Record of Pilgrimage to Tiantai and Wutai Mountains (參天臺五臺山記)

About 參天台五台山記

by 成尋著

108,871 · about 363 min

The Record of Pilgrimage to Mount Tiantai and Mount Wutai is a travelogue composed by the Japanese Tendai monk Jōjin in the fifth year of the Xining era of the Northern Song dynasty. This work meticulously documents Jōjin's journey across the sea to China at over sixty years of age to pilgrimage to sacred Buddhist sites such as Mount Tiantai and Mount Wutai. Its contents encompass his travel observations, the social landscape of the Song dynasty, exchanges among monastic communities, and court rituals, with particular historical value in its records of his audience with Emperor Shenzong of Song and official documents. This text not only serves as a first-hand precious source for the study of Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchanges and the religious and transportation history of the Song dynasty, but also provides crucial empirical evidence for exploring cultural interactions in East Asia at that time, holding a significant position in Buddhist history and East Asian historical geography.