The Political Position of Xuanzang: The Didactic Creation of an Indian Dynasty in the Xiyu ji
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Abstract
This article examines an aspect of the political and didactic agenda in Xuanzang’s (602?-664) Datang xiyu ji (Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang). It discusses Xuanzang’s representation of the Indian king Harṣavardhana Śīlāditya (r. 606-648) and his dynasty in comparison with the available Indian sources (epigraphy, literature) and argues that certain differences between these two strands of sources are partially due to Xuanzang’s attempt of presenting the Tang emperor Taizong with an Indian dynasty and ruler who are at par with the house of Tang but who also represent, in the case of Harṣa and his actions and policies, the model of an ideal Buddhist king. It will further be argued that in the passages from the Xiyu ji discussed, Xuanzang indirectly tried to influence the Chinese emperor (and his heir, the later emperor Gaozong) without directly criticizing his former actions and his political decisions.