Alla ricerca delle Scritture buddhiste. Le peregrinazioni del monaco Xuanzang tra Storia e mito

The article focuses on the figure of Xuanzang (circa 602-664), a Chinese Buddhist monk who became the protagonist of a journey from China to India in search of Buddhist sutras which he consequently translated in order to spread them out in his homeland. Over the course of a few centuries, the monk’s fame made him a legendary figure, to the point of making him the protagonist of stories, novels, film adaptations, manga, and animated series. So, his physical itinerary – an correlative of the great intercultural itinerary of Buddhist teachings – also became an unpredictable journey between intellectual culture and popular culture that still lasts today.