Earliest Xuanzang Portrait ?: Identifying the ‘Chinese’ Figure in Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram

Abstract

Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram, also known as Vaikunta Perumal Temple, is located in Kanchi (also known as Kanchipuram) in Tamil Nadu, a state in the southern part of India. Exquisite carvings are sculpted on the walls of the front porch of this temple. Some extraordinary details of certain carvings, like several Eastern Asian-like figures (with Mongoloid facial features) among the sculpture reliefs, are noteworthy. The intellectual-cultural exchanges between India and China had a long history and reached their height during the Sui-Tang period (broadly from the 6^th to early 10^th centuries A.D.). A large number of Chinese pilgrims, like monks, were sent to India to study Buddhism, and in return, many Indian monks and pilgrims also came to teach in China. In addition, Kanchi, where Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram is located, had been an important port connecting India with other foreign countries (including far-east countries like ancient China) in ancient times. Thus, it is understandable that Chinese travellers were depicted in Indian ancient art. However, one question would be raised: Who might be these figures? In this paper, I attempted to identify two important Chinese figures carved in Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram, respectively, Xuanzang and Wang Xuance, who travelled to India during the 7^th century A.D., by utilising some important clues and details observed.