In 629, the revered Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang set out across Asia in search of the Ultimate Truth, and to settle what he called “the perplexities of my mind.” From the Tang dynasty capital at Xian through ancient Silk Road oases, over forbidding mountain passes to Tashkent, Samarkand, and the Amu-Darya River, across Pakistan to the holiest cities of India–and back again–his sixteen-year journey was beset with every hardship imaginable. Pilgrimage complete, Hsuan Tsang wrote an account of his trek that is still considered one of the classics of Chinese literature.

In 1998, Richard Bernstein, venerated journalist and Time magazine’s first Beijing bureau chief, retraced the steps of Hsuan Tsang’s long and sinuous route, comparing present and past. Aided by modern technology but hampered by language barriers, harried border crossings, hostile Islamic regimes, and the accidental U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Bernstein follows the monk’s path not only in physical but in contemplative ways. Juxtaposing his own experiences with those of Hsuan Tsang, Bernstein has crafted a vivid account of two stirring adventures in pursuit of illumination. Inspiring and profoundly felt, Ultimate Journey is a marvelous amalgamation of travelogue and history, cultural critique and spiritual meditation.

理查德•伯恩斯坦，美国记者、专栏作家、汉学家。1944年5月出生于纽约一个犹太人家庭，曾在哈佛大学师从费正清学习中文与东亚历史。1979年创办《时代》周刊驻北京记者站，1982年开始担任《纽约时报》驻欧洲通讯记者，还曾是《国际先驱论坛报》专栏作者。他撰写过多部 关于中国与亚洲的书，如《中国1945》《究竟之旅》《走出忧伤》等《纽约时报》年度好书、《波士顿环球报》年度好书。结束重走玄奘路后，他与旅伴、舞蹈家李忠梅在2000年9月结婚，现居纽约。