{"product_id":"chasing-the-monk-s-shadow-a-journey-in-the-footsteps-of-xuanzang","title":"Chasing the Monk’s Shadow - A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang","description":"\u003cp\u003eAuthor: Mishi Saran\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Penguin\u003cbr\u003eYear: 2005\u003cbr\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003ePages: 446\u003cbr\u003eISBN\/UPC (if available): 0670058238\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Description\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the seventh century AD, the Chinese monk Xuanzang (earlier spelt as Hiuen Tsang or Hsuan Tsang) set off on an epic journey to India to study Buddhist philosophy from the Indian masters. Travelling along the Silk Road, through the desolate wastes of the Gobi desert and the icy passes of Central Asia, braving brigands and blizzards, Xuanzang finally reached India, where his spiritual quest took him to Buddhist holy places and monasteries throughout the subcontinent. By the time he returned to china eighteen years later, carrying with him nearly 600 scriptures which he translated from Sanskrit into Chinese, Xuanzang had covered an astonishing 10, 000 miles. He also left a detailed record of his journey, which remains a valuable source of historical information on the regions he traversed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFourteen hundred years later, Mishi Saran follows in Xuanzang’s footsteps to the fabled oasis cities of China and central Asia, and the Buddhist sites and now-vanished kingdoms in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan that Xuanzang wrote about. Travelling seamlessly back and forth in time between the seventh century and the twenty-first, Saran uncovers the past with consummate skill even as she brings alive the present through her vivid and engaging descriptions of people and places. Her gripping chronicle includes an extraordinary eyewitness account of Kabul under the Taliban regime, just one month before 9\/11. Running parallel to the account of her travels is the moving story of the author’s inner journey towards a new understanding of her roots and her identity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith its riveting mix of lively reportage, high adventure, historical inquiry and personal memoir, this delightfully written book is a path-breaking travelogue. An Indian woman with a China Craze, A Chinese monk with an Indian obsession; we had the same schizophrenia, the monk and I. It seemed logical to take the same road.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor’s Note\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Road To The West\u003cbr\u003eJourney To The West\u003cbr\u003eCity of the Flying Horse\u003cbr\u003eThe Jade Gates\u003cbr\u003eRiver of Sand\u003cbr\u003eFire City\u003cbr\u003eTwin Convents\u003cbr\u003eWhite Water\u003cbr\u003eHeavenly Mountains\u003cbr\u003ePerpetual Snows\u003cbr\u003eNine Lepioshkas\u003cbr\u003eSogdiana\u003cbr\u003eRiver of Gold\u003cbr\u003eCrossing the River\u003cbr\u003eLocking The Sea in a Box\u003cbr\u003eUnhappy Valleys\u003cbr\u003eSikander and Porus \u003cbr\u003eKingdom Enclosed by Peaks\u003cbr\u003eTree Nymphs\u003cbr\u003eToo Many Women\u003cbr\u003eHoly Confluence\u003cbr\u003eSchism in the Sangha\u003cbr\u003eSarkari Intezam\u003cbr\u003eWrong Kind of Love\u003cbr\u003eLabour Pains\u003cbr\u003eFatal Mushrooms\u003cbr\u003eDeer Park\u003cbr\u003eBuddhist Ivy League\u003cbr\u003eVulture’s Peak\u003cbr\u003ePeepul Leaf and Perfect Wisdom\u003cbr\u003eLand of the Eastern Light\u003cbr\u003eReunited\u003cbr\u003eFlower Mountain\u003cbr\u003eOcean’s Edge\u003cbr\u003eHidden Buddhas\u003cbr\u003eStone Elephants\u003cbr\u003eHill of Rishis\u003cbr\u003eLimbo\u003cbr\u003ePure Land\u003cbr\u003eCity of Dressed Stone\u003cbr\u003eMound of the King\u003cbr\u003eLotus City\u003cbr\u003eSilk Road Graffiti\u003cbr\u003eListening Post\u003cbr\u003eInshallah\u003cbr\u003eSacrifice Country\u003cbr\u003eSad Secrets\u003cbr\u003eFlea in Your Clothes\u003cbr\u003eTooti-Phooti Afghanistan\u003cbr\u003eAfterwords\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACKNOWLEDGEMENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNOTES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBIBLIOGRAPHY\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINDEX\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The India Club","offers":[{"title":"Mishi Saran \/ Penguin \/ Hardcover","offer_id":68153659588976,"sku":"15385","price":41.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/5203\/9792\/files\/15385.jpg?v=1793912180","url":"https:\/\/marketcalvexa.shop\/products\/chasing-the-monk-s-shadow-a-journey-in-the-footsteps-of-xuanzang","provider":"Alderstone House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}