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Brief: This article tells Xuanzang’s epic journey to India for Buddhist scriptures. Defying a travel ban, he crossed deserts, reached Nalanda, and won fame at King Harsha’s assembly. Returning with sacred texts, he translated sutras and wrote Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. It also covers Princess Wencheng’s marriage to Tibet’s Songtsen Gampo, boosting…
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Ban Chao (32–102 CE) was a distinguished statesman, general, and diplomat of the Eastern Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongsheng, and he was a native of Anling, Fufeng Commandery (in present-day northeastern Xianyang, Shaanxi). He is widely recognized as one of the key figures in reopening and securing the Silk Road during the…
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Brief: This article tells Ban Chao’s legendary journey: abandoning scholarship for military service, he led just 36 men to subdue kingdoms in the Western Regions. His bold raids and wise diplomacy revived the Silk Road and secured Han’s frontier. Despite court pressure to withdraw, he stayed and safeguarded Central Asia for decades.
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— Li Yi I married a merchant bound for Qutang Gorge; Day after day, he breaks the promised rendezvous. Had I known the tide keeps its faith without fail, I’d have wed instead the lad who rides the billows pale.
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Over the past two months, we have explored the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Though a mythological narrative, it is rooted in historical events.
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In traditional Chinese culture, the conflict and fusion between Buddhism and Taoism underwent a prolonged historical process, a phenomenon vividly expressed and embodied in Journey to the West.
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In Journey to the West, the story of “Lord Lao Zi Converting the Hu People into Buddhists” stems from historical debates between Taoism and Buddhism. According to legend, Laozi (Lao-Tzu), revered as an incarnation of Taishang Laojun (the Supreme Elder Lord), rode westward on his blue ox, later giving rise to the claim that…