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Xuangzong was not monk. He was beurocrat. He never entered a monk order, he specifically was a magistrate of a district, sent to India by the Buddhist emperor/governor to learn more about buddhist texts AND some administrative stuff, BOTH of which he translated, then fucked off back to China after spending like 10-15 years there and writing about Harshavardhana, resumed his courtly duties, then shortly retired and died IIRC.
This is why Xuanzong's writings were so highly prized in China, because he wasnt a random Chinese fakir writing about his travels to an exotic land, he was a govt beurocrat sent on a mission, came back 15-20 years after completing mission and wrote about it in shuddh-cheeni hoity-toity court language, lived for a decade and then died : ze hero model of what is trustworthy info in Sinosphere for aeons.