About Liyan (Buddhist monk)

Lìyán' was a Buddhist monk (沙門) from Kucha. According to the Biographies of eminent monks compiled during the Song period, he was originally from Kucha. He was ordained in 726, and is said to have mastered a wide range of Buddhist texts and the Chinese classics. He acted an amanuensis to the Indian Buddhist monk Dharmacandra when he translated Pǔbiànzhìcáng bōrěbōluómìduō xīnjīng, a version of the Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra in 738 CE.
Tang emissaries to Sogdian King Varkhuman in Samarkand, 648–651 CE, Afrasiab murals

The most prominent Buddhist monks of the Tang dynasty

The Tang dynasty, or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. From the outset, religion played a role in Tang politics. In his bid for power, Li Yuan had attracted a following by claiming descent from the Taoism sage Lao Tzu. People bidding for office would request the prayers of .