Yijing was born {{nowrap|'''Zhang Wenming'''}}. He became a monk at age 14 and was an admirer of [[Faxian]], a famed monk who traveled to India in the 6th4th and 7th5th centuries CE. Provided funding by an otherwise unknown benefactor named Fong, he decided to visit the renowned Buddhist university of [[Nālandā]], in [[Bihar]], India, to further study [[Buddhism]]. Traveling by a boat out of [[Guangzhou]], he arrived in [[Srivijaya]] (today's [[Palembang]] of Sumatra) after 22 days, where he spent the next six months learning [[Sanskrit]] grammar and the [[Malay language]]. He went on to record visits to the nations of [[Melayu Kingdom|Malayu]] and Kiteh ([[Kedah]]), and in 673 after ten days of additional travel reached the "naked kingdom" (south west of [[Sichuan|Shu]]). Yijing recorded his impression of the "Kunlun peoples", using an ancient Chinese word for Malay peoples. "Kunlun people have curly hair, dark bodies, bare feet and wear [[sarong]]s." He then arrived at the East coast of [[India]], where he met a senior monk and stayed a year to study [[Sanskrit]]. Both later followed a group of merchants and visited 30 other principalities. Halfway to Nālandā, Yijing fell sick and was unable to walk; gradually he was left behind by the group. He walked to Nālandā where he stayed for 11 years.
