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The Country of Beomin (Bamiyan)犯引國

Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon (Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India) 往五天竺國傳 · Hyecho · 727 (Silla, 26th year of King Seongdeok) · 1 passages · 139 Chinese characters · reading time 0.6 min

Wang Ocheonchukguk Jeon (Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India) Complete in one volume The travel record of Hyecho, a monk of Silla, who at about twenty walked forty countries of India and the Western Regions and set down what he saw. It was lost for more than a thousand years and was found again in 1908 in the caves of Dunhuang, as a damaged scroll. Five poems in five-word lines, longing for home, are carried in it.

1Bamiyan, where grapes are plentiful

又從謝䫻國。北行七日。至犯引國。此王是胡。不屬餘國。兵馬強多。諸國不敢來侵。衣著㲲布衫皮毬氈衫等類。土地出羊馬㲲布之屬。甚足蒲桃。土地有雪。極寒住多依山。王及首領百姓等。大敬三寶。足寺足僧。行大小乘法。此國及謝䫻等。亦並剪於鬚髮。人風大分與罽賓相似。別異處多。當土言音。不同餘國

Again from the country of Sayul I went north for seven days and reached the country of Beomin (犯引國), that is Bamiyan. This king is a Hu, and he is not under any other country. His troops are strong and many, and no country dares to come and invade.

They wear wool shirts, leather coats, felt shirts and the like. The land yields sheep, horses, wool cloth and the like, and grapes are very plentiful. There is snow on the land and it is very cold, and their living leans much on the mountains.

The king, the chiefs and the people revere the Three Jewels greatly, and there are many monasteries and many monks, and they practise the Law of both the Great Vehicle and the Lesser Vehicle. In this country and in Sayul and the rest they all cut their beards and hair as well. Their manners are for the most part like those of Gyebin, but there are many points of difference. The speech of that land is not like that of other countries.

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