EXPLORER

Xuanzang

602 - 664

Photo of Xuanzang

Icon of person Xuanzang

Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; Wade–Giles: Hsüen Tsang; [ɕɥɛ̌n.tsâŋ]; 6 April 602 – 5 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (陳褘 / 陳禕), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to India in 629–645, his efforts to bring at least 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Xuanzang has received more than 2,743,969 page views. His biography is available in 64 different languages on Wikipedia. Xuanzang is the 17th most popular explorer (up from 19th in 2019), the 22nd most popular biography from China (up from 23rd in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Chinese Explorer.

Xuanzang is most famous for the journey he took to India in search of Buddhist scriptures.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.7M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 79.40

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 64

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 9.35

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.32

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Xuanzang ranks 17 out of 498. Before him are Zheng He, Francis Drake, Francisco Pizarro, Prince Henry the Navigator, Abel Tasman, and Pedro Álvares Cabral. After him are Fridtjof Nansen, Juan Sebastián Elcano, Jacques Cartier, David Livingstone, Jacques Cousteau, and Erik the Red.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 602, Xuanzang ranks 1. After him are Hafsa bint Umar, Umm Salama, Sigebert II, Ansegisel, Adaloald, and Theodore of Tarsus. Among people deceased in 664, Xuanzang ranks 1. After him are Amr ibn al-As, Abe no Hirafu, Swithhelm of Essex, Eorcenberht of Kent, and Deusdedit of Canterbury.

Others Born in 602

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Others Deceased in 664

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In China

Among people born in China, Xuanzang ranks 22 out of 1,610. Before him are Empress Dowager Cixi (1835), Du Fu (712), Chiang Kai-shek (1887), Wu Zetian (624), Cao Cao (155), and Hu Jintao (1942). After him are Qianlong Emperor (1711), Guan Yu (162), Liu Bei (161), Ip Man (1893), Kangxi Emperor (1654), and Zhuge Liang (181).

Others born in China

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Among EXPLORERS In China

Among explorers born in China, Xuanzang ranks 2. Before him are Zheng He (1387). After him are Zhang Qian (-200), Xu Fu (-255), Gan Ying (100), and Ma Huan (1380).

Chinese born Explorers

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