Hyecho

Hyecho (* 704, † 787; 혜초 [ hjec ʰ o] chinese慧 超, pinyin Huìchāo, W.-G. Hui- ch'ao ) was a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla kingdom. He was one of many monks who undertook the pilgrimage to India. Most of them came on the road often killed or had simply disappeared. Hyecho but was one of the few that have been successful in such a venture.

Although he was born in the kingdom of Silla, but went as a 16 -year-old Buddhist novice to Guangzhou in China (then under the rule of the Tang Dynasty ) to study Buddhist teachings. There he is said to have met a monk of the then Vajrayana Buddhism, who had come from India to China. Through this encounter to have been awakened to the true or hidden teachings of the Buddha in his intellectual curiosity. One reason that at that time many monks went on a pilgrimage to the home of Buddha.

In the year 723, just 19 years old, Hyecho traveled from all south facing Guangzhou City from the ship to India. It is believed that the voyage along the coast of the South Asian countries had taken place and that Hyecho has landed in the area of Calcutta. After the four years ( 723-727 / 8) continuous reconnaissance trip through India, he returned through the Silk Road ( the Pamir Mountains ) into the capital of the Tang Dynasty Chang'an (now Xi'an).

His trip in Northwest India and Central Asia took place at the time of the coming of Islam. This was similar to the Faxian, a Chinese monk, who had also traveled three centuries earlier in this region.

After his return he wrote a travelogue named Wang ocheonchukguk jeon (往 五 天竺 国 传). When it was written, can not be said with certainty. Hyecho was mainly concerned with translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. Is Reported that he entered in the year 780 to the monastery Wutai Shan to continue his work of translation. He died in the year 787 up there. Is no record that he ever saw his native Korea.

A part of Wang ocheonchukguk jeon was discovered by the French orientalist Paul Pelliot in 1908 in Dunhuang Cave 17 of the Buddhist monastery. A German translation was made by the German sinologist Walter Fuchs. A team of Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Canadian scientists has transferred the work into English. In addition to the works of Faxian, Song Yun (宋云) and Huisheng (惠 生), Xuanzang and Yi Jing is one of the great Buddhist travelogues.

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Works

• 往 五 天竺 国 传( Originally in Chinese )