On his journey of pilgrimage to India, Xuanzang 玄奘 was detained for more than a month in Gaochang 高昌. During his period of custody, Qu Wentai 麴文泰, the king, requested Xuanzang to expound the Renwang sūtra 仁王経, famous for national protection. Xuanzang accepted this invitation, and spent a month to expound this sūtra. In terms of social atmosphere, both China and Gaochang promoted the sūtra. In the case of the king himself, he both believed in this sūtra and felt the need for Buddhism to alleviate the crisis in Gaochang. In the case of Xuanaang, before his journey to the west, he was already familiar with the sūtra, and had the knowledge to expound it. In the commentary of this sūtra written by Yuance 円測, one of Xuanzang’s disciples, we can get a clue to reconstruct what Xuanzang expounded in Gaochang.

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The kingdom of Kao-ch'ang under the rule of the Ch'u (麹) clan (A.D. 498-640) was a unique Chinese Kingdom in Central Asia. The author has made a study of Kao-ch'ang's aristocracy from Sepulchal inscriptions unearthed in the Astana and Yar-Khoto tombs, the results of which may be summarized as follows. First, local powerful families were hereditary groups that held posts at the local government level in Chiao-ho-ch'eng (交河城). As a general rule they were only buried in the Yar-Khoto tombs. They formed a group of low ranking officials who could not rise to the fifth fank (五品) and above in the administrative system of Kao-ch'ang. Second, central powerful families were a hereditary group of officials who held posts in the capital city, Kao-ch'ang-ch'eng (高昌城). As a general rule they were only buried in the Astana tombs. They were high ranking officials who could ever rise to the third rank (三品) in the administrative system. Third, originally posts at the third rank and above were exclusively reserved for members of the Ch'u royal family. But the Chang (張) clan managed to rise to Such exclusive posts through close matrimonial ties with the royal family. They were a clan that reached the top of Kao-cha'ng's aristocratic society, occupying the highest civil and military appointments, the Wan-ts'ao lang-chung (綰曹郎中) and the tso-wei ta-chiang-chun (左衛大将軍). Fourth, from the above we can say that Kao-ch'ang's aristocratic society was based on official rank and in principal consisted of ; royalty of the third and higher ranks ; central powerful families of the fifth and higher ranks ; and local powerful families of the sixth rank and below.

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