Fa-hsien (PY Faxian) (1) ［法顕］ (c. 340–420) ( Hokken): A Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who traveled to India to seek Buddhist scriptures. Deploring the lack of Buddhist scriptures in China, around age sixty he left Ch’ang-an in 399 and journeyed overland to India, where he studied Sanskrit and the three divisions of the Buddhist canon. In 414 he returned to China by sea, bringing many Buddhist texts and images. With Buddhabhadra, he translated six works in sixty-three volumes including the Mahāparinirvāna Sutra and The Great Canon of Monastic Rules. Fa-hsien’s Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms, a record of his travels, includes valuable historical material concerning India and Central Asian countries in his time.
  (2) ［法賢］ (d. 1001) ( Hōken): A translator of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. A native of India, he traveled to China, where he translated seventy-six scriptures into Chinese during the period from 989 through 999. His Sanskrit name is unknown.