Yijing was born in 635 during the Tang dynasty, when Buddhism, trade, and diplomacy linked China to Central and South Asia. Growing up amid flourishing monasteries, he later pursued the rigorous life of a Vinaya-minded monk.

As a boy, Yijing entered a Buddhist monastery and began intensive study of scriptures, chanting, and monastic discipline. The recent fame of pilgrims like Xuanzang inspired him to seek authentic Indian texts and practices.

Yijing took full monastic ordination and deepened his specialization in Vinaya, the complex code governing Buddhist community life. He became known for careful attention to ritual detail and the practical needs of monasteries.

Political dangers and shifting control on the Central Asian routes made the overland Silk Road difficult for pilgrims. Yijing chose the maritime path, aiming to use ports in Southeast Asia as stepping-stones toward India.

In 671, Yijing left from the southern ports with merchants and sailors, carrying letters, gifts, and monastic necessities. His plan was to collect Sanskrit manuscripts and firsthand knowledge of Indian monastic life for Chinese Buddhists.

Yijing stayed in Srivijaya, a powerful maritime kingdom that hosted monks and supported international learning. He learned Sanskrit basics and observed how sea routes, patronage, and monasteries formed a network across Southeast Asia.

Crossing the Bay of Bengal, Yijing entered the Indian Buddhist world and sought teachers competent in Sanskrit and Vinaya. He aligned his studies with major scholastic centers connected to the great universities of northern India.

At Nalanda, Yijing joined an international community of monks, debating logic, doctrine, and monastic law in Sanskrit. He studied authoritative Vinaya lineages and copied texts, aiming to transmit reliable ritual and disciplinary knowledge to China.

Yijing assembled manuscripts of sutras, commentaries, and Vinaya materials, carefully noting variants and usage in living monasteries. His work reflected the Tang demand for accurate translations grounded in Indian scholarly standards and practice.

Beyond texts, Yijing documented daily routines, robes, medicine, etiquette, and the administration of monasteries in India. These notes later became essential guides for East Asian monks trying to align their discipline with Indian precedents.

After years in India, Yijing traveled back by sea, relying on established merchant corridors and Buddhist patronage. He safeguarded manuscripts and ritual items, knowing that shipwreck, piracy, and storms could erase decades of work.

From Southeast Asia, Yijing dispatched letters and portions of his collection to China to reduce the risk of total loss. His communications highlighted Srivijaya as a critical scholarly stopover and encouraged future pilgrims to study there first.

Yijing arrived back in China with manuscripts and a reputation for rare firsthand knowledge of Nalanda and the Indian Sangha. Under the reign of Wu Zetian, translation projects received strong backing, enabling him to work at scale.

Yijing organized teams of assistants, scribes, and proofreaders to render Sanskrit scriptures and Vinaya materials into polished Chinese. He emphasized technical precision, consistent terminology, and procedures that mirrored the best Tang translation ateliers.

He compiled narratives that described routes, climates, ports, and Buddhist institutions from India to Southeast Asia. These writings offered Chinese readers rare information about Srivijaya, maritime commerce, and the practical realities of long-distance pilgrimage.

After political transitions at court, Yijing continued translating and revising texts, ensuring they were usable for ritual and monastic governance. His focus on Vinaya helped shape ordination standards and institutional discipline in East Asian Buddhism.

In his later years, Yijing oversaw final collation, editing, and copying so that monasteries could receive reliable editions. His work linked Chinese Buddhist practice to Indian sources while also reflecting Tang scholarly methods and court-sponsored publishing.

Yijing died in 713, leaving a legacy of translations, travel writing, and practical guidance for monastic communities. Later generations remembered him alongside Xuanzang as a model of disciplined learning and fearless long-distance devotion.