kashgar and Kucha. The extant portion of Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon ends at Karahoja[高昌], right before his arrival at Dunhuang.

A pilgrimage that opened the door to cultural exchanges

In Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon, Hyecho records what he has seen, felt, and heard during his travels. Therefore, the travelogue provides a comprehensive overview of the Buddhist communities, geography, environment, customs, politics, and major products and goods of various regions. It also sheds light on the distance between key destinations and a sweeping sketch of the times. Written by a pilgrim, Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon is highly regarded for its rich lyricism.

Hyecho departed from southeastern China by boat; journeyed over land through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the many counties of Central Asia; and returned to Tan China. Xuanzang, a celebrated Buddhist monk and traveler, chronicled his journey over land to and from India in the 7th century in the extensive Great Tang Records on the Western Regions [大唐西域記]. In the meantime, Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon is the only record on the situation in India and Central Asia in the early 8th century. The work specifically lists the names of the eight major Buddhist sites in India, provides a vivid account of the clash between the Arab world and Central Asia, and offers a record of the first contact with the Arab culture. In short, there are characteristics and accounts inWang Ocheonchukguk Jeon that cannot be found in any other historical record.

The front and back portions of Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon are missing and there are but brief descriptions of each country Hyeocho visited. Therefore, work must first be done to restore the travel itinerary in the missing portions, understand the nature of the work, and properly interpret this important historical record. There must also be a study of Hyecho's activities apart from those that were religious in nature. With such efforts, we can bring back to life the value of Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon as a historical record and the passion with which Hyecho embraced the world with an open heart.