Xuan Zang

Hsuan Tsang or Xuanzang is mentioned in early historical scriptures as of one the first person who journeyed from China via the Silk Road through Central Asia to reach India (or Sindhu as it was referred to then). He documented his travels meticulously and penned down all his escapades as he traversed the treacherous terrains, hills, deserts, monsoon and scorching heat. A child prodigy, Xuanzang entered the Buddhist monastery and was ordained a monk in Mahayana Buddhism at the age of 20. He then mastered Sanskrit and started studying ancient texts. Discovering discrepancies in the available scriptures, at the age of 25, in the year 627AD, he started a solo journey on foot from Chang 'An to India. This was the transition time from the Sui to the relatively peaceful Tang dynasty. His final destination was Nalanda University, in Meghada kingdom.

After three long years, travelling through modern-day Kazhakstan, Kyzhegistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Lahore and Delhi, he reached his destination. He is the first person to have described the Hindu kingdom to be extending as far as Afghanistan.

He describes all the places that he visited within India. He told about how people live, the social norms and their dietary peculiarities. After learning at Nalanda University, he makes his teachers proud by winning an interfaith debate organised by King Varsha during Kumbh Mela in the holy city of Prayag (modern-day Allahabad). After 19 long years, traversing through 110 countries and walking 25,000 km, Xuanzang returned to Chang 'An with a wealth of knowledge and scriptures.

The film is recommendable for its infotainment value. It brings to light of mesmerising natural landscapes and buildings that most of us will not have a chance to witness in our lifetimes. Many of the magnificent shrines and temples that existed at the time of his visit are still standing today. One such majestic structure is Ajanta Caves.

In the early 5th century AD, another Buddhist scholar from China named Faxian made a similar trip to India. He visited India during the reign of a Hindu dynasty, Chandragupta II, and reached Gautama Buddha's birthplace of Lumbini to obtain Buddhist scripts. He also visited Pataliputra, a Buddhist stronghold (Maurya's kingdom). Faxian, however, continued his journey to Ceylon. He described the island as a land of demons. He returned to China via sea. His boat went off course to Java and again swept off to Shandong on a second trip back to China.

With so much ease of acquiring knowledge through the plethora of portals available to us, we still have the inertia to go the extra mile. These two extraordinary figures risked their time and life to acquire and disseminate the wealth of knowledge to generations after them. Holding on to compasses in their hands, faiths in their heart as well as the stars above their heads as markers, they ventured into unknown territories. Come what may!

The film has truly wonderful visuals. Amazing landscapes, but also the filming makes the best of them.

But I was immensely irritated by the slow incomplete English subtitles. Cheap little fantasy or kung-fu movies do a much better job.

Much of the time, there was a subtitle in Chinese ideograms, but no clue to the context for an English-speaker. And more than half the world does not no Chinese or Indian languages. An amazing failing.

When there was something in English, it often seemed to pop up well after the events it related to.

A silly waste for a high-budget film with some noted actors.

If anyone decides to re-do it and have a proper version that might be popular outside of China and India, it would be good to give more context. We do get the bad translations explained, but people would wonder why Tang China is not letting people travel.

They also need to be told that this was before the rise of Islam, so a mix of Buddhism and Hinduism was the norm on the path the man followed.

Looking more widely, I noticed that when the man gets a follower, he has this servant carry his pack. Buddhism when institutionalised tends to be as bad as Christianity at rendering practical service to oppression.

Likewise I was unimpressed by an admired guru sitting well above everyone else, assembled to admire them. Not what I'd see as holiness.

I did see it as an excellent rendering of some interesting cultures. Which is why the sloppy English subtitles. And why I still give it a decent mark.

The story is straightforward and lack of a sense of rhythm from beginning to the end. The leading actor Xiaoming Huang made me feel sleepy when he said the lines. Jin Luo and Kai Tan is the only two roles that can make me believe in, the other supporting roles were set as props, neither vitality nor personality. Therefore, the biggest drawback of this film is that the characters are shaped by very dull way.

Of course, the advantage of this film is the original music and photography technology.If you want to appreciate Buddhism scenic spot in India, if you like Tang dynasty costumes, and visit beautiful scenery of the silk road, all of these has been put in the movie.

Imagery, music, and quest are all seamlessly synthesised to produce an immersive experience. Let yourself go ...

This is a masterpiece for knowledge people, from the script, acting, music, photography. For those lovers of package movie, "no brains needed", this movie will be too deep, complex, and boring. I strongly belive that once US. People start liking english doubled movies, they will adquire the taste for foreing movies with content, good scripts, and quality. Meanwhile, keep tasting boring remakes of movies that you can watch the original for free in the internet.