The Legend of the Journey of Xuánzàng
THE JOURNEY OF XUANZANG
In the early 7th century, one of the remarkable travelers of the Middle Ages, Xuanzang, described the territory of Northern Kyrgyzstan. In his youth, he became a monk at a Buddhist monastery and soon surpassed everyone with his knowledge.
To enhance his education, in 629 he set out from China to the homeland of Buddha—India. Later, Xuanzang described all the lands he visited. He dedicated several invaluable pages to describing the territory of medieval Kyrgyzstan, which he traversed along the route: Bedel Pass — Central Tian Shan — Juu Valley — southern shore of Issyk-Kul?—Boom Gorge — the valleys of the Chu and Talas rivers.
Central Tian Shan appeared cold and inhospitable to the monk. Here, it seemed, the ice and snow had not melted since the day of creation. The traveler saw pack horses and camels falling into the abyss from narrow, proud paths. People perished. "It is difficult to preserve life," wrote Xuanzang. However, he was enchanted by Issyk-Kul. He was the first to describe the lake in detail: he accurately determined its outlines, size, color, and taste of the water, as well as its fish wealth. However, having heard the legends of the local Turks, the traveler recorded: "Dragons and fish live in the lake, and from time to time extraordinary monsters surface."
In the Chui Valley, the famous monk was received by none other than Kagan Ton Jiybgu. There was a feast, pleasant conversation, and Turkic music played. The kagan seemed to the Chinese man an enlightened sovereign. In the valley, Xuanzang saw more than a dozen cities where Sogdians and Turks lived together, but he only described the capital of the kaganate in detail - the city of Suayb.
In the Talas Valley, the traveler visited the Min-Bulak reserve ("Thousand Springs"), where deer with ribbons around their necks roamed freely. Hunting them was strictly prohibited. Unexpectedly for himself, Xuanzang met his compatriots—captured Chinese who lived in a separate town. They still remembered the Chinese language but dressed like Turks.
Northern Kyrgyzstan appeared to Xuanzang as a cultured land. He found no difference between it and Sogdiana.
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