Presented in the cultural context of medieval Changan and the broader network of Buddhist Asia, this book provides an interdisciplinary study of Ximing Monastery (Ximingsi) in Tang China (618-907). As a premier center of Buddhist learning, Ximingsi not only served as a national shrine active in state-protection movement, but also attracted a steady stream of Chinese pundits, Indian missionaries, Korean scholars and Japanese pilgrims. Despite its fame, Ximingsi has yet to receive a full scholarly treatment. Drawing from a large body of widely-scattered literature as well as numerous marginal...