Daxingshan Temple

This guide to Daxingshan Temple in Xi'an centers on the monk Amoghavajra, who taught here after an imperial edict ordered every Sanskrit text in the empire sent to him for translation, even though he had just spent roughly two years trapped inside these walls under enemy occupation. You'll hear how the rebel general An Lushan's army stormed Chang'an in 755, why Amoghavajra chose to stay rather than flee with the emperor, and why a restored court that purged officials who had served the rebels took a special interest in a monk who had lived two years behind enemy lines. Stand where the crates of scrolls he carried from India were once unpacked and scribes copied the texts inside.