Obraz Indii w relacji mistrza Hyecho
The Image of India in the Account of Master Hyecho

Author(s): Renata Czekalska
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Hyecho; India in the 8th century; journey account
Summary/Abstract: The paper’s aim is to reconstruct the image of Indian civilization in the first half of the 8th century, in "Memoirs on the Peregrination to the Five Kingdoms of India" by Hyecho (approx. 700–780 or 704–787), the first account of India written by a Korean. The source basis for the present study was the annotated English translation of Hyecho’s work. Its examination shows that it is not merely a document of a pilgrimage to Buddhist holy places, rather it provides observations about the various regions through which Hyecho travelled, captures perfectly the complicated political divisions of the Indian Subcontinent, the internal struggles between kingdoms and external threats, but most of all, provides detailed descriptions of regional differences in terms of natural conditions, wealth, military strength, language, laws, food, clothing, customs, animal breeding, produced goods, and climate.

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