Tomorrow I start posting the 12-part Silk Road series. I found this series about 2 years ago, and have watched it all the way through three times by now, and individual episodes at other times.
Saving the Great Wild Goose Pagoda
A film from Chinese TV about the monitoring and preservation of their cultural relics, particularly this famous pagoda in Xi’an.
The Journey of Xuanzang 1 & 2
These episodes narrate the birth of Xuanzang and his childhood, his ordination, search for the true Dharma, and his meeting with the Indian monk Prabhakaramitra, and the beginning of his journey to India.
The Journey of Xuanzang 3 & 4
In these episodes Xuanzang reaches Gaochang, where he is welcomed by the King. He crosses the dangerous Yanqi and spends a few months in Kuch, before crossing over the Pamir and emerging into Central Asia, with only half his original party left.
The Journey of Xuanzang 5 & 6
In these episodes Xuanzang crosses Central Asia and makes his way down through what is now Afghanistan and eventually on into Kashmir, where he spent the next two years studying.
The Journey of Xuanzang 7 & 8
Xuanzang travels down through India and eventually reaches Nalanda, where he is to stay for 10 years in all. Much information about the foundation of Buddhism, its propogatation under King Asoka, and the glories of Nalanda.
The Journey of Xuanzang 9 & 10
These two episodes cover the last years of Xuanzang‘s sojourn in Nalanda, his great debates, and eventually his departure, and return across the Silk Road to the China of the Tang Dynasty.
The Journey of Xuanzang 11 & 12
The Emperor requests Xuanzang to write his Records of the Western World and he gains partonage to start his translation work. He translates some of the most voluminous of the Mahayana works, but eventually his health deteriorates and he passes away.
The Great Pilgrim Xuanzang
A shortened version of Fo Gaung Shan’s long video biography of the great Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang (Mandarin with English and Mandarin subtitles).
