Journey to the West The 1986 version can be considered one of the most famous television dramas in China. Even though it has been shown over and over again countless times, the journey of Duong Tang and his students still attracts audiences. Especially for the 8X and 9X generation in Asia, including Vietnam, this classic film is associated with many childhood memories.
Original work Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en was written in the 1590s and is also an important masterpiece in Chinese literature. The novel tells the story of the arduous journey of teachers and students Tang Tang, Sun Wukong, Sa Tang and Pigsy to overcome many tribulations to reach Tay Thien (or Tay Truc) to request sutras.
This is absolutely a real-life place. Although the story of Journey to the West is fictional, but still based on the prototype of monk Xuanzang who actually existed in Chinese history, living during the Tang Dynasty. Duong Tam Tang or Duong Tang is a Chinese monk, one of the four largest translators, specializing in translating Sanskrit scriptures into Chinese.
According to modern experts, the Tay Truc site mentioned in Journey to the West is a small city in Pakistan.
Located about 50 km northwest of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, there is a small, ordinary city – Taxila. In the spring of 647 AD, the prominent Tang monk Xuanzang traveled west to collect Buddhist scriptures. The ending point of his trip was Taxila.
To make the journey to this place, monk Xuanzang went through many regions such as Xinjiang, Afghanistan, Nepal, India and many other regions. He spent decades in Taxila before returning to China, bringing with him a collection of priceless treasures of knowledge including 600 books in the Sanskrit language.
More than 1,400 years ago, starting at Chang'an in China, both the southern and northern routes of the Silk Road would eventually converge at Taxila. So this was also an important stop for Eastern caravans on the Silk Road. Going west, from here we will officially enter Central Asia and Europe.
As for caravans traveling east from Europe or Central Asia, Taxila was their first stop to reach Eastern China. Throughout history, this small city has been a “common door” for Eastern people to enter the West. For nearly three thousand years, it has always been a famous landmark on the Silk Road in Eurasia.
In 1980, the ancient city of Taxila was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. There is currently a museum that preserves and displays archaeological relics of the golden age of Buddhism.
Source: Sohu