During the Tang dynasty's era of "Zhen Guan" (of Emperor Taizong), Xuan Zang, a young Buddhist monk, in his quest to find the essence of Buddhism, embarks on a journey to India, that is fraught with perils and dangers. He encounters natural disasters, and sees the sufferings of the common people. Soldiers get in his way, his disciple betrays him, he struggles through deserts, is short on food and water, and traverses treacherous snow-covered mountain ranges. He finally arrives in India, and studies Buddhism in earnest.^[1] By the time he returns to China, he is a little over 40 years old and he then devotes the remainder of his life to translating and studying the Sanskrit scriptures that he carried back from India.^[5]

The screen play is largely based on a biography by Sramana Huili, a Tang dynasty Buddhist priest.^[1] Xuanzang's works and his biography were also inspiration for the Classic Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West purportedly by Wu Ch'eng-en, and translated by Arthur Waley in his allegorical book Monkey, published by Allen and Unwin Ltd in 1942. This later fanciful folktale primarily deals with the exploits of Sun Wu Kong (“the Monkey King”), who is Xuanzang's protector. According to the film credits the real-life Xuanzang may have traveled 25,000 kilometers during his 19-year journey and visited 110 countries.

Xuanzang’s life depicted in the film and the novel Journey to the West share an overall theme, i.e.: his quest to bring Buddhist Scriptures to Tang dynasty China. In addition, there are subtle parallels, for example, in order to start his journey Xuanzang must get past 5 watchtowers where there are warrants for his arrest. As noted in the Chasing Dramas: all things Chinese drama website (which has a detailed summary of the plot), “the 5 watchtowers are changed to the 5 mountain peaks or 五行山 which represent the hand of the Ru Lai Buddha. The Monkey King 孙悟空 wreaked havoc and tried to escape the heavens but the [Buddha] used his hands to create five mountain peaks that the Monkey King could not escape. The monkey king was imprisoned under the mountain until he was rescued by his teacher, Xuan Zang."^[9]

In another example, in the film Xuanzang nearly dies of thirst in the desert but is rescued by his old wise horse. In the novel, “Xuan Zang has a trusty steed the White Dragon Horse or 白龙马. The White Dragon Horse was actually a dragon prince who serves as Xuan Zang’s steed for his journey.”^[9]

The story of Xuanzang’s epic quest is shown as a series of encounters with characters portrayed in cameo performances listed in part below in order of appearance.^[1][9] The film periodically includes maps to show his progress to the locations where the encounters occur.

• "Heart Sutra" performed by Faye Wong^[10]
• "Qiannian Yibore" (千年一般若) performed by Huang Xiaoming & Han Lei^[10]

The film was produced by China’s biggest state owned production company China Film Corporation and its Indian partner Eros International. It was a prestige project as the first agreement on joint productions was signed in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May 2015.^[4][11]

It was filmed on location in Turpan (including the Flaming Mountain Scenic Area), Changji, Altay, Aksu, Kashi all of which are in the Xinjiang province of China, the Gansu province of China, and India.^[12][9] The sets were lavish, hundreds of extras were used and 10 companies from the US and China comprising 200 people were hired for post-production.^[11]

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, translated from Chinese, the director noted that most of the shoots were outdoors. “It was physically taxing. In India, we spent 10 days in April and May and another 20 days in September. . . The heat and the sun were all very challenging.”^[11]

The primary language spoken in the film is Mandarin. However, an important dialog between Xuanzang and his master, Śīlabhadra, is in Sanskrit, a rare instance of the use of this language in a mainstream film. The director noted that "We spent a long time with Sanskrit scholars, both in India and Peking University, to get this right, and we had Huang Xiaoming do the lines himself”.^[4]

The film is based on a script by Xue Keqiao and Mu Jun which in turn is based on a biography by a Tang Buddhist monk, Sramana Huili.^[1] The manuscript of Huili’s biography was scattered after his death but was recompiled by another monk, Shi Yancong.^[13]

The film credits list many advisors and venerable priests,^[1] nevertheless, liberties were taken for dramatic effect. For example, the film begins with a scene of baby Xuanzang being placed in a basket and floated down river where he is rescued by a monk who teaches him Buddhist scriptures. However, his biography indicates that he was raised at home and taught the scriptures by his father and older brother.^[14] The fictitious account in the film appears in the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West.^[9]

In the film, as Vandak, the fallen disciple, departs, he advises Xuan Zang to find an old horse who knows the way. Xuanzang meets a “woman from the western region” (per film credits) who accompanies him in the desert and her father later gives him the horse.^[1] In the biography, Xuanzang had bought a new horse. Before setting out across the desert, he meets Bandha (Vandak) who is accompanied by an old man riding a skinny roan horse. Xuanzang remembers a prophecy about his journey on an old horse. The old man’s horse and his saddle match the prophecy exactly; so, he trades his sturdy horse for the skinny one, which later saves his life.^[15]

In the film, men (and their horses) escorting Xuanzang across the Lingshan mountains are caught in an avalanche. In the biography, he lost about 1/3rd of his men and many oxen and horses, but the deaths were caused by cold and hunger, not an avalanche.^[16]

In the film, Xuanzang sets out across a river in a boat loaded with an elephant and his scriptures. A sudden storm capsizes the boat, and all including Xuanzang, the scriptures and elephant fall into the river. The slave, Jayaram, dives underwater to rescue some of the scriptures.^[9] In the biography, the boat is tossed by the waves but does not overturn. The unnamed guardian of the scriptures falls overboard. He is saved by the other passengers, but the scriptures are lost. Xuanzang was wading across the river on the elephant, and they were not on board.^[17][18]

The film grossed US$2.94 million on its opening weekend in China.^[19] It received mixed reviews there. According to a review in the India Today: “As of May 3, [2016] Xuanzang was a lowly seventh at the box office, despite heavy government promotion, earning less than a tenth of a top-grossing Chinese romantic comedy that released on the same day.” It was criticized for a thin storyline consisting primarily of random occurrences during his journey.^[4]

On the other hand, websites catering to those more interested in Chinese drama and history had more positive responses. For example, a review by Derek Elley on the Sino-Cinema website commented that “most of Xuanzang’s encounters are quite engrossing, thanks to the casting” and he goes on to praise several of the actors. He further commented that: “Given the need to have a star in the title role, and one who can project a strong sense of conviction, Huang is an excellent choice, all firm jaw and intense gaze. Though he doesn’t get much chance to build a personality for Xuanzang outside his Buddhist platitudes, Huang does manage to carry the film on his shoulders . . .” The photography is referred to as “stunning”.^[1] The Chasing Dramas: All Things Chinese Dramas website summed up a lengthy review with a comment that It was a thoroughly enjoyable watch and it appeared to stay pretty true to history "– so if you want to spend 2 hours watching the gorgeous landscape and learn about history, this is the movie for you."^[9]

During an interview by India Today, the director, Huo Jianqi, insisted that Xuanzang was worth the effort, and has praised both governments for backing what he says is a long-overdue venture. "This wasn't about making money," he said, "this was about telling the real story of someone who changed our history, not a magical story that could have sold well at the box office."^[4]

• 12th Chinese American Film Festival^[7]
  • Golden Angel Award Film
  • Best Screenwriter
• 31st Golden Rooster Awards^[8]
  • Nominated – Best Cinematography (Sun Ming)
  • Nominated – Best Sound (Chao Jun)
  • Nominated – Best Art Direction (Wu Ming)
  • Nominated – Best Original Music Score (Wang Xiaofeng)

• List of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Chinese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

• Xuanzang at IMDb  
• Xuan Zang at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase