The Legendary Eastern Women’s Kingdom in Buddhist Records

The Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang’s journey to India produced one of history’s most remarkable travel accounts – the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. Among its many fascinating entries lies a mysterious reference to a matriarchal kingdom that would later inspire one of Chinese literature’s most beloved fantasy sequences. Xuanzang recorded hearing about this Eastern Women’s Kingdom during his travels through northern India around 631 CE, though he never visited it personally.

According to Xuanzang’s account, this kingdom called Suvarnagotra (meaning “gold clan” in Sanskrit) was located north of his current position in the snow-capped mountains. The land stretched east-west in a narrow band and was renowned for its high-quality gold deposits. What made it extraordinary was its governance – “generations of female rulers” held power while their husbands, though nominally kings, played no role in administration. Men’s duties were limited to farming and military service, reflecting a complete inversion of traditional gender roles in the region.

Xuanzang’s Perilous Journey to the Region

Before encountering tales of this mysterious kingdom, Xuanzang survived one of his most harrowing ordeals. Traveling south from Kashmir, he entered the territory of Takka where bandits ambushed his party in the Palasha forest. Fifty robbers stripped them of possessions and marched them to a dry pond for execution. Through quick thinking, Xuanzang and a young novice escaped through a water channel and rallied villagers to rescue their companions. When others lamented their losses, Xuanzang displayed remarkable equanimity, quoting Chinese philosophy: “The greatest treasure of heaven and earth is life itself. Since life remains, what else is there to worry about?”

This episode reveals Xuanzang’s extraordinary character – his physical endurance, mental resilience, and philosophical depth that sustained him through years of travel. By early 631, the 32-year-old monk had been traveling for five or six years through countless kingdoms when he reached Brahmapura, the insignificant kingdom where he recorded the Eastern Women’s Kingdom legends.

Historical Evidence for the Matriarchal Kingdom

While Xuanzang never visited the Eastern Women’s Kingdom himself, multiple historical sources confirm its existence. The 8th century monk Hyecho mentioned it in his Record of Travels to Five Indian Kingdoms, noting it was under Tibetan control with extremely cold climate. Tang Dynasty historical records described its inhabitants as a Qiang ethnic subgroup, distinguishing it from another western women-ruled kingdom. Most remarkably, Kashmiri historical texts refer to a nearby “Strīrājya” (Women’s Kingdom), providing independent corroboration.

Scholars locate this kingdom in the remote Himalayan region northwest of Tibet, south of Khotan (modern Xinjiang), and east of Ladakh – an area that maintained matriarchal social structures when surrounding regions had transitioned to patriarchy. The kingdom’s isolation in harsh mountain terrain likely preserved its unique social organization into the medieval period.

From History to Fantasy: The Journey to the West Connection

The Eastern Women’s Kingdom clearly inspired the fantastical “Western Liang Women’s Country” in Wu Chengen’s 16th century classic Journey to the West. Several telling parallels emerge:

1. Geographic clues: The novel places the women’s kingdom near golden mountains, mirroring Xuanzang’s description of Suvarnagotra’s gold-rich territory.

2. Naming conventions: “Western Liang” may be a deliberate alteration from “Eastern,” making the location seem more distant and exotic while preserving the core concept. The “Liang” component possibly references China’s northwestern Liangzhou region, known for its harsh climate.

3. Social structure: Both feature complete female governance with men in subordinate roles, though the novel amplifies this to complete absence of males (except as rare “human seeds”).

The novel’s famous episode where male protagonists accidentally drink impregnating water and endure comic “pregnancies” represents a creative exaggeration of the historical kingdom’s gender dynamics. While Xuanzang’s account describes institutionalized female leadership, the novel transforms this into a magical realm that tests the pilgrims’ spiritual resolve through sexual temptation – a recurring theme in their journey.

Censored Histories: What Xuanzang’s Editors Removed

Xuanzang’s unfiltered observations sometimes clashed with Chinese sensibilities, leading later Buddhist editors to censor his work. At Kapitha (Jiebinaguo), he described encountering ancient fertility symbols – large phallic sculptures that local villagers venerated without shame, believing “all beings originate from the heavenly root.” Twenty-seven characters describing this were excised from later editions, though preserved in other period texts like Shi-Jia Fang-Zhi and Fa-Yuan Zhu-Lin.

Similarly, the story of Bhiksuni Utpalavarna (Lotus Color Nun) underwent purification for Chinese audiences. While Indian versions included seven karmic retributions leading to her enlightenment, Chinese translations omitted the seventh – her unknowing incest with her own children. Scholar Chen Yinque identified this pattern in 1932, demonstrating how Buddhist transmission to China involved selective adaptation to local moral standards.

Cultural Transmission and Adaptation

These editorial changes reveal a crucial dynamic in cultural exchange – the negotiation between foreign ideas and local values. Chinese Buddhist editors faced a dilemma: they revered Xuanzang’s accounts as sacred yet found certain elements unacceptable. Rather than rejecting the texts outright, they practiced what Lu Xun later termed “take-ism” – selectively adopting foreign concepts while maintaining cultural integrity.

This process extended beyond censorship to creative reinterpretation. The historical Eastern Women’s Kingdom, already exotic to Chinese readers, became transformed in popular imagination into the magical Western Liang realm. Fantasy amplified reality while preserving its core fascination with gender role reversal.

The Legacy of Xuanzang’s Observations

Xuanzang’s brief mention of the Eastern Women’s Kingdom had far-reaching cultural impact. Beyond inspiring one of Chinese literature’s most memorable episodes, it preserves evidence of real matriarchal societies that fascinated both medieval and modern audiences. The kingdom’s existence challenges assumptions about universal patriarchy in premodern states, while its literary transformation demonstrates how historical fragments fuel artistic imagination.

Today, scholars continue investigating Himalayan matrilineal communities like the Mosuo as potential descendants of such kingdoms. Xuanzang’s account remains invaluable both as historical record and as testament to humanity’s endless fascination with societies that defy conventional gender norms – whether real or imagined.

The journey from historical observation to literary fantasy reminds us that the most enduring travel accounts don’t merely document places visited, but spark imaginations across centuries and cultures. In this regard, Xuanzang’s brief note about a distant women-ruled land achieved what few travelogues can – it transcended its time to become part of humanity’s shared storytelling heritage.