Yijing (monk)

Yijing (monk)

Yijing (traditional Chinese: 義淨; simplified Chinese: 义净; pinyin: Yìjìng; Wade–Giles: I Ching) (635–713 CE) was a Tang Dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk, originally named Zhang Wenming (張文明). The written records of his 25-year travels contributed to the world knowledge of the ancient kingdom of Srivijaya, as well as providing information about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the Nālandā Buddhist university in India. He was also responsible for the translation of a large number of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. Yijing's full Buddhist title was "Tripiṭaka Dharma Master Yijing" (三藏法師義淨).

In some 19th-century publications, Yijing's name may appear as I Tsing, following an antiquated method of Chinese romanization.