Srivijaya's Lost Monks: Yijing’s Indian Odyssey

The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History · Sep 22, 2026 · 10m · transcript

While earlier episodes explored Srivijaya’s trade routes and naval power, this episode follows the spiritual journey of the Chinese monk Yijing. In 671 CE, Yijing arrived in Srivijaya not as a merchant, but as a student seeking Sanskrit mastery before traveling to India. He spent years in Palembang, studying under local scholars and translating key Mahayana texts into Chinese. His detailed accounts in the Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Sea offer rare insights into daily life, monastic discipline, and the intellectual climate of seventh-century Southeast Asia. We examine how…