Das Gaoseng-Faxian-Zhuan als religionsgeschichtliche Quelle. Der älteste Bericht eines chinesischen buddhistischen Pilgermönchs über seine Reise nach Indien mit Übersetzung des Textes

This book is a monograph on the Chinese text Gaoseng-Faxian-zhuan (also called Foguo-ji, Report on Buddhist Kindgoms) by the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian (last half of the 4th - first quarter of the 5th century), written at the beginning of the fifth century. It is the oldest 'travelogue' of a Chinese Buddhist monk, describing his journey through Central Asia to India and back to China by the maritime route via South-East Asia. The importance of this text was recognised at an early stage of the Western interest in Buddhism, as shown by the translation by the French Sinologist Abel Remusat in 1836. Along with the other Chinese pilgrims' records, of which Xuanzang's is the most important, it is used as a primary source on Buddhist Central Asia and India. The 19th century translations by Samuel Beal and H.A. Giles are now seriously inadequate, as is Li Yongxi's translation (without notes or commentary) from1957, so there is a major need for a translation which takes account of the latest results of Buddhist Studies, Indian Studies, of archaeology and history of art. Deeg's book presents such a translation (into German), and includes a critical edition of the Chinese text, a historical introduction and an extensive commentary. An important feature of this monograph is that it incorporates the results of the latest Chinese and Japanese research. Unlike earlier scholarship on the Chinese pilgrim records, which read the texts as pure documentary descriptions, Deeg develops a method and an approach to the text which takes account of its Chinese context and evaluates its descriptive value in relation to Buddhist India. He also examines the genre of pilgrim records, and the cult of stupas and relics, thus putting the Gaoseng-Faxian-zhuan into its true historical context within the history of Asian religions.