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 accounts for the archaic transliterations with h.

Another form of his official style was "Yuanzang," written 元奘. It is this form that accounts for such variants as Yuan Chang, Yuan Chwang, and Yuen Chwang. Tang Monk (Tang Seng) is also transliterated /Thang Seng/. Another of <mask>'s standard aliases is Sanzang Fashi (): 法 being a Chinese translation for Sanskrit "Dharma" or Pali/Prakrit Dhamma, the implied meaning being "Buddhism"."Sanzang" is the Chinese term for the Buddhist canon, or Tripiṭaka ("Three Baskets"), and in some English-language fiction and English translations of Journey to the West, Xuanzang is addressed as "Tripitaka." Early life

<mask> was born Chen Hui (or Chen Yi) on 6 April 602 in Chenhe Village, Goushi Town (), Luozhou (near present-day Luoyang, Henan) and died on 5 February 664 in Yuhua Palace (玉華宮, in present-day Tongchuan, Shaanxi). His family was noted for its erudition for generations, and Xuanzang was the youngest of four children. His ancestor was Chen Shi (陳寔, 104-186), a minister of the Eastern Han dynasty. His great-grandfather Chen Qin (陳欽) served as the prefect of Shangdang (上黨; present-day Changzhi, Shanxi) during the Eastern Wei; his grandfather Chen Kang (陳康) was a professor in the Taixue (Imperial Academy) during the Northern Qi. His father Chen Hui (陳惠) served as the magistrate of Jiangling County during the Sui dynasty. According to traditional biographies, Xuanzang displayed a superb intelligence and earnestness, studied with his father, and amazed him by his careful observance

masks: Xuanzang Xuanzang


type: original

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 of filial piety after one such study about that topic.His elder brother was already a monk in a Buddhist monastery. Inspired, at a young age, Xuanzang expressed interest in becoming a Buddhist monk like his brother. After the death of his father in 611, he lived with his older brother Chén Sù (), later known as Zhǎng jié (), for five years at Jingtu Monastery () in Luoyang, supported by the Sui state. During this time he studied Mahayana as well as various early Buddhist schools. In 618, the Sui Dynasty collapsed and Xuanzang and his brother fled to Chang'an, which had been proclaimed as the capital of the Tang dynasty, and thence southward to Chengdu, Sichuan. Here the two brothers spent two or three years in further study in the monastery of Kong Hui, including the Abhidharma-kośa Śāstra. The abbot Zheng Shanguo allowed Xuanzang to study these advanced subjects though he was young.Taking the monastic name <mask>, he was fully ordained as a monk in 622, at the age of twenty. The myriad contradictions and discrepancies in the Chinese translations at that time prompted <mask> to decide to go to India and study in the cradle of Buddhism. He knew about Faxian's visit to India and, like him, sought original untranslated Sanskrit texts from India to help resolve some of these issues. Pilgrimage

Dates
<mask> started his pilgrimage to India in either 627 or 629 CE, according to two East Asian versions. The 627 CE version is found in Guang hongming ji from Daoxun and is also in Japanese and Korean texts. The 629 CE is found in

masks: Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang


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 Chinese and western versions. This confusion, though merely of two years, is of significance to western history.The date when <mask>'s pilgrimage started is not resolved in any of the texts that Xuanzang himself wrote. Further, he did not write his own biography or travelogue, rather he recited it to his fellow monks after his return from India. Three of his immediate collaborators wrote his biography, and thus leaving three versions and with variant details. All three of these versions begin his pilgrimage in 629 CE. Yet, one version by Huili, states that Xuanzang met Yabghu Qaghan, someone who died in 628 CE according to Persian and Turkish records. If this detail in Xuanzang's biography and Persian-Turkish records are true, then Xuanzang must have left before Qaghan's death, or in 627 CE. In other words, some of the details in the surviving versions of Xuanzang biography were invented or a paleographic confusion introduced an error, or the Persian-Turkish records are unreliable.The Japanese version is based on 8th to 10th-century translations of texts that ultimately came from <mask>'s monastery, which unfortunately has added to the confusion. Most sources state that Xuanzang started his pilgrimage in 629 CE. Travel through Central Asia

Kingdom of Agni
In 630 CE, he arrived in the kingdom of Agni (Yanqi, in a place called Turpan). Here he met the king, a Buddhist along with his uncle Jnanachandra and precept Mokshagupta, who tried to persuade him to quit his journey and teach them Buddhist knowledge. He declined and


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 they equipped him further for his travels with letters of introduction and valuables to serve as funds. Xuanzang observed that the country of Agni had more than ten monasteries following the Sarvastivada school of Hinayana Buddhism, with two thousand monks who ate "three kinds of pure meat" with other foods, rather than non-vegetarian food only that would be consistent with Mahayana Buddhist teachings. Therefore, the Buddhists in this country had stagnated in their Buddhist teachings.Kingdom of Kuchi
Moving further westward, Xuanzang met about two thousand Turkish robbers on horses who had looted others. The robbers began fighting with each other on how to fairly divide the loot. After the loot had thus been lost, they dispersed. Xuanzang thereafter reached the country of Kuchi. This country of 1000 li by 600 li, had over one hundred monasteries with five thousand monks following the Sarvastivada school of Hinayana Buddhism, and studying its texts in "original Indian language". The biographies of Xuanzang then describe implausible tales of a dragon race. This region was created by dragons from the waters metamorphosing into horses to mate and create dragon-horses, also into men and mating with women near this region to create dragon-men who ran as fast as the dragon-horses.These were men who would massacre an entire city and leave a deserted place. Baluka and other kingdoms
Further west he passed Aksu before turning northwest to cross the Tian Shan and then Tokmak on its northwest. He met the great Khagan of the Göktürks.


texts: After a feast, Xuanzang continued west then southwest to Tashkent, capital of modern Uzbekistan. Xuanzang describes more monasteries, such as the Eastern Cakuri monastery and Ascarya monastery, with Buddha's footprints and Buddha idols. According to Xuanzang's accounts, mystical light emanated from Buddha's footprints on "fast days". In the country of Baluka, the Sarvastivada school of Hinayana Buddhism was in vogue.He crossed the countries of Samarkand, Mimohe, Kaputana, Kusanika, Bukhara, Betik, Horismika and Tukhara. These had cities near rivers or lakes, then vast regions with no inhabitants, little water or grass. He describes warring factions of Turk chieftains in control, with "illness and pestilence" rampant. From here, he crossed a desert, icy valleys and the Pamir range (which link Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges). Here, observed Xuanzang, the wind is cold and "blows with a piercing vehemence" (Li Rongxi translation). Ferocious dragons live here and trouble the travellers particularly those who wear "reddish brown" color clothes. Thereafter, he crossed past a salty sea, one narrow from north to south and long from east to west, he calls the Great Pure Lake.He describes supernatural monsters, fishes and dragons living in this lake. The Xuanzang travelogues then rush through the names of many countries, stating that more details are provided in the return part of his journey, as he crosses into country of Baktra. He adds that the Hinayana Buddhist schools were followed in


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 all these regions. In the capital of the country of Baktra, states Xuanzang, is a monastery with a Buddha's idol decorated with jewels and its halls studded with rare precious substances. The Buddhist monastery also has an image of Vaishravana deity as its guardian. The monastery and the capital attracts repeated raids from the Turk chieftains who seek to loot these precious jewels. This monastery has a large bathing pot that looks dazzlingly brilliant and has a Buddha's tooth relic and Buddha's broom made of "kasa grass".Outside is a vihara built ages ago, and many stupas to honor the arhats (Buddhist saints). Kingdom of Bamiyana
South of Baktra is the country of Kacik, then the Great Snow Mountains with valleys "infested with gangs of brigands" (Li Rongxi translation). Crossing this pass, thereafter is the country of Bamiyana (a part of modern Afghanistan). There, state his travelogue is a colossal statue of standing Buddha, carved from a rock in the mountains, some one hundred and forty feet tall and decorated with gems. This valley has Buddhist monasteries, and also a colossal copper statue of the Buddha, that is over a hundred foot tall. He was told that it was cast in separate parts and then joined up together. To the east of a monastery in the Bamiyana valley was a Reclining Buddha entering Parinirvana that was over one thousand foot long.The people and the king of this valley serve the Buddhist monks, records Xuanzang. Heading east and crossing the Black range, Xuanzang describes the country of Kapishi, where the


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 Mahayana tradition of Buddhism had come in vogue. It had over 100 monasteries with stupas. More than 6000 monks, mostly Mahayana, studied here. Along with these Buddhist monasteries, states his travelogue, there were over ten Deva temples (Hindu) with "heretical believers who go about naked and smear dust over their bodies", translates Li Rongxi. Furthermore, in the same capital region, there is a Hinayana monastery with 300 monks at the northern foothills. The citizens of this country, adds Xuanzang, fondly recall "King Kanishka of Gandhara" (2nd-century CE, Kushan empire).To its east are the "City of Svetavat temple" and the Aruna Mountain known for its frequent avalanches. His travelogue then describes several popular legends about a Naga king. He also describes miraculous events from a Buddhist stupa, such as raging flames bursting out of them leaving behind stream of pearls. The citizens here, states Xuanzang, worship pieces of Buddha's remains that were brought here in more ancient times. He mentions four stupas built in this area by king Ashoka. Travel through India

To Xuanzang, he entered India as he crossed the Black range and entered the country of Lampa. His travelogue presents India in fascicles separate from those for Central Asia.He, however, does not call it India, but the phonetic equivalent of what previously has been variously interpreted as "Tianzhu" or "Shengdu" or "Xiandou". More recent scholarship suggests the closest pronunciation of the 7th-century term in his travelogues would be "Indu". Xuanzang


texts: states that India is a vast country over ninety thousand li in circuit, with seventy kingdoms, sea on three sides and snow mountains to its north. It is a land that is rich and moist, cultivation productive, vegetation luxuriant. He adds that it has its own ancient customs, such as measuring its distance as "yojana", equal to forty li, but varying between thirty to sixteen depending on the source. They divide day and night into kala, and substances into various divisions, all the way to a fineness that they call indivisible and emptiness. The country has three seasons: hot, cold, rainy according to some Buddhists; while others say it is four: three months each of spring, summer, monsoon, and autumn.The kingdoms of India have numerous villages and cities. Their towns and cities have square walls, streets are winding and narrow, with shops lined along these roads. Wine is sold in shops on the side streets. Those whose profession is butchering, fishing, executioners, scavengers (castes that kill living beings and deal with products derived from them) are not allowed to live inside the cities. The cities are built from bricks, while homes are either made mostly from bricks or from "wattled bamboo or wood". Cottages are thatched with straw and grass. The residents of India clean their floor and then smear it with a preparation of cow dung, followed by decorating it with flowers, unlike Chinese homes.Their children go to school at age seven, where they begin learning a number of treatises of the five knowledges – first grammar,


texts: second technical skills which he states includes arts, mechanics, yin-yang and the calendar, third medicine, fourth being logic, and fifth field of knowledge taught is inner knowledge along with theory of cause and effect. After further similar introduction covering the diverse aspects of the Indian culture he observed, including fashion, hair styles, preference for being barefoot, ritual washing their hands after releasing bodily waste, cleaning teeth by chewing special tree twigs, taking baths before going to their temples, worshipping in their temples, their alphabet that contains forty seven letters, the diversity of languages spoken, how harmonious and elegant they sound when they speak their languages, Xuanzang presents the various kingdoms of India. Xuanzang includes a section on the differences between the Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhist communities. There are eighteen sects in Buddhism, according to Xuanzang. They stand against each other, debate "various viewpoints, as vehemently as crashing waves". Though they share the same goal, they study different subjects and use sharp words to argue. Each Buddhist sect has different set of rules and regulations for their monks.The monks who cannot expound a single text must do the routine monastic duties (cleaning monastery and such). Those who can expound one Buddhist text flawlessly is exempt from such duties. Those who can recite two texts, get better quality rooms. Monks who can expound three Buddhist texts get attendants to serve them, while the few monks who can


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 expound all four are provided with lay servants. Expounders of five texts have elephants for travel, while six texts entitles them to security retinue. Kingdom of Lampa, Nagarahara and Gandhara
Xuanzang describes Lampaka (modern Laghman, near the source of Kabul river) as the territory of north India, one whose circuit is more than 1000 li and where all monasteries studied Mahayana Buddhism. They have tens of Deva temples (Hindu) which heretics (non-Buddhists) frequent.To its southeast is the country of Nagarahara, with many Buddhist monasteries and five Deva temples. The number of monks here, however, are few. The stupa are deserted and in a dilapidated condition. The local Buddhists believe that the Buddha taught here while flying in the air, because were he to walk here, it caused many earthquakes. Nagarahara has a 300 feet high stupa built by Ashoka, with marvellous sculptures. Xuanzang paid homage by circling it. Both Lampaka and Nagarahara countries were independent with their own kings, but they have become a vassal of the Buddhist Kapishi kingdom found near Bamiyana.The monasteries in these kingdoms are splendid, with four corner towers and halls with three tiers. They have strange looking figures at the joints, rafters, eaves and roof beams. The Indians paint the walls, doors and windows with colors and pictures. People prefer to have home that look simple from outside, but is much decorated inside. They construct their homes such a way that they open towards the east. Xuanzang also describes implausible events


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 such as glowing rock footprints of Buddha, dragons, tales of Naga, a stupa in which is preserved the Buddha's eyeball as "large as a crabapple" and that is "brilliant and transparent" throughout, a white stone Buddha idol that worked miracles and "frequently emitted light". The travelogue states that Xuanzang went into a dark cave here where dangerous beings lived, recited Srimaladevi Simhanadasutra, and they became Buddhists.Thereafter they all burnt incense and worshipped the Buddha with flowers. Some five hundred li (~200 kilometer in 7th-century) to the southeast is the country of Gandhara – which some historic Chinese texts phonetically transcribed as Qiantuowei. On its east, it is bordered by the Indus river, and its capital is Purusapura (now Peshawar, Pakistan). This is the land of ancient sages and authors of Indian sastras, and they include Narayanadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dharmatrata, Monaratha and Parshva. To the southeast of Purusapura city is a 400 feet high stupa built by king Kanishka, one with nearly 2000 feet in diameter and a 25 layer wheel on the top. There is a large monastery near it. Gandhara has numerous holy Buddhist sites, and Xuanzang visited and worshipped all of them.He calls the stupas and the Buddha images in this region as "magnificent" and made with "perfect craftmanship". Kingdom of Udayana, Kashmira
Heading north towards Kashmir, he arrived in the city of Pushkalavati, with many holy Buddhist sites. Xuanzang worshipped at these "great stupas and big monasteries". Thereafter he reached the


texts: country of Udayana, through which flowed the Subhavastu river (now called Swat river). It had 1400 monasteries of five early Buddhist schools (of 18 sub-traditions) – Sarvastivada, Mahāsāṃghika, Kasyapiya, Mahisasaka and Dharmagupta. These schools became unpopular, as the later form of Mahayana prospered. According to Xuanzang, these monasteries of early Buddhist schools are desolate and attract few monks.he then reaches the city of Hi-lo and Manglaur. In all these places, he mentions how Buddha lived here in one his previous lives (Jataka legends) and illustrated compassion-strength through his actions. There is a Buddhist temple northeast of Manglaur with the Avalokitesvara Bodhusattva image, one is noted for "its miraculous manifestations". Crossing another 1000 li, he reached Darada valley – the old capital of Udayana, with a 100 feet golden wood statue of Maitreya Boddhisattva. This statue, states his travelogue, was built by an artist who went three times into heaven to see how he looks and then carve the realistic image of him on earth. <mask> arrived in Taxila, after crossing a river with "poisonous dragons and evil animals". There, he visited a major Buddhist monastery of the Sautrantika school.From there, after covering some 2200 li, he passed through the country of Simhapura (Kalabagh), of Urasa (now Hazara), and then into Kashmira. He was received by the king, and numerous monks from the Jayendra monastery. Kashmira is land with a very cold climate and is often calm without any wind. The region has lakes, grows


texts: plenty of flowers and fruit, saffron and medicinal herbs. Kashmira has over 100 monasteries and more than 5000 monks. The residents revere four large stupas that were built in ancient times by Ashoka. King Kanishika too built many Buddhist monasteries here.He also had treatises with 960,000 words written on copper plates and had them stored in a newly built great stupa. The Kashmira region has numerous monks well versed with the Tripitaka, states Xuanzang. He stays in Kashmira for two years and studies the treatises with them. Xuanzang describes many events where he is helped by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. For example, he describes leaving the city of Sakala and Narasimha, then passing with his companions through the Great Palasha forest. They get robbed and are walked towards some dry pond to be killed. A monk and he slip away.They hurry towards a village. Near it, they meet a Brahmin who is tilling his land. They tell him that robbers attacked them and their companions. The Brahmin goes to the village and beats a drum and blows a conch. About 80 men gather, and together they proceed to rescue the companions of Xuanzang. While other rescued companions of his wail about the loss of all their property, Xuanzang reminds them that they should all be happy to be alive and not worry about the loss of property. The villagers help his companions and him by hosting them before the resume their journey.Yet, elsewhere, Xuanzang also recites the implausible tale of meeting a Brahmin who was 700 years old and had two associates,


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 each over a 100 year old, who had mastered all of the Hindu Vedas and the Buddhist Madhyamika sastra. He calls them heretics (non-Buddhists). These heretics help him and his companions get new garments and food. He stayed with this implausibly old Brahmin for a month, and studied the Madhyamika sastra with him. The memorial of Pāṇini
To the northeast of Varsha country, states Xuanzang, there is a lofty mountain with a bluish stone image of Bhimadevi. She is the wife of Mahesvara (Shiva). It is a great site of pilgrimage, where Indians from very far come with prayers.At the foot of this mountain is another temple for Mahesvara where ceremonies are performed by naked heretics who smear ash on their body. About 30 li (about 12 kilometers in 7th-century) southeast from these temples is Salatura, which says Xuanzang was the birthplace of rishi Pāṇini and the author of "Sabda-vidya-sastra". Inspired by Mahesvara, this rishi set out to "make inquiries into the way of learning" (Li Rongxi translation). He thoroughly studied all written and spoken language, words in ancient and his times, then created a treatise of one thousand stanzas. The heretics (Hindus) transmit this text orally from teacher to pupil, and it is this that makes the Brahmins of this city "great scholars of high talent with knowledge of wide scope". They have an image of Pāṇini installed in reverence of him in this city of Salatura. Kingdoms of Takka, Jalamdhara, Sthanesvara, Mathura, Matipura, Kapitha
The country of Takka is south of Kashmira, extending from the


texts: Indus river to its west and Vipasha river to its east.They produce abundant quantities of non-sticky rice and wheat, also gold, brass, iron and other metals. They do not believe in Buddhism, and pray in several hundred deva temples. This country has ten Buddhist monasteries left. There were many more before, states Xuanzang. These were destroyed few hundred years ago, during the rule of a king named Mahirakula (Mihirakula). The king did this in anger because when he asked the monasteries in his domain for a Buddhist teacher to teach him Buddhism, the Buddhists did not send to him any learned scholar. Mahirakula cruel deed against the Buddhists triggered the king of Magadha to go to war with him.Mahirakula is defeated, forgiven but returns to power by assassinating the king of Kashmira and Gandhara. <mask> recites the hearsay stories he heard about Mahirakula's continued cruelty and destruction of 1600 stupas and monasteries. <mask> then describes the surviving monasteries in Sagala with hundreds of Buddhist monks, along with its three colossal stupas, each over 200 feet tall, two built by Ashoka. <mask> visited the country of Chinabhukti next, which he states got its name because a region west of the Yellow river was a vassal state of king Kanishka. From there, during Kanisha's reign, peaches and pears plantations were imported into Chinabhukti, north India. Further northeast, he visited a Buddhist monastery of the Sarvastivada school with 300 monks. He describes another colossal stupa that is over 200 feet tall built by


texts: Ashoka.Near this, states Xuanzang, are numerous small stupas and large Buddhist caves. Around this monastery in the Himalayan hills are "hundreds and thousands of stupas, built so closely together than their shadows touch one another" (Li Rongxi translation). From there, he visited Jalamdhara. It grows non-sticky rice and cereals, its forest are luxuriant, the region is lush with flowers and fruits. They have 50 monasteries with over 2000 monks studying Mahayana and Hinayana traditions of Buddhism. They also have deva temples where heretics smear their bodies with ashes (Shiva-Hinduism). From Jalambhara, Xuanzang travelled northeast through jagged peaks, deep valleys and dangerous trails into the Himalayan country of Kuluta.It is surrounded by mountains, and has abundant fruits, flowers and trees. It has twenty monasteries and over a thousand Buddhist monks studying mostly Mahayana Buddhism. It has fifteen deva temples frequented by heretics (Hindus). This region has many caves where Buddhist arhats and Hindu rishis live. He then headed south, into the country of Shatadru. Here, writes Xuanzang, people wear "gorgeous, extravagant" clothes, the climate is hot and citizens are honest and friendly by custom. It has ten monasteries, but ruined and with few monks.He visits the country of Pariyatra, where they have plenty of cattle and sheep, as well as a type of rice that they harvest in sixty days after planting. This region has eight ruined monasteries and ten deva temples. The monks study Hinayana Buddhism here. Xuangzang


texts: next arrived in the country of Mathura, calling it a part of central India. This region is fertile, people love mangoes, they produce cloth and gold. The climate is hot, the people are genial and good by custom, they advocate learning and virtue, states Xuanzang. This country has over twenty monasteries with over two thousand monks studying Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism.Many deva temples are also found in this country. He describes the ritual carrying and worship of the Buddha and Buddhist deities in this country with incense and flowers scattered in streets. He visits and praises the Govinda monastery in the Mathura country. Next he visits the country of Sthanesvara, which has wealthy but unkind citizens who show off their wealth. It has three Buddhist monasteries with over seven hundred monks, a lustrous and clean colossal stupa which witnesses "many divine manifestations". It also has well over hundred deva temples and numerous heretics. The country of Shrughna has Ganges river to its east and Yamuna river in the middle of it.These people are like those in Sthanesvara country. They believe in heretical ideas (Hindu) and are honest by nature, states Xuanzang. They cherish learning, arts and crafts, and cultivate wisdom, blessedness. In this country are five Buddhist monasteries, over thousand monks mostly studying Hinayana, and over one hundred deva temples with numerous heretics. East of this region is the Ganges river with dark blue waters and strange creatures living in it, but these creatures do not harm people. The


texts: water of Ganges is sweet in taste, and the heretics believe it to contain the "water of blessedness", and that bathing in it causes sins to be expiated. After crossing Ganges, he entered into the country of Matipura.Here, according to Xuanzang, half of the population is Buddhist and the other believe in heterodox religions. The climate is cooler and more temperate, its people are honest and esteem learning. The king is Shudra by caste and worships at the deva temples. The Matipura country has ten monasteries and over eight hundred monks, mostly studying Hinayana. Over fifty deva temples are frequented by the heretics here. Xuanzang describes the sastras composed and under study at the major Buddhist monasteries of Matipura. This region has the city of Mayura, densely populated and with a great deva temple near the Ganges river.The heretics call it the "Gate of the Ganges". People from all five parts of India – east, north, west, south, central – come here crossing long distances on pilgrimage and to bathe at these gates. This place has numerous rest and almshouses, where the "isolated, solitary and needy people get free food and medical service". North of this place is the country of Brahmapura, densely populated with prosperous and rich people. Colder in climate, here people are rude and violent by custom. This region has five Buddhist monasteries and ten deva temples. Southeast of here, states Xuanzang, is the country of Ahicchattra with ten monasteries and a thousand monks belonging to the Sammitiya sect of Hinayana


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 Buddhism.It has five deva temples where heretics smear their bodies with ashes. The country of Vilashana and Kapitha are south and southeast of Ahicchattra. Most people in Vilashana are non-Buddhists, and there are two monasteries here with three hundred Buddhist monks. In Kapitha, there are four monasteries teaching Hinayana Buddhism, and they have over a thousand monks. Along with these Buddhist institution, Kapitha has ten deva temples. Kapitha, states Xuanzang, has a "beautifully constructed monastery with many lofty and spacious buildings adoerned with exquisite carvings" (Li Rongxi translation). It has Buddha statue at the top, Indra statue at left of the entrance and Brahma statue to the right.Kingdoms of Kanyakubja, Ayodhya, Prayaga, Kausambi, Visaka
The country of Kanyākubja, also called Kusumapura, has the Ganges River to its west, with flowery forests of brilliant colors, transparent waters and prosperous people. They are simple and honest by custom, states Xuanzang, with handsome and graceful features. They cherish arts and literature, speak lucidly. Half of the population is Buddhist, half heretics. The Buddhists study both Mahayana and Hinayana teachings. The heretics have over two hundred deva temples. The current king is Harshavardhana, a Hindu of Bais kshatriya caste descent.Three of his ancestors were also kings, and they were all known to the Chinese kings as virtuous. Xuanzang then recites, at length, the story of prince Shiladitya and how he constructed both major monasteries and temples, feeding


texts: hundreds of Buddhist monks and hundreds of Hindu Brahmins on festive days. He describes numerous monasteries in the southeast of its capital, along with large Buddhist temple made of stone and brocks, with a thirty feet tall Buddha statue. To the south of this is temple, states Xuanzang, is a Surya temple built from bluestone. Next to the Surya temple is a Mahesvara (Shiva) temple also made from bluestone. Both are profusely carved with sculptures. About 100 li to the southeast of Shiladitya's capital, states Xuanzang, is the Navadevakula city on the eastern bank of Ganges eiver.It is surrounded by flowery wood, has three monasteries with five hundred monks, and a multitiered terraced deva temple that is "exquisitely constructed" (Li Rongxi translation). About 600 li to the southeast is the country of Ayodhya. It grows abundant amounts of cereals, is blessed with fruits and flowers. People are benign and dedicate themselves to arts and crafts. Ayodhya has over a hundred monasteries and three thousand monks studying Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism. Its capital has ten deva temples. This is the country where some of the key sastras of the Sautrantika school of Buddhism were composed.A few hundred li east of Ayodhya is the country of Ayamukha. Here too, states Xuanzang, people are honest and simple. They have five monasteries with over one thousand monks, mostly studying Hinayana. Near them are ten deva temples. About 700 li southeast is the country of Prayaga, on the banks of Yamuna river. It has luxuriant fruit trees and


texts: cereal crops, its people are kind and helpful. Most of them believe in heretical religions, and Prayaga has several hundreds of deva temples.At the south of this great city here is a forest full of champaka flowers with a 100 foot ancient stupa with collapsed foundation, originally built by Ashoka. The city has a great temple with decorated buildings. At the east of this great city two rivers meet forming a dune that is over ten li wide, and it is this place that wealthy people and kings such as Shaliditya come on pilgrimage from ancient times and give alms. It is called the Grand Place of Almsgiving. Numerous people gather here and bathe at the confluence of two rivers, some drown themselves, believing that this washes away their sins and that it will give them a better rebirth. Five hundred li from Prayaga is the country of Kausambi. It produces abundant quantities of non-sticky rice and sugarcane.The citizens are bold, furious and dedicated to good deeds by custom. It has ten deserted and dilapidated Buddhist monasteries, attended by about three hundred monks. The country has fifty deva temples and numerous non-Buddhists. In the capital, within the palace is a Buddhist temple with a Buddha statue made from sandalwood. This Buddha image "emits divine light" sometimes, states Xuanzang. He adds that Kausambi is the place that Buddhists text predict is where the Buddha Dharma will come to an end in a distant future, therefore anyone who comes to this place feels sad and "sheds tears" (Li Rongxi translation). He headed


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 northeast, crossed Ganges river again, and this came to the country of Vishaka.He calls its people sincere and honest by custom, fond of learning. It has twenty monasteries and three thousand monks studying Hinayana Buddhism. Vishaka has numerous non-Buddhists and over fifty deva temples. Kingdoms of Sravasti Kushinagara, Baranasi, Nepala
In Fascicle 6 of the travelogue manuscript, <mask> focuses on some of the holiest sites in Buddhism. He begins with Shravasti (now northeast Uttar Pradesh), describing it to be a country of over six thousand li in circuit. The capital city is desolate, states Xuanzang, though some residents still live here. There are over hundred monasteries in its capital city, many dilapidated, where monks study Hinayana Buddhism.The country has hundred deva temples. He saw the decaying remains of Prasenajit's palace, then to its east the Great Dhamma Hall stupa, another stupa and a temple for the maternal aunt of the Buddha. Next to these, states Xuanzang, is the great stupa of Angulimala. About five li (~2 kilometers in 7th century) south of the city is the Jetavana garden with two 70 feet high pillars standing, but the monastery there is in ruins. One pillar has a wheel carved at its top, the other a bull. Xuanzang saw all the monuments associated with the Sravasti legends with the Buddha, though many of these were in dilapidated condition. He also a Buddhist temple 60 feet high with a seated Buddha image, and a deva temple about the same size as the Buddha temple, both in good condition.Over sixty li


texts: to the northwest of Sravasti capital, he saw a series of stupas built by Ashoka for Kasyapa Buddha, one who lived for "twenty thousand" years, states Xuanzang. From Sravasti, Xuanzang travelled southeast to the country of Kapilavastu. This country has no ruler, he states, and every city has its own lord. Well over a thousand monasteries were in this region, but most are dilapidated. Some three thousand monks continue to study Hinayana Buddhism in many of these monasteries. This country has two deva temples. He also describes a Buddhist temple with painting of a prince riding on a white horse, as well many Buddhist monuments and legends about the Buddha's early life in this region, as well as those of the Sakya clan.After Kapilavastu, he went eastward to the country of Ramagrama (Rama). The region is sparsely populated, the towns and villages in a dilapidated condition. He mentions a stupa where a snake-dragon comes out of the pond to circumambulate it, as well as elephants pick flowers and come to scatter on this stupa, according to Xuanzang. There is a monastery near this special stupa, where monks study Hinayana. Some hundred li to the east is another colossal stupa in good condition, one built by Ashoka. Past this forest is the country of Kushinagara, where towns and villages are deserted and in a dilapidated condition. He describes a large brick temple with reclining Buddha.He describes many monuments and sites he was able to see where numerous legends of the Buddha played out, including the site where he was creamted.


texts: In Fascicle 7, Xuanzang describes five countries. He starts with Baranasi (now Varanasi), stating the country has Ganges river to its west. The city is densely populated, with tightly packed homes in its lanes. The people are "enormously wealthy", mild and courteous by nature. Few here believe in Buddhism, most are heretics (Hindus). The country has over thirty Buddhist monasteries with three thousand monks studying Hinayana.There are over one hundred deva temples, most dedicated to Mahesvara (Shiva). Some of these heretic followers go naked and smear their bodies with ash. On the west bank of Varana river near Baranasi, is a great stupa that is 100 feet tall and was built by Ashoka. Before it is a standing green-stone pillar polished as smooth as a mirror, states Xuanzang. He describes many more stupas, pillars and monasteries in Baranasi country. After Baranasi, he visits the country of Garjanapati, where he finds the Aviddhakarna monastery that is "very exquisitely" carved with decorative sculptures. It is lush with flowers, with reflections in the pond nearby.From there he heads north of Ganges and visits a large Narayana temple (Vishnu). It has storied pavilions and terraces, the numerous deva statues are "carved from stone with the most exquisite craftsmanship". About thirty li to the east of this Narayana temple is a Ashoka built stupa, with a twenty feet high pillar and lion image on its top. From there he walked to Vaishali, where says Xuanzang, people are honest and simple by custom. They study both orthodox


texts:
 Buddhist and heterodox non-Buddhist doctrines. The country of Vaishali has hundreds of monasteries, but only a few have monks and are in good condition. He describes the Svetapura monastery with lofty buildings and magnificent pavilions.After Vaishali, he headed north and reached the country of Vriji. This country mostly venerates the non-Buddhist deva temples and doctrines, states Xuanzang. It has over ten monasteries with less than a thousand Buddhist monks. He then travelled to the country of Nepala, near the Snow Mountains. It has many flowers and fruits, yaks and two-headed birds. The people here, says Xuanzang, are rude and disparaging by nature, but skilled in craftsmanship. Their Buddhist monasteries and deva temples touch each other, and people simultaneously believe in Buddhist and non-Buddhist doctrines.The country has two thousand monks who study Hinayana and Mahayana teachings. Kingdoms of Magadha, Iranaparvata, Champa, Kajangala, Kamarupa
In Fascicle 8 of the travelogue, Xuanzang begins with the country of Magadha. The country and its capital is sparsely populated. A fertile land, it produces a fragrant form of rice with extraordinary lustre. It regularly floods during the monsoon season, and during these months one can use a boat to travel. People are honest and simple here, and they revere Buddhism. Magadha has fifty monasteries and over ten thousand monks.It also has tens of deva' temples. According to Xuanzang, there is city south of river Ganges in Magadha. It is very ancient. When human life was


texts: "innumerable years" long, it was called Kusumapura. One can see the very ancient foundations of Kusumapura. Later, when human life span reduced to "several thousand years", its name was changed to Pataliputra. Towards the north of his royal city is a huge standing pillar of Ashoka.There once were many monasteries, deva temples and stupas here, but several hundred such Buddhist and non-Buddhist monuments are in dilapidated and ruined condition, states Xuanzang. He then describes several legends associated with Ashoka, along with several stupas and monasteries he found in good condition. For example, he describes the Tiladhaka monastery about 300 li southeast of the Magadha capital. It has four courts, lofty terraces, multi-storied pavilions where thousands of monks continue to study Mahayana Buddhism. Within this monastery complex, states Xuanzang, there are three temples, the center one with a thirty foot tall Buddha idol, another has a statue of Tara Bodhisattva, the third has Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue. He visits Gaya and the Bodhi tree. Near the tree, he states there is the Mahabodhi monastery with many buildings  and courtyards.Inside these buildings are "most wonderful, and exquisitely done decorative paintings", states Xuanzang. It is painted in gold, silver, pinkish blue, lustrous white and semitransparent pigments, with the Buddha's ornaments in the panel embedded with gems and jewels. After crossing the Maha river, visiting many stupas, monasteries, rishi Vyasa hill, Vipula hill, Pippala Cave, Bamboo temple


texts: and other monuments, Xuanzang arrived in Rajagriha city (Rajgir) and Nalanda monastery. He stayed and studied at Nalanda. At Nalanda, he was in the company of several thousand monks. <mask> studied logic, grammar, Sanskrit, and the Yogacara school of Buddhism during his time at Nalanda with Silabhadra. He describes Nalanda as a place with "azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade" (translation of Rene Grousset).According to Grousset, the founders of Mahayana idealism, Asanga and Vasubandhu trained Dignaga, who trained Dharmapala and whose student was Silabhadra. Thus Xuanzang had reached his teacher Silabhadra, who made available to Xuanzang and through him to the Sino-Japanese world the entire heritage of Buddhist Mahayana thought, and the Cheng Weishi Lun, Xuanzang's great philosophical treatise, is none other than the Summa of this doctrine, "the fruit of seven centuries of Indian Buddhist thought." From Nalanda, Xuanzang travelled through several kingdoms, including Iranaparvata, Champa, from there to Pundravardhana and Sylhet (in present-day Bangladesh. There Xuanzang found 20 monasteries with over 3,000 monks studying both the Hinayana and the Mahayana. One of them was the Vāśibhã Monastery, where he found over 700 Mahayana monks from all over East India.Li (1996), pp. 298-299 He visited Kamarupa (Assam and


texts:
 northeastern India), Samatata, Tamralipti, Kalinga and other regions, which Xuanzang calls as "domain of east India". Kingdoms of Kalinga, Andhra, Chola, Dravida and Malakuta

Xuanzang turned southward and travelled towards Andhradesa to visit the Viharas at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda.He stayed at Amaravati and studied the 'Abhidhammapitakam' texts. He observed that there were many Viharas at Amaravati and some of them were deserted. He later proceeded to Kanchi, the imperial capital of Pallavas, and a strong center of Buddhism. He continued traveling to Nasik, Ajanta, Malwa; from there he went to Multan and Pravata before returning to Nalanda again. Kingdoms of Konkanapura, Maharashtra, Malawa, Valabhi, Gurjara, Ujjayani, Sindhu, Langala, Avanda, Varnu

Xuanzang was welcomed to Kannauj at the request of the king Harshavardhana, who was an ally of Kumar Bhaskar Varman, to attend a great Buddhist Assembly there which was attended by both of the kings as well as several other kings from neighboring kingdoms, Buddhist monks, Brahmans, and Jains. King Harsha invited Xuanjang to Kumbh Mela in Prayag where he witnessed king Harsha's generous distribution of gifts to the poor. After visiting Prayag he returned to Kannauj where he was given a grand farewell by king Harsha.Travelling through the Khyber Pass of the Hindu Kush, Xuanzang passed through Kashgar, Khotan, and Dunhuang on his way back to China. He arrived in the capital, Chang'an, on the seventh day of the first month of 645, 16 years after he left Chinese territory, and


texts:
 a great procession celebrated his return. Return journey Kingdoms of Jaguda, Andarab, Alini, Rahu, Krisma, Himatala, Badakshan, Sikni, Cukuka, Gostana

Other sites

Return to China
On his return to China in 645 CE, Xuanzang was greeted with much honor but he refused all high civil appointments offered by the still-reigning emperor, Emperor Taizong of Tang. Instead, he retired to a monastery and devoted his energy to translating Buddhist texts until his death in 664 CE. According to his biography, he returned with "over six hundred Mahayana and Hinayana texts, seven statues of the Buddha and more than a hundred sarira relics." In celebration of Xuanzang's extraordinary achievement in translating the Buddhist texts, Emperor Gaozong of Tang ordered renowned Tang calligrapher Chu Suiliang (褚遂良) and inscriber Wan Wenshao (萬文韶) to install two stele stones, collectively known as The Emperor's Preface to the Sacred Teachings (雁塔聖教序), at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Chinese Buddhism (influence)

During Xuanzang's travels, he studied with many famous Buddhist masters, especially at the famous center of Buddhist learning at Nalanda.When he returned, he brought with him some 657 Sanskrit texts. With the emperor's support, he set up a large translation bureau in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), drawing students and collaborators from all over East Asia. He is credited with the translation of some 1,330 fascicles of scriptures into Chinese. His strongest personal interest in Buddhism was in the field of Yogācāra (瑜伽行派), or


texts:
 Consciousness-only (唯識). His 7th-century scholarship on Yogacara has a major influence on Chinese Buddhism, and then on East Asian Buddhism. The force of his own study, translation, and commentary of the texts of these traditions initiated the development of the Faxiang school (法相宗) in East Asia. Although the school itself did not thrive for a long time, its theories regarding perception, consciousness, Karma, rebirth, etc.found their way into the doctrines of other more successful schools. <mask>'s closest and most eminent student was Kuiji (窺基) who became recognized as the first patriarch of the Faxiang school. <mask>'s logic, as described by Kuiji, was often misunderstood by scholars of Chinese Buddhism because they lacked the necessary background in Indian logic. Another important disciple was the Korean monk Woncheuk. <mask> was known for his extensive but careful translations of Indian Buddhist texts to Chinese, which have enabled subsequent recoveries of lost Indian Buddhist texts from the translated Chinese copies. He is credited with writing or compiling the Cheng Weishi Lun as a commentary on these texts. His translation of the Heart Sutra became and remains an important milestone in all East Asian Buddhist sects.The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
<mask> returned to China with three copies of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. <mask>, with a team of disciple translators, commenced translating the voluminous work in 660 CE, using all three versions to ensure the integrity of the source documentation. <mask> was being

masks: Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang


texts:
 encouraged by a number of his disciple translators to render an abridged version. After a suite of dreams quickened his decision, Xuanzang determined to render an unabridged, complete volume, faithful to the original of 600 chapters. Autobiography and biography
In 646, under the Emperor's request, <mask> completed his book Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (大唐西域記), which has become one of the primary sources for the study of medieval Central Asia and India. This book was first translated into French by the Sinologist Stanislas Julien in 1857. There was also a biography of Xuanzang written by the monk Huili (慧立).Both books were first translated into English by Samuel Beal, in 1884 and 1911 respectively.Beal 1911 An English translation with copious notes by Thomas Watters was edited by T.W. Rhys Davids and S.W. Bushell, and published posthumously in London in 1905. Legacy

<mask>'s work, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, is the longest and most detailed account of the countries of Central and South Asia that has been bestowed upon posterity by a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim. While his main purpose was to obtain Buddhist books and to receive instruction on Buddhism while in India, he ended up doing much more. He has preserved the records of the political and social aspects of the lands he visited. His record of the places visited by him in Bengal — mainly Raktamrittika near Karnasuvarna, Pundranagara and its environs, Samatata, Tamralipti and Harikela— have been very helpful in the recording of the


texts:
 archaeological history of Bengal.His account has also shed welcome light on the history of 7th century Bengal, especially the Gauda kingdom under Shashanka, although at times he can be quite partisan. Xuanzang obtained and translated 657 Sanskrit Buddhist works. He received the best education on Buddhism he could find throughout India. Much of this activity is detailed in the companion volume to Xiyu Ji, the Biography of Xuanzang written by Huili, entitled the Life of <mask>. His version of the Heart Sutra is the basis for all Chinese commentaries on the sutra, and recitations throughout China, Korea, and Japan. His style was, by Chinese standards, cumbersome and overly literal, and marked by scholarly innovations in terminology; usually, where another version by the earlier translator Kumārajīva exists, Kumārajīva's is more popular. In fiction

<mask>'s journey along the Silk Road, and the legends that grew up around it, inspired the Ming novel Journey to the West, one of the great classics of Chinese literature.The fictional counterpart Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, a disciple of Gautama Buddha, and is protected on his journey by three powerful disciples. One of them, the monkey, was a popular favorite and profoundly influenced Chinese culture and contemporary Japanese manga and anime (including the popular Dragon Ball and Saiyuki series), and became well known in the West by Arthur Waley's translation and later the cult TV series Monkey. In the Yuan Dynasty, there was also a play by Wu Changling


texts:
 (吳昌齡) about Xuanzang obtaining scriptures. The movie Da Tang Xuan Zang was released in 2016 as an official Chinese and Indian production. It was offered as candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards due to its amazing camera work, but ultimately was not nominated. Relics
A skull relic purported to be that of Xuanzang was held in the Temple of Great Compassion, Tianjin until 1956 when it was taken to Nalanda - allegedly by the Dalai Lama - and presented to India. The relic was in the Patna Museum for a long time but was moved to a newly built memorial hall in Nalanda in 2007.The Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan province also claims to have part of <mask>'s skull. Part of <mask>'s remains were taken from Nanjing by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942, and are now enshrined at Yakushi-ji in Nara, Japan. Works

  Volume 2. Reprint. Hesperides Press, 1996. .
 Beal, Samuel (1884). Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols.Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. Vol.1, Vol. 2
 Julien, Stanislas, (1857/1858). Mémoires sur les contrées occidentales, L'Imprimerie impériale, Paris. Vol.1 Vol.2
 Li, Rongxi (translator) (1995). The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California.Gallery

See also

 Cheng Weishi Lun Great Tang Records on the Western Regions Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
 Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
 Buddhist Hybrid


texts:
 Sanskrit
 Chinese Translation Theory
 Chinese exploration
 Faxian
 Song Yun
 Yijing
 Hyecho
 Xuanzang Temple, Taiwan
 A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea Notes

 References

 Works cited

 Beal, Samuel, trans. (1911). The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi.1973. (a dated, abridged translation)
 Bernstein, Richard (2001). Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk (Xuanzang) who crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. .
 Christie, Anthony (1968). Chinese Mythology. Feltham, Middlesex: Hamlyn Publishing. .
 Gordon, Stewart. When Asia was the World:  Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks who created the "Riches of the East"  Da Capo Press, Perseus Books, 2008.  .
 Julien, Stanislas (1853).Histoire de la vie de Hiouen-Thsang, par Hui Li et Yen-Tsung, Paris. (a more recent, abridged translation)
 Li, Rongxi, trans. (1995). A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. (a recent, full translation)
 Nattier, Jan. "The Heart Sutra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?".Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Vol. 15 (2), p. 153-223. (1992) PDF
 Saran, Mishi (2005). Chasing the Monk's Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang. Penguin Books. Sun Shuyun (2003). Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud (retracing


texts:
 Xuanzang's journeys).Harper Perennial. Waley, Arthur (1952). The Real Tripitaka, and Other Pieces. London: G. Allen and Unwin. Watters, Thomas (1904–05). On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India. London, Royal Asiatic Society.Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973. Wriggins, Sally Hovey. <mask>: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Westview Press, 1996. Revised and updated as The Silk Road Journey With <mask>. Westview Press, 2003. .
 Wriggins, Sally Hovey (2004). The Silk Road Journey with <mask>.Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. .
 Yu, Anthony C. (ed. and trans.) (1980 [1977]). The Journey to the West. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. (fiction)

 Further reading
 Brose, Benjamin (2021). Xuanzang: China's Legendary Pilgrim and Translator.Boulder: Shambhala Publications
 Bhat, R. B. & Wu, C. (2014). Xuan Zhang's mission to the West with Monkey King. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 2014. Sen, T. (2006). The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, Education About Asia 11 (3), 24-33
 Weerawardane, Prasani (2009). Journey to the West: Dusty Roads, Stormy Seas, and Transcendence, biblioasia 5 (2), 14-18

Jain, Sandhya & Jain, Meenakshi (2011).The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. External links

 Hiuen Tsang A Poem on Xuanzang in Asia Literary Review by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K.
 A Tour of Hiuen Tsang Museum Nalanda A Video Tour of Xuanzang Museum Nalanda
 Xuanzang Memorial, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara on Google Cultural Institute
 Details of <mask>'s life and

masks: Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang Xuanzang


texts:
 works Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
 History of San Zang A narration of Xuan Zang's journey to India. Chinese text of The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang'', by Shaman (monk) Hwui Li (Hui Li) (沙门慧立)
 Verses Delineating the Eight Consciousnesses by Tripitaka Master <mask> of the Tang Dynasty, translation, and explanation by Ronald Epstein (1986)

602 births
664 deaths
7th-century Buddhist monks
Tang dynasty translators
Chinese scholars of Buddhism
Buddhist translators
Chinese explorers
Historiography of India
Journey to the West
History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Sui dynasty Buddhists
Tang dynasty Buddhist monks
Explorers of Central Asia
Explorers of India
Translators from Sanskrit
Translators to Chinese
Pilgrimage accounts
Chinese travel writers
Writers from Luoyang
Yogacara
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Sanskrit scholars
7th-century Chinese translators
Explorers of Asia
History of Pakistan
Explorers of


texts:
<mask> (born November 1961 in Folkestone, Kent, England) is a writer, actress and singer best known for her 22 romantic novels for Harlequin which have been published in over 130 countries, selling millions of copies worldwide. She has also written for television, newspapers and the screen as well as appearing in films; most notably the multi-award-winning Texan movie Artois the Goat (2009) and a supporting role with Academy Award-winning American actor Jack Palance in Treasure Island (1999). <mask> wrote her first book, Too Hot To Handle at 18, and became one of the youngest romantic novelists in history when it was published in 1982. Biography

Personal life
 <mask> was born in November 1961 at Folkestone, Kent, England. The daughter of <mask> (best-selling novelist Charlotte Lamb) and classical biographer, ex-Times journalist <mask>, she has two sisters; poet and novelist <mask> and artist and singer/songwriter <mask> known as Miss Spooky Mooky, and two brothers <mask> and <mask>; both musicians and singer/songwriters. <mask> suffered epilepsy in her teens and had to leave Wanstead High School, London with a handful of O levels at sixteen. Subsequently, educated at home by her parents, who owned a private library of over 50,000 books, she moved to the Isle of Man with them in 1978 and, in 1980, began training to write at her mother's side.Holland has travelled extensively, writing and researching in 56 countries and 5 continents,((cn)) many of which feature in her books. She has lived in 8 countries: England, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Australia, Holland, France and the United States (Texas and San Francisco). <mask> currently lives in Scotland and works in Edinburgh. Writing career

Because of the speed of her writing and the success of her books, <mask> was nicknamed Mouton Cadet, a wordplay on Lamb's Daughter, by publishing brothers Alan Boon and John Boon,

masks:
Sarah Holland
Holland
Holland
Sheila Coates Holland
Richard Holland
Jane Holland
Charlotte Holland
Michael Holland
David Holland
Holland
Holland
Holland


texts:
 who then ran Mills & Boon. This industry nickname was later reported in the non-fiction book The Merchants of Venus: Inside Harlequin and the Empire of Romance by Paul Grescoe (1998). <mask> was living in San Angelo, Texas in April 2008 when the FLDS Mormon-splinter sect case shot to international prominence and, as a contributing journalist, wrote about it for the San Angelo Standard-Times sparking a news debate as well as giving interviews to Texan news agencies including San Angelo Live. In late 2008, <mask> moved to London, England, where she worked as publication director for EMP Media's national celebrity magazine empire At Home Magazine for three years.In June 2011, she was appointed editor-in-chief of Victory House Publishing's La Creme Magazine. <mask> is the subject of controversial blogs such as Wise Old Tom Kelly's Blog and <mask>'s Life Story - A Lawman's View

Influences
<mask> is also an actress and singer and many of her books reflect this. The heroines of Bluebeard's Bride (1985), Adult Love (1991) and Desert Destiny (1991) are all singers and the books have music business backgrounds. The Devil's Mistress (1982), Forbidden Passion (1991) and Blue Fire (1994) are all set in the film industry with both movie star heroes and heroines. The hero of Too Hot To Handle (1982) is a pop star; the hero of Red Hot Lover (1998) is a movie star. Screen writing career
In 1995, <mask> studied screen writing with Robert McKee in London and was invited to write a 6-minute teleplay for Island of Dreams, part of the Granada Television series, Being There. Island of Dreams was nominated for Best Documentary of 1996 by the RTS (Royal Television Society) (Northern) and sold to over 13 countries.In 1999, <mask> wrote a film screenplay, Abuse of a Dominant Position for Iron Pictures, Manchester Ltd.

Acting career

At 20, <mask> enrolled at the London East 15 Acting School and

masks:
Holland
Holland
Holland
Sarah Holland
Holland
Holland
Holland
Holland


texts:
 embarked on an acting career which has included film, television and theatre. She performed Shakespeare for BBC 2's Bard on the Box series (1994) and won the supporting actress role opposite Hollywood superstar Jack Palance in Treasure Island directed by Peter Rowe; also starring Patrick Bergin and Kevin Zegers. Her Equity registered stage name is Abigail Rhode (Abby Rhode). She has appeared in a number of films through the Isle of Man Film Commission. In 2008, <mask> played French author Eva Verrane in the award-winning film Artois The Goat, which she also narrated; it was directed by Cliff and Kyle Bogart and shot in Austin, Texas for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival with the world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival 2009 at Austin, Texas. Artois the Goat gained a string of nominations and awards at international film festivals in 2009–10. <mask> appeared as Audrey in the Summer 2013 production of Shakespeare's As You Like It in Hampstead, London and is appearing in the autumn 2013 season of Chekhov plays including The Bear, The Proposal and The Cherry Orchard.<mask> has also written theatre reviews, most recently for the opening week of Stephen Ward the Musical, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Music career
<mask> is also a professional singer with over 20 years experience. She has performed blues, jazz and pop all over London and the Isle of Man. She has been singing modern and classical music with St James's Choir London since 2009. Television career
<mask> has been the subject of three television documentaries. In 1982, BBC1's Nationwide made a 10-minute programme about her: – Young Writer at Drama School. In 1993, BBC 2 filmed <mask> and Charlotte Lamb for the 50-minute documentary Paradise Road directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe.In 1996, a 30-minute documentary was made about <mask> and Charlotte Lamb; Island of Dreams, Granada

masks:
Holland
Holland
Sarah
Holland
Holland
Sarah Holland
Sarah Holland


texts:
<mask> (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical Take Me Along in 1959. She is best remembered for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and its spin-off Rhoda (1974–1978). For her work on Mary Tyler Moore, she thrice received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and later received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Rhoda. From 1986 to 1987, she appeared as <mask> on the sitcom Valerie. Her film appearances include roles in Freebie and the Bean (1974) and Chapter Two (1979), both of which garnered her Golden Globe Award nominations. She returned to stage work in her later career, appearing in several Broadway productions.In 2010, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Tallulah Bankhead in the play Looped. Early life
<mask> was born on August 22, 1939, in Suffern, New York, the daughter of Iva Mildred (née McConnell) and Howard Donald <mask>. Her father was a lighting salesman; her mother was born (and raised) in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, before becoming a teacher and later training as a nurse. Her parents married in Alberta before her mother immigrated to the United States. <mask> was the middle child of three, between her sister Leanne and her brother Merrill, who later took the name "Don"). After her parents' divorce in 1957, she also had a half-sister, Virginia, from her father's second marriage to Angela Posillico (1933–1996). She stated that her parents were expecting a boy; after her arrival, her first and middle names were derived from that year's women's doubles tennis champions, <mask> and Kay Stammers.She was of French, English, Irish, Scottish, and

masks:
Valerie Kathryn Harper
Valerie Hogan
Harper
Harper
Valerie
Valerie Scott


texts:
 Welsh ancestry. <mask> based her character Rhoda Morgenstern on her Italian stepmother and Penny Ann Green (née Joanna Greenberg), with whom she danced in the Broadway musical Wildcat. She was raised Catholic, although at an early age she "quit" the church. Her family moved every two years due to her father's work. <mask> attended schools in South Orange, New Jersey; Pasadena, California; Monroe, Michigan; Ashland, Oregon; and Jersey City, New Jersey. When her family returned to Oregon, she stayed in the New York City area to study ballet. She attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New Jersey before graduating from the private Young Professionals School on West 56th Street, where classmates included Sal Mineo, Tuesday Weld, and Carol Lynley.Career

Broadway dancer and improv
<mask> began her show business career as a dancer and chorus girl on Broadway, and went on to perform in several Broadway shows, some choreographed by Michael Kidd, including Wildcat (starring Lucille Ball), Take Me Along (starring Jackie Gleason), and Subways Are for Sleeping. She was also cast in the musical Destry Rides Again, but was forced to leave rehearsals due to illness. She returned to Broadway in February 2010, playing Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's Looped at the Lyceum Theatre. <mask> had a bit part in the film version of Li'l Abner (1959), playing a Yokumberry Tonic wife. She broke into television on an episode of the soap opera The Doctors ("Zip Guns can Kill"), and was an extra in Love with the Proper Stranger. She was in the ensemble cast of Paul Sills' Story Theatre and toured with Second City along with then-husband Richard Schaal, Linda Lavin, and others, later appearing in sketches on Playboy After Dark. She performed several characters in a comedy LP record, When You're in Love the Whole World

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 is Jewish, which included the popular novelty single, The Ballad of Irving, a recitation by TV announcer Frank Gallop.<mask> and Schaal moved to Los Angeles in 1968, and co-wrote an episode of Love, American Style. Television

While doing theater in Los Angeles in 1970, <mask> was spotted by casting agent Ethel Winant, who called her in to audition for the role of Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She co-starred there from 1970 to 1974, then starred in the spin-off series Rhoda (CBS 1974–1978) in which her character returned to New York City. She won four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern. In 2000, she reunited with Moore in Mary and Rhoda, a TV movie that reunited their characters in later life. The first season of Rhoda was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 by Shout! Factory.<mask> was nominated for a Golden Globe for "New Star of the Year" for her role in Freebie and the Bean (1974), and was a guest star on The Muppet Show in 1976, its first season. <mask> returned to situation comedy in 1986 when she played family matriarch <mask> on the NBC series Valerie. Following a salary dispute with NBC and production company Lorimar in 1987, she was fired from the series at the end of its second season, and sued NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract. Her claims against NBC were dismissed, but the jury found that Lorimar had wrongfully fired her and awarded her $1.4 million plus 12.5% of the show's profits. The series continued without her, with the explanation that her character had died off-screen. In 1987, it was initially renamed Valerie's Family, then The Hogan Family, as <mask> was replaced by actress Sandy Duncan, who played her sister-in-law Sandy Hogan. <mask> appeared in various television movies, including a performance as Maggie in a production

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 of the Michael Cristofer play The Shadow Box, directed by Paul Newman, and in guest roles on such series as Melrose Place (1998) and Sex and the City (1999).Later career

<mask> was a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and ran for its presidency in 2001, losing to Melissa Gilbert. She served on SAG's Hollywood board of directors. In 2005–2006, <mask> portrayed Golda Meir in a United States national tour of the one-woman drama Golda's Balcony. A film of the production was released in 2007. She played Tallulah Bankhead in the world-premiere production of Matthew Lombardo's Looped at the Pasadena Playhouse from June 27 to August 3, 2008. The show moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2009. It then briefly ran on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, from February 2010 (previews) through April 2010, for which <mask> received a Tony Award nomination.She was to continue the role on a national tour beginning January 2013, but withdrew due to her health. She played Claire Bremmer, aunt of Susan Delfino (Teri Hatcher), on ABC's Desperate Housewives in 2011. On September 4, 2013, <mask> was announced as a contestant for the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Tristan MacManus. They were eliminated from the show on October 7, 2013. <mask> appeared as the character Wanda on the American comedy web television series Liza on Demand, in its July 11, 2018, episode: "Valentine's Day". Activism and charity work
In the 1970s and '80s, <mask> was involved in the women's liberation movement and was an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment. With Dennis Weaver she co-founded L.I.F.E.in 1983, a charity that fed thousands of needy people in Los Angeles. Personal life
<mask> married actor Richard Schaal in 1964. They divorced in 1978, after which she had a relationship with Peter

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 Horton. She married Tony Cacciotti in 1987, after dating for seven years, and they adopted a daughter, Cristina. Despite playing Jewish characters such as Rhoda Morgenstern, <mask> herself was not Jewish. Illness and death
In 2009, <mask> was diagnosed with lung cancer. She announced on March 6, 2013, that tests from a January hospital stay revealed she had leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition where cancer cells spread into the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain.She explained her doctors had given her as little as three months to live. Although the disease was considered incurable, her doctors said they were treating her with chemotherapy to try to slow its progress. In April 2014, <mask> said she was responding well to the treatment. On July 30, 2015, she was hospitalized in Maine after falling unconscious, and taken via medevac to a larger hospital for further treatment. She was later discharged. In 2016, <mask>'s cancer continued, with treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but she was well enough to appear in a short film, My Mom and the Girl, based on the experiences of director/writer Susie Singer Carter, whose mother has Alzheimer's disease. In September 2017, she said: "People are saying, 'She's on her way to death and quickly'.Now it's five years instead of three months... I'm going to fight this. I'm going to see a way." At the time, she was developing a television series with Carter. By July 2019, she was on a regimen of "a multitude of medications and chemotherapy drugs" and was experiencing "extreme physical and painful challenges" that required "around-the-clock, 24/7 care." <mask> died on the morning of August 30, 2019, in Los Angeles. Filmography

Films
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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!Year
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! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
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| 1956
| Rock, Rock,

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<mask> (2 May 1927 – 2 March 2021) was a British cellist. She studied cello with Ivor James and Harvey Phillips at the Royal College of Music and later became a professor at the same college. Her pupils include Alexander Baillie, Martin Johnson, Natalie Clein, František Brikcius, and Kathy Hampson (née Jewell). Early life
On 2 May 1927, <mask> was born in Bournemouth. <mask>'s father was a retired Indian Civil Service officer and her mother was of Polish-Irish heritage. Studies

In 1943, Shuttleworth went to study the cello at the Royal College of Music (RCM) as a scholar. There she learned with Ivor James and Harvey Phillips.While at the RCM, <mask> became a founding member of the Vivien Hind String Quartet, an ensemble that she played with for a number of years. Another player in the quartet was Cynthia Midgley (born Freeman, 1925-2021) who played the viola. After leaving the RCM her friend Joan Dickson organised for the cellist Enrico Mainardi to give lessons in London in which <mask> took part. She also continued her studies with Franz Walter in Geneva. Shortly after leaving college, <mask> was invited to play at the Newbury Festival with the Newbury String Players, both in the orchestra and later as a soloist. This initiated a long friendship with the family of Gerald Finzi and their musical circle, including Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams. This period also witnessed a richly varied freelance career, playing in a number of festival orchestras, as a chamber musician and soloist.She was once affectionately referred to as "The Swellest Cellist" by Vaughan Williams. In 1953, at the recommendation of the composer Herbert Howells, <mask> applied for the Boise scholarship and in 1954 was awarded a substantial sum to further her cello studies. This she used to study with Mainardi in Salzburg and Rome, and with Pablo Casals in Zermatt and Prades. Personal life
<mask> was married twice. Her first marriage was to Noel Taylor, a fellow cellist, in 1957. Her second marriage was to David Sellen, a biophysics researcher, in 1973. They

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 remained married until her death on 2 March 2021 in Leeds.Professional life
In the 1960s, <mask> became a member of several ensembles and performed for many BBC broadcasts. In 1964, Novello published 'Learning the cello', which <mask> wrote jointly with Hugo Cole. She had a lesson with Rostropovich who complimented her on her beautiful cello sound and musicianship. This was also the year when she was invited to teach the cello at the Junior Department at the RCM, followed by the appointment to the Senior Department in 1967. In 1968 she was approved as an Associated Board examiner and also bought her very first Renault 4, the car that was to become her habitual transport, travelling around the country. The 1970s was <mask>'s golden period and through the connection with Hilary Finzi, Jacqueline du Pré's sister, she was allowed to play on du Pré's Davidov Stradivarius for two years. She became a ello professor at the RCM and taught many of today’s well-known musicians, including Adrian Brendel, Alexander Baillie, Clare Finzi, Elizabeth Wilson and Jonathan del Mar.However, as Shuttleworth felt as though she had neglected her academic career, and partly to better understand David’s work at the Leeds University, she took an Open University course 1971-75 and was awarded a BA (Hons) degree in 1975. In 1972 Shuttleworth put Stuart Lowe (a keen amateur cellist) in contact with Sue Jennings (one of <mask>’s cello students at the RCM) and later Stuart and Sue married. Later Shuttleworth taught Matthew, Daniel and Time Lowe at Sue’s request. She and Sue developed a longstanding teaching relationship  together, and with the Lowe family members and Alexander Baillie, they created "Gathering of the Clans", a long running cello course with teachers such as Baillie and Johannes Goritzki as well as Alexander teachers/cellists Vivien Mackie and Rhuna Martin. Other cellists included Joan Dickson, Amanda Truelove, Sasha Boyarsky, Lowri Blake, Andreas Burzik, Melissa Phelps, Louise Hopkins, and Moray Welsh. After the 1960s, Shuttleworth performed

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 many successful piano and cello recitals with some of the leading pianists in Britain, including Bernard Roberts, Ian Brown, Martin Roscoe and John Thwaites. After leaving the RCM in the late 1940s <mask> was a member of numerous chamber music ensembles including a string trio with Elisabeth Watson (viola), Georgian String Quartet, Leonardo Trio (first with David Roth, later with Maureen Smith, violin and with Ian Brown, piano), London Harpsichord Ensemble, Glickman Trio and Aulos Ensemble.When in London, she knew Sylvia Cleaver, who in 1964 asked Shuttleworth to become the principal cellist of the Midland Sinfonia Orchestra (later renamed the English Sinfonia). She held this post until she retired from the orchestra in 1996. Apart from this, Shuttleworth worked with many orchestras over the years such as the Alexandra Orchestra (founded by Denys Darlow) which later became the Tilford Bach Orchestra, Chelsea Opera Group, Kalmar Orchestra, Sadler’s Wells Opera Orchestra (now English National Opera) and Orchestra d'Amici. International career
<mask> travelled widely and spent many holidays around the world with a particular fondness for Scandinavia. In the early seventies, at Jacqueline du Pré's suggestion, the Swedish cellist Frans Helmerson stayed at <mask>’s house and they became friends. Then while teaching at the Great Missenden Summer course in Berkshire, Shuttleworth met the Swedish musical Frankmar family who brought her over to Sweden for various summer courses. There she met cellists Ludwig Frankmar and Tomas Sterner who came to study with her in London.In 1979, Tomas became her cello student at the RCM and, in 2009, published her memoirs. Tomas and <mask> also helped to organise two string courses in Guernsey in the early 1980s. In 1985, while on tour with the Associated Board in Malaysia, <mask> met Toya, a Batik artist living in Penang, and his nephew Kia. <mask> helped both of them, firstly by organising exhibitions of Toya’s work in England and secondly by sponsoring Kia to study at Leeds University, where he is now

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 on the staff. In 1986 she again worked for the Associated Board, examining in New Zealand. Teaching career
<mask>’s teaching career evolved over the years. From initially teaching at independent schools and later being appointed a professor at the RCM, she eventually took on many teaching positions in England, including Canterbury, Leeds and students from York University, as well as at Leeds Girls High School.She also had many private pupils. In 1994, <mask>’s teaching became more widely known when her pupil, Natalie Clein, won both the UK and European Young Musician of the Year competitions. Although this was at a time when <mask> was near retirement, she was now very much a sought-after teacher. Much later, she taught the Czech cellist Frantisek Brikcius, who came to Leeds University as an Erasmus scholar. In retirement, <mask> slowed down but did not stop. She made her final cello and piano duo recitals in 2003 and played the Treble and Bass Viols and sang early music. She taught the cello if requested.In 2008, <mask> was awarded an Honorary Membership of the Royal College of Music from Prince Charles. This followed a number of years when she supported the RCM and also created a cello prize in her own name. Publications
<mask> co-wrote a cello method for young cellists aged 10 and upwards, and her memoirs were published in July 2009. Recordings
<mask> made several recordings with Alfred Deller (counter-tenor). For example, Purcell's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day and Purcell's Te Deum and Jubilate Deo. References

External links
<mask>'s CV
<mask>worth's page

1927 births
2021 deaths
British classical cellists
Alumni of the Open University
British women classical cellists
People from Bournemouth
20th-century classical musicians
20th-century British musicians
20th-century British women musicians
21st-century classical musicians
21st-century British musicians
21st-century British women musicians
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Academics of the Royal College of Music
British people of Polish descent
British people of Irish

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texts: Dato' <mask> bin <mask> (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia from April 2009 to May 2018. He is the son of another former prime minister, <mask>. <mask> was the chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from April 2009 to May 2018 and the president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from November 2008 to May 2018, which had maintained control of Malaysia's government with a parliamentary majority for more than sixty years until the coalition's defeat in the 2018 general election. He is also referred to as Father of Transformation (Bapa Transformasi). <mask> was elected to the Parliament of Malaysia in 1976, at the age of 23, replacing his deceased father in the Pahang-based seat of Pekan. In the same year, he was appointed the head of UMNO Youth's Pekan branch and became a member of the youth wing's Executive Council. In the early years of his political career, <mask> took on a deputy minister role in 1976, and between 1982 and 1986, he was the Menteri Besar of Pahang.Thereafter, until 2009, he was rotated throughout the Cabinet of Malaysia, taking on various ministerial portfolios in defence, education, culture, youth and sports, and finally finance. Between 1993 and 2009, <mask> was a vice-president of UMNO. <mask>'s tenure as prime minister, between 2009 and 2018, was marked by economic liberalisation measures, such as cuts to government subsidies, loosening of restrictions on foreign investment, and reductions in preferential measures for ethnic Malays in business. After the 2013 election his government was marked by the pursuit of a number of its critics on sedition charges, the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim following a conviction for sodomy and the implementation of a Goods and Services Tax (GST). He became implicated

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Tun Haji Abdul Razak
Abdul Razak Hussein
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 in a major corruption scandal involving state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) which led to rallies calling for <mask> Mohamad, Pakatan Harapan and NGOs which sought to oust <mask>. <mask>'s response to the corruption accusations was to tighten his grip on power by replacing then-deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, suspending two newspapers and pushing through parliament a controversial National Security Council Bill that provides the prime minister with unprecedented powers.Najib's various subsidy cuts have contributed to soaring living costs, while fluctuating oil prices and the fallout from the 1MDB scandal led to a depreciation of the Malaysian currency. These ended with BN's loss in the 2018 general elections, which <mask> then accepted the results of the election and promised to help facilitate a smooth transition of power. <mask> remains as a backbencher in the Parliament of Malaysia. On 3 July 2018, <mask> was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), having investigated how RM42 million (US$10.6 million) went from SRC International, a company related to 1MDB, into <mask>'s bank account. In the process, the police had seized a number of fashion accessories worth $273 million while searching through his properties. <mask> was subsequently charged with abuse of power, multiple counts of criminal breach of trust and money laundering, and tampering with the 1MDB audit report. On 28 July 2020, the High Court convicted <mask> on all seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust, becoming the first Prime Minister of Malaysia to be convicted of corruption, and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and fined RM210 million.Early and personal life
<mask> was born on 23 July 1953 at the Pahang State Secretary official residence in Bukit Bius, Kuala

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 Lipis, Pahang. <mask> is the eldest of second Malaysian Prime Minister <mask>'s six sons, and the nephew of the third PM Hussein Onn. His younger brother, Dato' Seri Mohd Nazir <mask>, runs the country's second-largest lender, Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd. <mask> is also one of the Four Noblemen of the Pahang Darul Makmur (Royal Court) by virtue of his inherited title as the Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar. He received his primary and secondary education at St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur. He later attended Malvern College in Worcestershire, England, and subsequently went to the University of Nottingham, where he received a bachelor's degree in industrial economics in 1974. <mask> <mask> returned to Malaysia in 1974 and entered the business world, serving briefly in Bank Negara Malaysia and later with Petronas (Malaysia's national oil company) as a public affairs manager.In 1976, <mask> married Tengku Puteri Zainah Tengku Eskandar ('Kui Yie') with whom he has three children: Mohd Nizar <mask> (born 1978), Mohd Nazifuddin <mask> and Puteri Norlisa <mask>. In 1987, he divorced Kui Yie and married Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor with whom he has two children: Mohd Norashman <mask> and Nooryana Najwa <mask>. His daughter Nooryana is married to the nephew of former Kazakhstani President, Nursultan Nazarbayev. <mask> <mask> is an avid golf lover and he is known to have played golf with the two most recent U.S. Presidents – Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Trump has referred to <mask> as "my favourite prime minister". Early political career

Election to Parliament and Menteri Besar of Pahang
The eldest son of Malaysian Prime Minister, <mask> Hussein, was elected to the Parliament of Malaysia in 1976 replacing his deceased father in the Pahang-based seat of Pekan. The national outpouring of grief following Tun <mask>'s death and the

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 respect for his father helped Najib win election unopposed as Member of Parliament at the very young age of 23.In 1986 <mask> won re-election to the same seat. From 1982 to 1986 he was the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Pahang, before holding various cabinet posts throughout the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s, including Defence and Education. In 2004 he became Deputy Prime Minister  under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and replaced him 2009. Under his leadership, Barisan Nasional won the 2013 elections, although for the first time in Malaysia's history the opposition won the majority of the popular vote. <mask> was first assigned into the Cabinet of Malaysia at the age of 25 when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Post in 1978, becoming the youngest deputy minister in the country. He served as the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Pahang between 1982 and 1986, becoming the youngest Menteri Besar in the state to enter office when he was sworn in at the age of 29. In 1986 he was appointed as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in the Cabinet of Mahathir Mohamad.He focused on improving Malaysian sports and introduced the National Sports Policy in 1988. In 1989 Malaysia achieved its best-ever performance at the South East Asia (SEA) Games, held in Kuala Lumpur. UMNO politics

<mask> was appointed head of UMNO Youth's Pekan branch and became a member of UMNO Youth's Executive Council (Exco) in 1976. In 1981, he was selected as a member of UMNO's Supreme Council, before winning the post of Vice-President of UMNO Youth in 1982. In 1987, <mask> was selected as the acting head of the Movement of UMNO Youth by Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim after Anwar was asked to contest the post of UMNO Vice-President. Following mounting ethnic tensions anti-Chinese sentiments were expressed at a UMNO Youth

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 rally held in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur the same year where <mask> spoke. Rising tensions soon lead to fears of ethnic violence and eventually resulted in a security operation known as Operasi Lalang, that included numerous administrative detentions.In June 2009 <mask> overturned a rule that required 30% Malay ownership in corporations, and allowed non-ethnic Malays, like the Chinese and the Indians to exercise more financial control in Malaysia. <mask> has also worked to improve relations with Singapore, which is seen by many as Chinese-dominated, to encourage it to invest more heavily in the Malaysian economy. Following the complete reorganisation and founding of the "New" UMNO by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in the aftermath of the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis, <mask> was appointed president of UMNO Youth in 1988. By 1993, <mask> was elected as one of six vice-presidents of UMNO in response to Anwar's decision to contest as the deputy president of UMNO. <mask> continued to defend his post in party elections held in 1993, 1996, and 2004. On 12 May 2018, Datuk Seri <mask> resigned as President of UMNO and Chairman of BN immediately after the 14th general election and replaced by UMNO vice-president, Hishammuddin Hussein. Senior Ministerial career

Minister for Defence (1991–1995)
In 1991, Mahathir appointed <mask> as Minister of Defence.Under <mask>'s direction, Malaysian troops were deployed to assist the UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia in 1993. Malaysian forces were greeted warmly by Bosnians as well as Serbs and Croats. Malaysia also assisted peacekeeping operations in Somalia in 1993, losing one soldier in an effort to aid US soldiers during the Battle of Mogadishu. <mask> later criticised the UN's Somalia operation as putting too much emphasis on military action. Since then Malaysia has stated a preference for

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 participating in Chapter 6 "peace enforcement" missions, rather than Chapter 7 "peacekeeping" missions. After four years at the Ministry of Defence, <mask> assumed control of the Education Ministry in 1995. He returned to the Ministry of Defence in 2000.Minister for Education (1995–2000)

In 1995, <mask> left the Defence Ministry for the first time when he was appointed Minister of Education. His challenge was to respond to Malaysia's newly proclaimed aspiration to become a fully developed nation by the year 2020. During his five-year tenure, <mask> restructured the Ministry, created an independent corporate structure for public universities, and encouraged collaboration with foreign universities and institutions. The 1996 Private Higher Education Institutions Act, allowed foreign universities to establish degree-conferring schools in Malaysia, providing greater educational opportunities for Malaysians and positioning Malaysia as a regional learning hub. <mask> also upgraded teaching certificates to the status of diplomas, so that teachers in that category would receive a higher monthly starting salary. During the 1999 general elections <mask> suffered a major setback when he barely won re-election to the Parliament by a margin of 241 votes, compared to a margin of over 10,000 in the previous election. Although a surprise to political observers, it was understandable given the political upheavals of 1999.Return as Minister for Defence (2000–2008)

During his second tenure as Minister of Defence <mask> coordinated Malaysia's relief efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and provided support to Indonesia in arresting those responsible for the 2004 Bali bombings. <mask> also oversaw the deployment of Malaysian troops as a part of a UN peacekeeping force in 2006, when Malaysia volunteered to help stabilise Lebanon

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 following the 2006 Lebanon War. As Defence Minister, <mask> instituted compulsory military service in December 2003, stating that it would encourage interaction and friendship between youth of different ethnic groups and religions. During its first five years of operation, over 339,000 Malaysian youth participated in the PLKN (the Bahasa Malaysian acronym for "Malaysian National Service"), which is intended to promote tolerance, teamwork, and community engagement. The programme, however, has faced challenges. Safety issues in the program have been reported and several people died during or shortly after their terms of service during the program's first few years. In response, <mask> strengthened the PLKN's health screening requirements and reinforced the government's commitment to punish negligent PLKN officials.Deputy Prime Minister (2004–2009)
In 2004, Mahathir retired and was replaced by his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. <mask> became Deputy Prime Minister and was given a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including oversight of FELDA, the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), and the Election Commission (EC). <mask> also chaired more than 28 cabinet committees. He remained as Minister for Defence. In September 2008, <mask> became the Minister for Finance, handing the Defence portfolio to Badawi. During the global financial crisis, Malaysia faced a strong recession and reduced levels of trade throughout the South Asian region. In response, <mask> announced a series of stimulus packages to be implemented over a two-year period with the intention of acting as a countercyclical response that might otherwise protect Malaysia's economy.He also pressed for the country to move beyond existing manufacturing capabilities through education, research and development to develop greater strength as a provider of sophisticated

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 business services. Becoming Prime Minister
After a poor showing by the ruling UMNO coalition in the elections of 8 March 2008 in which opposition parties gained control of five of thirteen Malaysian state governments, Badawi identified <mask> as his intended successor. On 8 October 2008, Prime Minister Badawi announced he would step down in March 2009, paving the way for <mask> to succeed him. However he said the onus was on <mask> to win party elections set for March before he could take over. <mask> ran for the presidency of UMNO and went on to win on 2 November 2008, without contest. On 26 March 2009, <mask> won the UMNO presidency unopposed. He was sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia on 3 April 2009 In 2012, <mask> also assumed the role of women, family and community development minister, a position he held until the 2013 election.Prime Minister

<mask> entered office as Prime Minister with a focus on domestic economic issues and political reform. On his first day as Prime Minister, <mask> announced as his first actions the removal of bans on two opposition newspapers, Suara Keadilan and Harakahdaily, run by the opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led People's Justice Party and the Pan Islamic Party, respectively, and the release of 13 people held under the Internal Security Act. Among the released detainees were two ethnic Indian activists who were arrested in December 2007 for leading an anti-government campaign, three foreigners and eight suspected Islamic militants. <mask> also pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of the much-criticised law which allows for indefinite detention without trial. In the speech, he emphasised his commitment to tackling poverty, restructuring Malaysian society, expanding access to quality education for all, and promoting renewed "passion for public service". He also

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 deferred and abandoned the digital television transition plan of all free-to-air broadcasters such as Radio Televisyen Malaysia. 1Malaysia

1Malaysia is an ongoing campaign announced by Prime Minister <mask> <mask> on 16 September 2008, calling for the cabinet, government agencies, and civil servants to emphasise ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance.The eight values of 1Malaysia as articulated by <mask> <mask> are perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy. On 17 September 2008, <mask> launched 1Malaysia.com.my in an effort to communicate with the citizens of Malaysia more efficiently and support the broader 1Malaysia campaign. He has used the site to highlight his policy initiatives and to provide a forum for Malaysians to their government. The 1Malaysia campaign makes extensive use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Research has suggested that <mask> and UMNO have made extensive efforts to establish a favourable online presence through the recruitment and support of bloggers and other social media users, sometimes known as 'cybertroopers.' However, <mask> has been criticised for an apparent deterioration of race relations in Malaysia during his tenure that has occurred despite the 1Malaysia programme. In 2014, the long-serving former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad withdrew his support for <mask> citing, among other things, the abandonment by Chinese voters of the Barisan Nasional coalition.<mask>'s tenure has also been marked by increasingly aggressive racial rhetoric from elements within <mask>'s UMNO party, particularly towards Chinese Malaysians. BR1M Project
The first BR1M Project was a scheme devised by <mask> <mask> to help poor Malaysians. The amount of RM 500.00 Ringgit Malaysia was given to households with

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 an income of less than RM 3,000 a month. The second BR1M Project, also known as BR1M 2.0, with more than 2.5 billion ringgit will be distributed to Malaysians nationwide. This will affect 5.7 million household all over the country. In addition to the RM 500.00 for household, the government has also allocated RM 250.00 to single individuals. Those who have received RM 500.00 from the first BR1M project need not apply as it will be automatically processed.BR1M 4.0, which was announced in 2014, saw an increase in handouts from RM 650 to RM 950 for individuals earning less than RM 2,000.00, while households earning less than RM 4,000 will receive RM 750. Housing Programme

Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) Berhad was established under the PR1MA Act 2012 to plan, develop, construct and maintain affordable lifestyle housing for middle-income households in key urban centres. Middle-income is defined as a monthly household (husband and wife) income of between RM 2,500 and RM 7,500. PR1MA will be the first organisation that exclusively targets this middle segment with homes ranging from RM 100,000 to RM 400,000 in a sustainable community. National Security Council Bill 2015

In December 2015, the National Security Council Bill 2015 was passed in Parliament after a marathon six-hour debate. The bill provides the Prime Minister of Malaysia with unprecedented powers, such as the ability to define what constitutes a security issue as well as deem any part of Malaysia a security area. Within that area, authorities may make arrests, conduct searches or seize property without a warrant.The bill was criticised by rights groups as inviting government abuse. The Malaysian Bar called it a "lurch towards an authoritarian government". The government has defended the bill, with cabinet minister Shahidan Kassim saying the law is necessary to