Quote by Xuanzang: “Better to die going West than live remaining East.”

This dramatic statement expresses Xuanzang's unwavering determination to achieve his spiritual mission. He believed that pursuing his goal, even if it meant death, was more meaningful than abandoning it and living a mundane life.

Spoken as Xuanzang defied the emperor's ban on foreign travel to embark on his dangerous pilgrimage to India. It encapsulates his resolve and the profound commitment required for his quest during the early Tang Dynasty.

Seventh-century Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who undertook a seventeen-year journey to India to collect and translate Buddhist scriptures. His account of the journey, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, is a major historical source for the early medieval period across Central and South Asia. He translated seventy-four texts into Chinese upon his return.