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Gaochang 高昌(Travellers | Cities | Routes | Trade Goods | Themes)
In the context of Faxian's Travels Gaochang is written with different characters in different editions. This is the ancient site of Gaochang in the south of present-day Shengjinkou 勝金口, 50 km east of Turfan xian in Xinjiang. It is situated between Erbao 二保 (Halahezhuo 哈喇和卓) and Sanbao 三保 (Astana 阿斯塔那). It was strategically located, as the place where the wuji xiaowei 戊己校尉 of the Former Han, Latter Han and the Jin was stationed. Around the time of Faxian many of the sixteen kingdoms, including the Former Liang, Former Qin, Latter Liang, Western Liang and Northern Liang, established a commandery here called Gaochang jun 郡. At that time the Mahayana school was in the ascendance and Buddhism was quite highly developed. (See He Changqun 賀昌羣, trans., Yuxi liaodi 羽溪了諦, Xiyu de fojiao 西域的佛教, pp. 300-303.) This must be the reason why Zhiyan and the others returned to Gaochang to seek funds for their journey. Xuanzang also passed through Gaochang and stayed there for more than a month. At that time it was under the control of Qu Wentai 麴文泰, who recited Renwang banruo jing 仁王般若經 and received his help. (Daci'en si sanzang fashi zhuan 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳, chapter 1). - Zhang Xun 章巽, Faxian zhuan jiaozhu 法顯傳校注
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