A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of His Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline
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""A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms"" is a travelogue written by the Chinese monk Fa-Hien, chronicling his journey through India and Ceylon in search of Buddhist books of discipline. The book is translated and annotated by James Legge, providing valuable insights into the cultural and religious practices of the regions Fa-Hien visited. The narrative is divided into chapters, each describing a different kingdom or region and the customs and beliefs of its inhabitants. Fa-Hien's account offers a unique perspective on the spread of Buddhism and the exchange of ideas between different cultures during the early years of the religion's development. The book is a valuable resource for scholars and students of Buddhism, ancient Indian history, and cross-cultural studies.1886. Legge, British sinologist, was a missionary to China. He lived in Hong Kong for 30 years. Believing in the necessity of missionaries being able to comprehend the ideas and culture of the Chinese, he began a translation in many volumes of the Chinese classics, a monumental task admirably executed and completed a few years before his death. This work consists of three parts: the Translation of Fa-hien's Narrative of His Travels; copious Notes; and the Chinese Text of Legge's copy from Japan. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
James Legge
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James Legge was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator, born on 20 December 1815 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He enrolled at Aberdeen Grammar School at age 13 and then King's College, Aberdeen at 15. After studying at Highbury Theological College in London, he went in 1839 as a missionary to the Chinese, but as China was not yet open to Europeans, he remained at Malacca for three years, in charge of the Anglo-Chinese College there. The College was subsequently moved to Hong Kong, where Legge lived for thirty years. Impressed with the necessity of missionaries being able to comprehend the ideas and culture of the Chinese, he began in 1841 a translation of the Chinese classics - a monumental task he completed a few years before his death. He later became the first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University and is regarded as probably the most important sinologist of the nineteenth century. He was the first recipient of the prestigious Julien Prize for sinology in 1875, and in 1894 became the first person other than a member of the British royal family to be depicted on a Hong Kong postage stamp. University of EdinburghAnyone who has glanced at Legge's translations and commentaries will be immediately struck by his vast learning, his meticulous attention to detail, his commitment to faithfulness to the original, and his critical acumen. Despite his Christian convictions, he strove with all his might to represent to Western readers the meaning of the ancient Chinese writers as accurately and fairly as possible. He died in Oxford on 29 November 1897, aged 81.
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