SSC
About 50 years after Xuanzang, which Chinese Buddhist pilgrim travelled to India by sea and studied at Nalanda?
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Answer: Option D — I-Qing (Yijing)
Detailed Solution
About 50 years after Xuanzang, the Chinese Buddhist monk I-Qing (also spelt I-tsing or Yijing) travelled to India by sea and studied at Nalanda.
About I-Qing:
- He was born in 635 CE and died in 713 CE.
- He left China in 671 CE by sea, travelling via Srivijaya (in Sumatra), where he studied Sanskrit for some months.
- He reached Tamralipti (Bengal) in 673 CE.
- He studied at Nalanda for about 10 years, from about 675 to 685 CE.
- He returned to Srivijaya, where he spent several years translating texts, and finally returned to China in 695 CE.
- He brought back about 400 Buddhist texts.
His writings:
- "A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago": it describes the rules of monastic life (Vinaya), daily routines, medicine, education and customs.
- "Memoirs of Eminent Monks who Visited the Western Regions": biographies of about 60 Chinese monks who travelled to India.
- He described life at Nalanda in detail, including the number of monks, the daily schedule and the system of education.
- He also gave information about Indian medicine and hygiene.
NCERT mentions the three famous Chinese pilgrims:
- Faxian (early 5th century).
- Xuanzang (7th century).
- I-Qing (later 7th century), who came about 50 years after Xuanzang.
Other Chinese visitors:
- "Song Yun": a Chinese monk who visited north-western India in the early 6th century (518-522 CE), during the time of the Huna rule.
- "Wang Xuance": a Chinese envoy who visited India several times in the mid-7th century.
About the sea route:
I-Qing's journey shows that the sea route between China and India through South-East Asia was well established, and that Srivijaya was an important centre of Buddhist learning.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Faxian came in the early 5th century.
- ✗Song Yun came in the early 6th century.
- ✗Wang Xuance was a diplomatic envoy.
Quick tip
Remember: I-Qing (Yijing) = came about 50 years after Xuanzang, by sea via Srivijaya (671-695 CE); studied at Nalanda for 10 years; Faxian = 5th century; Xuanzang = 7th century.
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This question tests your understanding of Early Medieval India & South Indian Kingdoms, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India from about the 7th to the 12th century: the Rajput dynasties, the tripartite struggle between the Palas, Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas, and the South Indian kingdoms of the Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas and Pandyas, along with the Sangam age and the temple architecture of the period. Questions often ask which dynasty built a temple (the Pallavas built the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, and Rajaraja Chola I built the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur), the capitals of dynasties, and the local self-government of the Cholas. Learning each dynasty with its capital, greatest ruler and one monument is the quickest way to answer these questions. Practise the early medieval India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.