Song Yun
Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Song Yun was a Chinese envoy and Buddhist pilgrim. He travelled to Gandhara and Udyana (the Swat valley) in north-western South Asia in c. 518–522 CE. He travelled with the monk Huisheng. His account describes the Huna ruler who controlled Gandhara at that time. It is one of the few eyewitness views of Huna rule in the region. He returned to China with many Buddhist texts.
Example
Song Yun described the Huna king of Gandhara as warlike and proud, and said the king had little respect for Buddhism. This fits with the period of Huna power that weakened the Gupta empire in the early 6th century CE.
Don't confuse with
- Faxian: a Chinese pilgrim who came earlier, in the early 5th century CE. He travelled across Gupta India and described a peaceful, prosperous society. Song Yun came about a century later and saw only the north-west, which was then under Huna rule.
Related concepts
- Hunas
- Skandagupta
- Bhitari pillar inscription
- Eran inscription of Bhanugupta
- Mihirakula
- Yashodharman
- Aulikara dynasty
- Decline of the Guptas
- Valabhi