Wang ocheonchukguk jeon
Encyclopedia
Wang ocheonchukguk jeon (pinyin
: wǎng wǔ tiānzhú guó chuán; "An account of travel to the five Indian kingdoms"") is a travelogue by Buddhist
monk
Hyecho
, who traveled from Korea
to India
, in the years 723 - 727/728 CE.
Written in Classical Chinese
, the lingua franca of East Asia
at the time, the work was long thought to be lost. However, a manuscript turned up among the Dunhuang manuscripts
during the early 20th century. It was bought by French explorer and archaeologist Paul Pelliot
in 1908, and is now owned by the National Library of France .
The manuscript scroll contains 5,893 classical Chinese characters in 227 lines. It originally consisting of three volumes, however volume one and later section of volume three are lost. It is 28.5 centimeters in width and 358.6 centimeters in length, is the first known overseas travelogue written by a Korean and contains information about the political, cultural and economic customs of India and central Asia at that time. The five Indian kingdoms in the work refer to West, East, North, South and Central India, but it also contains information about the Byzantine Empire (Greater Fu-lin), the Arabs, Persia and several Central Asian states.
It has been loaned to the National Museum of Korea
and will be on display there from Dec. 18, 2010 to April 3, 2011, 1283 years after the document was first written. The five Indian kingdoms in the work's title refer to West
, East
, North
, South
and Central India.
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Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: wǎng wǔ tiānzhú guó chuán; "An account of travel to the five Indian kingdoms"") is a travelogue by Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
Hyecho
Hyecho
Hyecho , Sanskrit: Prajñāvikram; Hui Chao in Chinese Pinyin, was a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla, one the three Korean kingdoms of the period."You complain of the long way home to the west,and I sigh at the endless road to the east."...
, who traveled from Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in the years 723 - 727/728 CE.
Written in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
, the lingua franca of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
at the time, the work was long thought to be lost. However, a manuscript turned up among the Dunhuang manuscripts
Dunhuang manuscripts
The Dunhuang manuscripts is a cache of important religious and secular documents discovered in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China during the early 20th century. Dating from the 5th to early 11th centuries, the manuscripts include works ranging from history and mathematics to folk songs and dance...
during the early 20th century. It was bought by French explorer and archaeologist Paul Pelliot
Paul Pelliot
Paul Pelliot was a French sinologist and explorer of Central Asia. Initially intending to enter the foreign service, Pelliot took up the study of Chinese and became a pupil of Sylvain Lévi and Édouard Chavannes....
in 1908, and is now owned by the National Library of France .
The manuscript scroll contains 5,893 classical Chinese characters in 227 lines. It originally consisting of three volumes, however volume one and later section of volume three are lost. It is 28.5 centimeters in width and 358.6 centimeters in length, is the first known overseas travelogue written by a Korean and contains information about the political, cultural and economic customs of India and central Asia at that time. The five Indian kingdoms in the work refer to West, East, North, South and Central India, but it also contains information about the Byzantine Empire (Greater Fu-lin), the Arabs, Persia and several Central Asian states.
It has been loaned to the National Museum of Korea
National Museum of Korea
The National Museum of Korea is the flagship museum of Korean history and art in South Korea and is the cultural organization that represents Korea...
and will be on display there from Dec. 18, 2010 to April 3, 2011, 1283 years after the document was first written. The five Indian kingdoms in the work's title refer to West
West India
West India or the Western region of India consists of the states of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, along with the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It is highly industrialized, with a large urban population. Most of Western India was part of the Maratha Empire before...
, East
East India
East India is a region of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa. The states of Orissa and West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh and with the state of Assam. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the...
, North
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, South
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
and Central India.
External ressources
http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Pelliot%20chinois%203532Fully digitized "Wang ocheonchukguk jeon" on International Dunhuang ProjectInternational Dunhuang Project
The International Dunhuang Project is an international collaborative effort to conserve, catalogue and digitise manuscripts, printed texts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and various other archaeological sites at the eastern end of the Silk Road...
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