The Korea Times reports that the 8th century travel journal of Hyecho, a Korean Buddhist monk from the kingdom of Silla, will be sent from the National Library of France to theNational Museum of Korea in Seoul to be on exhibition for the first time ever this December.
Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon, which means “The Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Kingdoms of India,” was written in 727 as an account of Hyecho’s four-year pilgrimage across India and neighboring regions. The journal consists of 5,893 classical Chinese characters (the lingua franca of East Asia at that time) in 227 lines. It’s widely regarded as one of the oldest and most important historical travel journals in human history as it provides insight into the political, cultural, and economic customs of India in those days.
The text ended up in France after French explorer Paul Pelliot purchased it on the Silk Road in China in 1908. Though it’s sure to be sent back to France after the “Silk Road and Dunhuang” exhibit is finished, it’s good to see a pilgrim’s journal return home, if just for a short visit.
Read more here.
Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, we depend on readers like you to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.
Subscribe now to read this article and get immediate access to everything else.
Subscribe NowAlready a subscriber? Log in.