Xuanzang (fictional Character)

Xuanzang (fictional Character)

Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; pinyin: Xuánzàng; Wade–Giles: Hsüan-tsang) is a central character in the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. The character is based on the historical Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

He is mainly referred to as Tang Sanzang (Chinese: 唐三藏; pinyin: Táng Sānzàng; Wade–Giles: Tang San-tsang) in the novel. The title Sanzang (literally: "three collections") refers to his mission to seek the Sanzangjing (simplified Chinese: 三奘经; traditional Chinese: 三藏經; pinyin: Sānzàngjīng), or the "Three Collections of (Buddhist) Scriptures". In some English translations of Journey to the West, the title is rendered as Tripitaka (Sanskrit: Tripiṭaka; Devanagari: त्रिपिटक), which is the original Sanskrit term for the Sanzangjing. He is also widely known as Tang Seng (Chinese: 唐僧; pinyin: Táng Sēng; literally "Tang monk"), which is a courtesy name that, like the former name (Tang Sanzang), reflects his status as an oath brother of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.