Faxian

Faxian (337–c. 422 CE), formerly romanized as Fa-hien or Fa-hsien, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled on foot from the Later Qin state to classical India to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His birth surname was Gong. Starting his journey about age 60, he traveled west along the overland Silk Road, visiting Buddhist sites in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. The journey and return took from 399 to 412, with 10 years spent in India.

Faxian's account of his pilgrimage, the Foguoji or Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms, is a notable independent record of early Buddhism in India. He returned to China with a large number of Sanskrit texts, whose translations greatly influenced East Asian Buddhism and provide a terminus ante quem for many historical names, events, texts, and ideas therein.