慧超所记阿富汗诸地考

Investigations on Various Places in Afghanistan Recorded by Hyecho

阿富汗位于中亚、西亚和南亚的交界处,是古代丝绸之路的重要中转站和商贸中心.从张骞通西域到玄奘取经,阿富汗都是必经之地.7世纪,玄奘访问了阿富汗并在《大唐西域记》中留下宝贵的记载;8世纪,新罗国来华僧人慧超到阿富汗考察并写下了《往五天竺国传》一书,此书记载了分散于兴都库什山山谷间诸多部落国的地理和民俗,是研究阿富汗历史文化的重要文献.

Afghanistan,situated at the junction of Central Asia,West Asia and South Asia,used to be a major transfer station and center of trade and commerce on the ancient Silk Road.Starting from the event of Zhang Qian’s opening up in the Western Regions to Xuanzang’s journey seeking for Buddhist scriptures in India,Afghanistan was a land they had to go through.In the seventh century,Xuanzang visited Afghanistan and left behind valuable records of that country in Record of Xuanzang’s Travels to the West in Tang Dynasty.In the eighth century,Hyecho(Hui Chao),a Buddhist monk who came to and stayed in China from Silla,went to Afghanistan on a tour of investigation and wrote a book entitled Memoir of a Pilgrimage to the Five Parts of India,which has included records of the geography and folklore of various tribal states scattered in the valleys of the Hindu Kush and is therefore important literature for making studies of the history and culture of Afghanistan.