The Historical Xuanzang Was A Badass - The Real Journey to the West 1
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- Cowardly, effeminate and limp-wristed, those were the descriptions that suited Tang Sanzang, the monk featured as one of the main characters of the Journey to the west novel. But Xuanzang, the real historical person he was based on was actually a courageous and eloquent orator.
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0:00 Introduction
1:35 Xuanzang's Early Life
3:30 Going to India
5:20 Yumen Pass
6:13 Gaochang
7:51 Suyab (Western Turkic Khaganate)
9:08 Samarkand
10:38 Balkh & Bamiyan
11:04 Gandhara
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📚SOURCES:
大唐西域記 - Great Tang Records on the Western Regions
大慈恩寺三藏法師傳 - Biography of Sanzang
Samuel Beal, 1884, Buddhist Records of Western Countries (Vol. 1 & 2)
Samuel Beal, 1914, The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang
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Call me biased, but I think Stephen Chow’s adaptation of Journey to the West,
A Chinese Odyssey: Part 1 & 2 are the best adaptations. Yes, those movies are parodies, but the unbearably annoying and naggy Tang Sanzang depicted in that movie is actually quite close to the historical Xuanzang, IMO. 😂
this is the best :)
czcams.com/video/ulDzLjz0wdw/video.html
This I agreed. To bad the modern version mess it up
My favorite is the one with Dicky Cheung in it (the first one where he got replaced by Benny Chan in season 2). Not faithful, but I love both Triptaka and Sun Wukong in the show!
just dont let your girlfriend know that you love this movie
sorry for out of context, but when will you talk about the three kingdom? thanks!
I think someone told me that the monkey represent Sanzang's intellect, sharp but sometimes cocky. The piggy repersent his lust for materialistic things, which he control strictly but cannot banish completely. Sandy represent his fear, I thought I read somewhere that Sanzang actually abandon his journey a few times before he regret it and finally continuing his journey. The monsters represent dangers and temptations along the way.
Correction on Zoroastrianism: they don’t worship fire, they merely venerate it for giving light and warmth. Worship only goes to Ahira Mazda.
*Ahura Mazda
@Ace Player and you worship suor. With your butt up in the air..
ahira mazda or ahura mazda???
He said Everlasting Flame not a fire 🔥.
And his servant mithras in greek or mihir in pahlavi.
One of the best known Chinese story South Korean likes! There were even some TV shows that goes to China and tours the footage of this masterpiece. Hope we can travel great china again. Love from South Korea🇰🇷❤️🇨🇳.
my parents visited and said South Koreans have some of the best food and manners. Wish I could go one day also
I think I know which show you are talking about, is it the one with Kang Ho Dong new journey to the west? I loved that show haha, I’m Chinese and I hope to travel to Korea later
@@kevinzhu6417 hey yo Japan’s the best
For Xuanzang, it really was a case of the journey being more important than the destination. He wasn't the first to travel to India (Faxian/法显 went there 200 years earlier than Xuanzang), and there were also other Tang Dynasty Monks who wrote detailed notes of their travels (for example Yijing/义净, who also visited Malaysia and Indonesia), but it was Xuanzang who had the greatest adventure along the way, and so his story became the basis for the Journey to the West. Great video btw, really clear and easy to follow!
But he was the one that brought back and translated the famous xin jing or heart sutra into chinese for the emperor and it was through his efforts that buddism was spread to japan and korea.
That’s right-I forgot about Faxian/法显. Thanks for mentioning him!
@@lyhthegreat You are right, Xuanzang's translations were important, and he did help further disseminate Buddhist teachings in China. Saying that, Buddhism had already been present in China since the Han Dynasty, and Buddhism had passed into both Korea and Japan by the 6th century, several generations before Xuanzang's travels. Additionally, there were others who also translated buddhist texts, such as Yijing I mentioned above, so the translation aspect alone is not what made Xuanzang famous. What really made Xuanzang so memorable was the epic nature of his journey, and that his story was immortalised in the Ming Dynasty novel The Journey to the West.
@@jeff__w Faxian's route and purpose was actually very similar to Xuanzang's, only that he traveled more than 200 years earlier. Xuanzang was immortalised in The Journey to the West though, so Faxian is not so well known today.
@@BygoneChina During the time of Faxian the “Gupta Empire” was the most powerful and wealthy dynasty in India it was also refered as the golden age of India.
I lost it when you said "Because he was a big NERD." XD Terrific little documentary. I'd never even heard of Xuanzang before I came across this video!
These virtual tour vids are my absolute favorite videos from you. I remember you did one for an early Han explorer/statesman who made it to the Persian gulf. Really is an ingenious way for you to give us a bigger picture view of pan-Asian geopolitical and cultural happenings during these various times. Excellent storytelling method, allowing you to show us what’s happening in Central Asia, Iran, India and beyond through our Han or Tang era eyes, without bringing the story out of China, because we’re seeing the rest of the known world through these explorers’ eyes.
Great channel man, keep it up 💪
This was awesome! I need to brush up on my Zoroastrian history of that region... fascinating that he ran into Zoroastrian ruler on his journey. This is really awesome stuff that you can't find on other channels. Can't wait for more!
Yes Zoroastrianism was likely the dominant religion of that region prior to Islam, with Buddhism likely being in the 2nd position
Is it possible that Zoroastrianism is the basis for the Ming sect in Jin Yong's Yi tian du long ji?
Your channel will be a hit in the near future. Jiayou!
I discovered this chanel last week. I am history buff my self but the way you present history in very condense and very entertaining way made me addicted to your videos this last week. Greetings from North Macedonia:))
Cool story! Looking forward to the next installment!
Stumble to this channel by accident, stay to this channel because of the story. Love your history-telling bruh
What
a
tease
Can't wait for part 2!
I love your channel! Thanks for all the content! I’ve recommended it to many people, I can’t wait till you hit 100k subs!
I had no idea dragonball z was inspired by "a journey to the west" until my wife told me to watch the Chinese late 80s version and saw Sun Wukong flying on the cloud. Now it's my favorite story.
Really? I thought Goku's monkey tail and magic stick was already a dead giveaway.
I thought everyone known it lol
Yep, and goku have to save the universe after tenkaichi budokai.
Also in Naruto
pokemon and sudoku are taoism
Discovered your channel today and I am already subscribed, very well organized video and relevant information, keep up the good work
He also visited my part of the world - Assam!!!!
Love these videos
Thank you for your service
When you absolutely adore the story to the point of learning a new lenguage, travel the world and become a "fujitive" persecuted and beloved person just to read the original thing. I admire and love this man!! Thanks for such an interesting video
Your historic videos about east asia are very factual accurate and objective. How haven't you blown up yet! Based on your english accent, are you from Singapore?
Confirm Indonesian or Malaysian
A hook? A HOOK. Awww, well I am hooked! I want to hear the rest of the quest!!!
basically, he's someone an imperial jock would stuff in a locker and call a dork. but never underestimate the abilities of nerd culture. what they lack in physical abilities, they made up in intelligence in outsmarting your opponent.
i would say, all the rulers wanting to keep xuanzhang for themselves, when xuanzhang was on such an important mission to "find the truth" is basically the same as the demons wanting to eat tang san zang's flesh for immortality, preventing him from going west and thus saving the world. but i guess thats just my point of view.
Nice perspective 🤓👍
Great video 👍👍
Oh boy im looking forward to part 2
A possible modern interpretation of the JttW novel is that each member of Sanzang's party represented one part of a human. Sanzang represented the heart, Wukong the mind, Wujing the desires, and so on, all five of them made up the complete Xuanzang; so that might explain why that Sanzang is SUCH a wimp.
Really love ur channel
Thank you!
Kindly cover history of Indian kings. Especially Ashoka the great and legendary warriors like Porus and Suheldev
Give me time, lol!
Journey to the west is a famous childhood tv series to me. I love the old version
I smiled in glee after hearing the two journey to the west theme songs!
He is the outsider that recorded the word "Malay" as a kingdom in Sumatra, Indonesia.😂😂😂
Yeah Malay was one of the great empires in southeast asia
A fascinating person. I can not image the hardship of the round trips.
I must admit I really enjoy this channel. I never knew journey to the West was based on this guys... I always thought it was based on Fa Xian
The sea route was also an often used one. It's part of the Maritime Silk Route, but I guess it's not as convenient bc you had to wait for the right monsoon season.
@borray s I think it's far more often used by travellers too bc there are numerous records of monks going the SEA route. In fact, there were monasteries in Sumatra and Malaya that regularly hosted Chinese monks. Cool History Bros are off on this one.
@borray s Yes, I know. I'm Malaysian.
@borray s What's up with the flex? If you want to school people so badly, get a teaching job.
You should do other series about the Water Margin novel! A lot of people on CZcams rarely talks about that story compare to 3 Kingdoms and Journey to the west
More specifically, the real Song Jiang (not ad hoc versions of Romance of the Three Kingdoms characters).
Monkey was popular on Australian TV in the seventies. It was connected to a British comedy called the Q series. It was very weird. It starred Spike Milligan of the Goon Show fame. To me, a teenager, this was wonderful. Monkey was good fun and the Goons are still my favourite comedy group.
The amazing story of Xuanzang should be as well known as that of Marco Polo and his “journey to the east.” Thanks for helping to make it better known!
Excellent productions bro. Will you be making a video on the 3 kingdoms?
8:08 He saw deers adorned with bells and rings signifying that they belong to... the Santa Claus
very interesting.
Xuanzang definitely has 100 in speech.
Cute intro in this clip. If I have a chance. I wanna learn Mandarin in the order to study about ancient China.
Anyway Xuanzang's noble legacy to Chinese Buddhist back then is the reason why Tang dynasty was the golden age. I don't know how to argue in this point.
I'd say. It's a matter of time when one kingdom or country's gonna have the great economy and it depends on a lot of factors.
I just love your people works on Chinese history.
“Only You.... 能陪我取西經～”
Only you can take me取西經
Only you能殺妖精鬼怪
Only you能保護我
唔駛比的蚌精蟹精dap我
只有你甘勁 就是Only you
Only you莫怪師父暗沉
戴番個Ku
莫怕死米發Ti Teng
碰到釘米驚I understand
要全力地去Do 要驚就兩份驚
喃嘸阿彌陀佛
哈哈哈哈
Stephen Chou! Kill me! 🤣
thank u.
My favorite theme from a Journey to the West adaptation was Cha-la Head Cha-la
I'd say they've strayed off quite a bit once they reached Z. LOL!
DragonBall！hhhhhhhh
It's hard to find the animated adaptation I liked, as while I distinctly remember watching it in English on Teletoon, all records of the dubbed show seem to have been scrubbed. It was just called "Journey to the West" and used the Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy names for the followers, with the monk called Tripitaka (guess they figured that would be simpler than Sanzang or Xuanzang). Not the best animation but the artstyle had a charming simplicity to it.
Makafushigi Adventure is far closer to Journey to the West as an adaption.
@@HenshinFanatic Here you go, I was trying to find it too. Hope you enjoy it! czcams.com/play/PLO1lSxRuEvxO8fsH2YP7phre7WaSmo3Op.html
My favorite adaption is Red's, from OSP.
Easily an S-tier adaptation
ayyyy man of culutre
0:18 I don't recognize either of them XD but I do know vaguely about the Journey to the West story, mostly through Son Goku from Dragonball and from seeing that comedic take on the story that made Sun Wukong the demon king. The conquering demons movie.
As already mentioned the Zoroastrian don't worship fire, but it represents the cleansing will of Ahura Madza against the forces of darkness.
Will you cover the taiping rebellion in the future?
12:23 is that a reference to the chapter's outro everytime the novel moving on new chapter? 😂
I assume Sanzang is Chinese for Tripitaka, as the "Tri" comes from the Sanskrit word for 3. It's the name given to The Buddhist Scriptures and means "Three Baskets".
Can't wait for part two! Everyone when visiting Xi'an should not just visit the Qin Tomb, but among many other great attractions, one should visit the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas, the former, Big Wild Goose, is where Xuanzang returned with Buddhist figurines and sutras to be stored, studied and translated by him there.
if I am not mistaken, at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a piece of the original Sanskrit scripture on papyrus on display in the upper floor.
i'm curious what do they do about pirates? like thats a long journey the idea of running into pirates scares the shit out of me.
6:20 that’s the coolest statue I’ve ever seen.
Great content! Any chance you could add Mandarin dubs to your episodes? I'm from a Buddhist family, while I have long become an atheist, I still value the teachings of Buddhism. My parents though, still cling to the more fantastical aspects of religion. I would love for them to see the reality of Tang Sanzhang (and the rich history of China, not the current itieraton of it). Just a thought, keep up the wonderful work!
You don't need to believe the fantastical elements to be a Buddhist. All the ritualistic crap came centuries after the Buddha's life. If you believe in the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), then you're a Buddhist. That's it!
@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 YES, Buddhism is not fanaticism, worship of gods, deities, believing in a creation, hence it is fundamentally atheist. Atheism is not believing in a creator god and Buddha Dhamma nicely fit into it. I do not know what sort of Buddhism Six Vee talking about
@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 bro, ritual is not crap, they all have their meanings behind and stem from Buddha’s teaching. But most people don’t know about them because Theravada Buddhism was preached the most during Buddha’s time( that doesn’t mean the Buddha did not pass down other teachings) , and most people began to understand what Buddhism is from a Theravada stand.
Dicky Cheung Journey to the West was also really good
Awesome History , Where is the famous Iron Gate located exactly?
Can you make a video on the Iron gate and what Chinese texts say about them?
Uzbekistan.
The tunes at intro are best, but we have another version in Indonesia with rap style. You can search at CZcams
Greatest epic of east Asian literature
I thought you were talking about the EMPEROR, Tang Xuanzong... You got me
the monk is the emperor close friends..
My childhood!!!
Chinese Indonesian call him Tong Sam Cong, maybe you can cover a story about budhist monk who traveled to india by sea route and visited sumatera
That is his name if pronounced in cantonese
that's what's he's called in cantonese i think
Also in Malaysia among the Chinese community he is known as Tong Sam Cong.
@@BWong1234 me, a Malaysian half-chinese: what the deadass what???
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 Does it matter ? What matters is CZcams community does not comprehend you're mumbling.
I am waiting for three kingdom real history❤️
Can't reveal much, but it will be before the second half of the year.
@@CoolHistoryBros Yeay!❤️
My young students have new hero now, besides the Monkey King - badass, nerd, Forest Gump 😄 Love this video! Factual and lighthearted.
hi :)
I never heard about these tunes.. or these story.
Dude's a master of talk no jutsu
You must read this book journey to the west again at Cool History Bros. Clearly is 4 disciple. You forgot the horse, also one of them.
I would've recognized the 'Kera Sakti' song more. Remember that one? (Though I think that's not how the original song went...)
As a fellow Indonesian, of course I recognize the "kera sakti" rap 😁 but years before, we actually had the old chinese version of journey to the west, in around 1993 if I'm not mistaken.
@@arachniderchen1788 I remember that one too, kind of. Just not as much as the Kera Sakti version...
Awesome coverage of the real story here. Yet another topic that's not very well covered in the West.
czcams.com/video/ulDzLjz0wdw/video.html
양심의 보루 멋있습니다 👍👍
As per I remember the stupa he saw at ghandhara were made by Ashoka the great! One of the 1st unifiers of India he was a great Buddhist
i hat watch saiyuki in a old friend s house very cool
He go to india to collect all 7 dragon ball
The rare person with photographic memory from ancient China?
0:06 ah, that song, so nostalgic. It was usually played after dinner.
0:25 the character on the left will always be the true monkey king in my mind. Just...cant stand more modern cinema version of him.
So why invent Sun Wukong the Monkey king with the magical staff and the headband?
Just joking but why there is a light saber at 3:59 in the hands of demon😂😂
0:03 REAL REAL REAL LEGENDARY
Is there any information about Xuanzang being able to speak languages beside Chinese? How did he communicate with the rulers of other countries who spoke Turkic and Persian languages?
@Y K would appreciate some scientific reference if possible, not to the Jesus part obviously)))
@Y K well, actually meant reference to the historical records saying that he knew that many languages
@Y K sorry, my bad, got you confused, the problem is my wording I guess, not a native speaker)
Is Gensomaden Saiyuki based on this one too?
Yep. It is the easiest literature to adapt into anything.
@@CoolHistoryBros Thank you :-)
"Saiyuki" literally means journey to the west in japanese
St Augustine was a Manichean before his conversion to Christianity
Too simplify version though..
I hope you are able to emphasis a bit more on the timeline, the actual journey (this is what matter) and resources he have or don't have.
Example:
the Tang dynasty forbade him to make the journey because the emperor think it is too dangerous for him to make the journey.
Nonetheless he make the travel leaving alone in the middle of the night.
He met people along the way who willingly follow him for the journey and then left him, because the hardship from the journey is too much too take.
The general guard, place him under arrest. Whoever travel to the west, need a letter of approval of travel. He don't have it. He was confine there for several years, he was later escorted back to the nearest city, where the governor would receive him. The governor refuse to write him the letter of passage. There he stay for another several years. Finally, the governor took the risk of forging the letter or passage eith imperial approval, risking his whole family and clan head, number in hundreds being chopped off.
With this letter, he travel back to the general guard place. There he stay for another several months.
There is a significant story here as well, the general guard has been guarding the pass for more than 20years and more or so. He and his soldier longing to go home, the desolated, not even grass can grow place make them despair and growing delusional, without the imperial approval, they can't go home (home where he was born and raised)
Xuan zang promise him, if he make it back from the journey, he will put a few good words to the emperor for them and persuade the emperor to let them retire back home.
Alas, the general guard let him pass (he know that the governor forged the letter of passage anyway, gut feeling and also the general did purposely ask xuan zang directly to his face, is this letter forged?, As a monk, xuan zang can't lie, so he answer yes) risking the governor clan family life's. The general can actually report this to the central government, and get promoted for favor for this decision. After many weeks of thinking and persuade from xuan zang, he did not do so. The general then accompany him for months on the journey before they parted ways.
There are many more details to this journey that I can't finish writing it all.
can you cover Yuan Mongol empire?
I have it in the pipeline. But it will take a while until I get there.
He was a baaaadassss!!!!
Great video as usual! Now I want video about the rise and fall of Manicheanism in China and Central Asia 👌
If you looked at the map showing his route, he travelled started from north west, went along such long path, before half circling it to india, i wonder why he didn't just take a shortcut travelling a straight line from south west? Was the area non-accessible in that time or what?
I had the same questions years ago. That area was not well explored at the time. The land route was a well established one. Even today traveling over the mountains of southwestern China to Myanmar is quite difficult with its rugged tropical mountainous terrain.
@@johnyricco1220 nice, thx for the info
@@johnyricco1220 the way Xuanzang went isn't much better terrain wise, so i don't think that explains it either.
Born from the Same city luoyang :)
Ah, Monkey! Sandy was our favourite
always be careful, 大哥
This legend not that old then
And no one even mention the anime adaptation(Saiyuki,Saiyuki:RELOAD)
Kera Sakti~ Nakal, Brutal, membuat semua orang menjadi gempar!
This man refuse to ascend into nirvana until mankind is free from evil lol
Chinese explorers before Zheng He
That's how Mahayana Buddhism began in Sinosphere world.
Well, no. Mahayana Buddhism was the original form of Chinese Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty but it was later replaced in popularity by Chan Buddhism when it lost its status as the state religion. Xuanzang was originally a monk in the Jingtu school of Mahayana Buddhism, so obviously the school was already in China long before he went on his journey.
@@andrewsuryali8540 Interesting. But I can still see the influence here remaining. This is very relevant in majority of Sinosphere world, though they changed to suit the locals.
@@luishernandezblonde its really ironic that Buddhism hold no ground at its birthplace but became a huge influences to whole east asia.
nice short on a rather long winded tale；you left out the controversial female casting of certain Japanese adaptations ，would have given us alot to laugh about，but seriously looking forward to the Adventures of Indian(a) Zang
Wonderful, he search for the Buddha's teaching it didn't get shoved down our ancestors throat.
Every asia know abt Sun Wukong
Sun wu kong is a real spirt tho