Tang dynasty · 629-645

Xuanzang: a monk's journey to India

In 629 the monk Xuanzang slipped out of China to find Buddhist texts in India. Sixteen years later he came home a hero. Students follow his route over deserts and mountains and see how ideas travelled along the Silk Road.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, AD 629 to AD 637
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 629 the monk Xuanzang slipped out of China to find Buddhist texts in India. Sixteen years later he came home a hero. Students follow his route over deserts and mountains and see how ideas travelled along the Silk Road.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace Xuanzang's route from Chang'an to India and back on the map.
  • Explain why Buddhist monks travelled to India in this period.
  • Describe what Xuanzang brought back and why it mattered for China.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 629

Out of China

Open the map in 629 and turn on Trade Routes. Follow the Silk Road west from Chang'an. Which great desert do the oasis towns ring?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 630

Over the mountains

Pan to Balkh and the Hindu Kush mountains. Turn on Spreads > Buddhism. About when did Buddhism reach Balkh, long before Xuanzang passed through?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 637

The Buddha's homeland

Zoom in on the Ganges plain. With the Buddhism spread on, find Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. Why would a Buddhist monk travel for years to see these places?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Xuanzang left China without the emperor's permission. Why was he willing to take that risk?
  2. Why did a Chinese monk think he had to go to India to find the right texts?
  3. Which dangers would a traveller face between Chang'an and India in the 600s?
  4. Nalanda had thousands of monks and teachers. Why would such a place attract students from far away?
  5. Archaeologists in India still use Xuanzang's book to find ancient sites. Why is a traveller's account so valuable?
4

Game round

9 min

Rule History has no Tang emperor from Xuanzang's time, so play Wu Zetian, who ruled China a few decades later and supported Buddhism. Let students take turns making rulings. Discuss: how could a ruler use a famous monk and his texts to win support?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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