Huisheng and his companions were dispatched from theTuobaNorthern Wei to seekBuddhist scriptures in AD 518. They only reached as far asGandhara but, receiving 170 sutras, they returned in 521.[3]
Huisheng andSongyun both composed accounts of their travels. Huisheng's is variously known asThe Travels of Huisheng(t《惠生/慧生行傳》,s《惠生/慧生行传》,Huìshēng Xíngzhuàn),The Record of Huisheng, Envoy to theWestern Regions(t《惠生/慧生使西域傳》,s《惠生/慧生使西域传》,Huìshēng Shǐ Xīyù Zhuàn), and theAccount of the Northern Wei Monk Huisheng, Envoy to the Western Regions(t《北魏僧惠生/慧生使西域記》,s《北魏僧惠生/慧生使西域记》,Běiwèi Sēng Huìshēng Shǐ Xīyù Jì). It and Songyun's record are now lost in the original, but were largely preserved through quotes and commentary in books by other authors.Samuel Beal's account was based on the version in the 5th book ofYang Xuanzhi's 6th-centuryHistory of the Temples of Luoyang.[2]
