This article introduces the academic history and current situation of the research on historical materials of Buddhist monks who went to India and came to China in Dunhuang Chinese documents, involving multiple disciplines. Domestic research focuses on philology, with Japanese scholars abroad being prominent.

1、 A review of the current research status at home and abroad from the perspective of historical materials

The historical materials on monks who went to India and came to China in Dunhuang Han script are divided into three categories: travelogues, genealogical documents, and other documents. Documents such as "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" record the process of monks seeking Dharma and conducting rituals, which is of great significance for studying the historical geography of ancient Central and South Asia. The types of documents in the form of genealogical records include genealogical records, written records, and qiwen, which are important materials for exploring the history of the northwest region and the relationship between the Dunhuang Guiyi Army regime and the central court. Other documents are scattered in religious, socio-economic, literary and other literature, which are not easy to collect, but have important value for studying cultural exchanges between China and India and the characteristics of monks. Although there have been many studies on the types of documents such as travelogues and genealogies, there are still unresolved issues, while research on other types of documents is relatively weak and requires further in-depth exploration.

2、 A review of the current research status at home and abroad from a research perspective

From different research perspectives, an overview of the historical research on monks who went to India and came to China in Dunhuang documents has been summarized. In terms of transportation route research, through in-depth interpretation of Dunhuang documents, specific transportation routes for monks traveling between China and India and the development of Buddhism in cities along the route have been revealed. Typical works include Sang Shan Zhengjin's "The Great Buddha of Bamiyan and the Changes in Sino Indian Transportation Routes" and Sun Shuzhi's "Dunhuang and the Study of Sino Western Transportation", which explore issues such as the construction time of the Bamiyan Grottoes and Dunhuang's position in the history of Sino Western transportation. In terms of case studies of eminent monks, famous monks such as Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing have been recorded in historical documents and Dunhuang manuscripts, and the research materials are sufficient. The study of Faxian focuses on his hometown and activities of seeking Dharma in the west, while Xuanzang's research topics include his life stories, Buddhist thoughts, etc. The study of Yijing mainly revolves around his life and social interactions, as well as the translation of his writings. In terms of the study of the monk community, the works mainly focus on the research of the monk communities in China and India in documents, as well as the study of the role and influence of the monk community in the context of ancient Sino Indian cultural exchanges. Representative works include Rong Xinjiang's "Cultural Exchanges between China and India in the Late Tang, Five Dynasties, and Early Song Dynasties as Seen in Dunhuang Documents" and Wei Guohui's "Research on the Interaction between Indian Monks in the Tang, Five Dynasties, and Early Song Dynasties: A Focus on Dunhuang Documents". Foreign scholars' research on the monk community in Sino Indian exchanges generally starts from a macro perspective of cultural exchange between China and India, viewing monks as a medium for cultural exchange between the two countries. In the literature on the study of monk communities in India and China, there are abundant results from a macro perspective, and the research on the monk community in China is more comprehensive and systematic than that on the monk community in India. Most of the research on these monk groups revolves around the historical materials in the handed down historical records, so the value of relevant historical materials in Dunhuang documents still needs to be further explored.

3、 Research Status Analysis

Analyzed the current research status of historical materials and events related to monks who went to India and came to China in Dunhuang Chinese documents. The research on travelogues is relatively sufficient, especially in the "Biography of the Five Kingdoms of India", while there is less research on the Dunhuang version of "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" and "Biography of the Law of Returning to the South China Sea". Further in-depth research is needed on the classification of documents based on certificates, and there is no specialized study on other documents yet. The academic community's excavation of historical information on monks in Dunhuang documents is incomplete, research results are scattered, and there are few comprehensive works. The research perspectives include literature research, transportation route research, case studies of eminent monks, and studies of monk communities. However, there is relatively little involvement in the content of Dunhuang documents, and there is more research on monk communities in China than in India. There is a lack of research on the group of monks traveling to India. The research on Dunhuang documents is crucial for the credibility and depth of transportation routes, individual cases of eminent monks, and group studies. However, the current research results are incomplete and need further in-depth exploration. There is room for expansion in research perspectives, such as the social activities of monks visiting India and China, and their relationship with the central and local governments of the late Tang and Five Dynasties.