Xuanzang

Xuanzang (602-664), whose name is Chen Yi, is an eminent monk from Luozhou (present-day Luoyang, Henan Province) of the Tang Dynasty. He is one of the four great translators of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese language, and he founded the Weishi sect of Chinese Buddhism.

Xuanzang learned Buddhist scriptures at an early age. Bewildered by the discrepancies in different versions of scripture texts, he decided to travel to India in search of authentic Buddhist sutras. He set out from Chang'an, the capital city, in 629 and, after enduring tremendous difficulties and hardships, arrived in Tianzhu (present-day India) to study from Buddhist sages. In 645, Xuanzang came back to China with a large number of Buddhist scriptures and statues.

In 648, he was appointed the first abbot of the newly built Daci'en Temple (Temple of Mercy and Kindness), where he spent more than 10 years translating the scriptures he brought back. Before he passed away, Xuanzang and his disciples had translated 75 scriptures running to 1,335 rolls, totalling 13 million words, not only preserving precious classics for ancient Indian Buddhism, but also greatly enriching the religious culture in China.

Xuanzang recorded his experiences in the Western Regions and India in a travelogue titled Da Tang Xi Yu Ji (Great Tang Records on the Western Regions), which provides important references for the study of the folklore, literature, and culture in northwest China, India, Nepal, and Central Asia. The famous novel Xi You Ji (Journey to the West), authored by Wu Cheng'en (c. 1500-c. 1582), is based on Xuanzang's personal experiences and regarded as one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature.

玄奘

玄奘（公元602年—公元664年），姓陳名祎，唐朝高僧，河南洛州（今河南省洛陽市）人，中國漢傳佛教四大佛經翻譯家之一，中國漢傳佛教唯識宗創始人。

玄奘從小學習各種佛法，因為感到各師所說不一，各種經典也不盡相同，于是決定西行求法，以解迷惑。公元629年，玄奘從長安出發，歷經千難萬險，后入天竺，誠心求學問賢，于公元645年攜佛經佛像等抵達故土。公元648年，大慈恩寺落成，玄奘被任命為該寺的首任住持。在此后的十幾年時間里，玄奘專心致志地翻譯那些他從天竺帶回的佛經。直至去世前，玄奘和他的弟子們一共翻譯佛經75部1335卷，計1300萬言。其所譯經籍對豐富中國宗教文化作出了巨大貢獻，并為古印度佛教保存了珍貴的典籍。此外，玄奘還將其在西域和印度的親歷見聞撰寫成《大唐西域記》，為研究中國西北地區及印度、尼泊爾、中亞等地民間傳說、文學與文化提供了重要材料。以玄奘西行為藍本創作的著名古典小說《西游記》，被列為中國古代四大名著之一。