The Tang Priest's Journey for Scriptures
During the reign of Emperor Tai Zong （627-649） of the Tang Dynasty， at his request， esteemed Buddhist Monk Xuan Zang was sent to India， the birthplace of Buddhism， for scriptures. From Chang'an （present-day Xi'an）， the capital of the Tang Dynasty， the monk journeyed west. When he eventually fulfilled the mission and returned， seventeen years had passed. From that time forward， Buddhism spread across China. As this legendary trip was told and relold by later generations， many embellishments were zealously added. Wu Cheng'en， using popular versions of the story along with his own fictional details， created the intriguing classical novel Journey to the West. The Tang Priest， Monkey， Pig and Friar Sand characters from the book are popular images among Chinese people.
Note： Wu Cheng'en（1500-1582）， was a Ming Dynasty novelist.
