HISTORY 70B Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Foot Binding, Taoism, Chinese Buddhism
Document Summary
Xuanzang was impressed by the characteristics the local people he saw had. He mentioned that they were upright and honorable, [made] light of the things of the present world, and in their behavior there is much gentleness and kindness (stayer 314. Therefore, it can be inferred, that xuanzang was impressed on how the local people he saw lived their lives with a positive outlook on life and treated each other with honor and kindness. The caste system that india has adopted could have seemed strange to xuanzang and possibly the way criminals are punished or charged. He mentions that there is no use of rod or staff to obtain proofs (strayer 315) indicating that he found this somewhat strange. China"s engagement with a wider world is displayed by marco polo"s description of the city of kinsay. Polo mentions the merchant class and the wealthy constantly, describing the wealth they have because of trade.
