Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Buddhist Pilgrim I-Tsing
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about Srivijaya through the lens of inscriptions, Chinese court records, and later Arab accounts. But there's one source that's arguably the most intimate eyewitness portrait of the empire at its height — and it comes from a Chinese Buddhist monk named I-Tsing. Luna: I-Tsing — I've heard the name. Wasn't he a pilgrim like Faxian? Lucas: Exactly. He left China in 671 AD, during the Tang dynasty, and spent more than a decade in Southeast Asia and India. His goal was to study Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. But what makes his account so valuable for us is that he spent years in Srivijaya itself — in Palembang — studying Sanskrit and translating texts. Lucas: He wrote a detailed memoir called the 'Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea.' In it, he describes the monasteries, the curriculum, the number of monks, even the food and climate. It's like a travelogue but with scholarly precision. Luna: So he was actually living in Srivijaya, not just passing through? Lucas: Right. He arrived in Palembang — which he calls 'Sanfoqi' — and stayed for about six months initially to study Sanskrit. Then he went to India, mainly to Nalanda, the great Buddhist university, where he spent ten years. On his way back to China, he stopped again in Srivijaya for several more years, translating texts and writing. Lucas: What he describes is a bustling, cosmopolitan port city with a thriving Buddhist community. He says there were over a thousand monks in the Srivijayan monasteries, all following the same rules as in India. They studied the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya — that's a major Buddhist monastic code — and they were deeply engaged in Vajrayana and Mahayana traditions. Luna: A thousand monks — that's a serious center of learning. Lucas: Absolutely. I-Tsing even says that if a Chinese monk wanted to go to India to study, it was better to stop in Srivijaya first for a year or two to learn Sanskrit and get acclimated. He recommended it over going directly to India, because the curriculum in Srivijaya was that good. Lucas: He also gives us a sense of the maritime network. He describes the route from Canton to Palembang — it took about 20 days with the monsoon winds. And from Palembang, you could sail to the Malay Peninsula, then cross the Isthmus of Kra to reach the Bay of Bengal, and then on to India. Luna: So Srivijaya was acting as a kind of halfway house for Buddhist pilgrims. Lucas: Exactly. It was a hub. And I-Tsing's account confirms that the Srivijayan kings were major patrons of Buddhism. They supported monasteries, sponsored translations, and maintained close ties with the great centers in India, especially Nalanda. There's even a record that a Srivijayan king built a monastery at Nalanda — we talked about that in the Balaputra episode. Lucas: One of the most interesting details I-Tsing provides is about the local population. He mentions 'K'un-lun Po' — which is thought to refer to the Orang Laut, the sea nomads of the Strait. He describes them as skillful sailors and traders, but also as fierce and piratical. That matches what we hear from Arab sources like Sulayman al-Tajir. Luna: So even then, the Orang Laut were a known factor in the region. Lucas: Right. And I-Tsing also notes that Palembang was a multilingual place. He says the locals spoke their own language, but Sanskrit was used for religious purposes, and some Chinese was spoken among the merchant community. He doesn't mention Tamil, but that probably came later with the Chola trade. Lucas: Now, there's a bit of a controversy around I-Tsing's geography. He mentions a place called 'mo ho hsin' which some scholars identify as a kingdom in the Malay Peninsula — possibly Tambralinga or Kedah. But the identification is uncertain. Still, his work is remarkably precise for its time. Luna: It's amazing that we have such a detailed account from the 7th century. For most ancient empires, we'd kill for that kind of source. Lucas: Exactly. And I-Tsing's writings also give us a glimpse into the intellectual life of Srivijaya. He lists the texts that were being studied, the debates that were happening, and even the personalities of some of the teachers. It's not just a political history — it's a history of ideas. Lucas: He also mentions that Srivijaya had a well-organized system of monastic education. Monks would progress through stages, learning logic, metaphysics, and meditation. It was a rigorous program that attracted students from all over Southeast Asia and even China. Luna: So in a way, Srivijaya was like a Buddhist university city. Lucas: That's a good way to put it. Palembang, at least for a few centuries, was a major center of Buddhist learning — comparable to Nalanda itself. And I-Tsing's account is the key evidence for that. Lucas: You know, this kind of detailed, first-person narrative is rare for any pre-modern society. It's part of why we keep coming back to Srivijaya — there's just so much texture. Luna: And it's not just about trade or war — it's about people studying, translating, debating. Lucas: Exactly. And that's something we try to bring to life in these conversations. Speaking of which — we deliberately keep this show free of ads, because we want the focus to stay on the history, not on selling things. If you find value in that approach, and you'd like to support the work, you can do so at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to help us keep doing this without any commercial interruption. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture that goes a long way for a small show like ours. Lucas: Anyway, back to I-Tsing. There's one more thing I find remarkable. He mentions that in Srivijaya, the monks followed the same monastic code as in India, but they adapted it to local conditions. For example, they used local materials for robes and ate local foods. It shows how Buddhism was indigenized in Southeast Asia. Luna: So it wasn't just a carbon copy of Indian Buddhism — it was a living tradition. Lucas: Exactly. And that adaptability is probably why Buddhism thrived in the region for so long. I-Tsing's account is a window into that process of cultural translation. Lucas: His work also helps us date the peak of Srivijaya. He was there in the late 7th century, just a few decades after the Kedukan Bukit inscription. So we know that by 671, the empire was already well-established and wealthy enough to support a major Buddhist center. Luna: That fits with the idea that Srivijaya rose quickly in the mid-7th century. Lucas: Right. And I-Tsing also tells us that the ruler of Srivijaya at the time — he doesn't name him, but it was likely a Sailendra or early Srivijayan king — was a devout Buddhist who personally supported the monasteries. So the link between kingship and Buddhism was already strong. Lucas: One final detail: I-Tsing mentions that the Srivijayan monks used a kind of fan made from palm leaves, which they waved during ceremonies. It's a tiny thing, but it's that kind of everyday detail that makes history feel real. Luna: Little things like that — you can almost picture it. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the power of a source like I-Tsing's 'Record of Buddhist Practices.' It's not just data — it's a voice from the past. Luna: I'm glad we finally covered him. He's been in the background of so many episodes. Lucas: He deserves his own episode. And if you want to read his work, it's available in translation — it's called 'A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago.' Not exactly a page-turner title, but the content is fascinating.