Xuanzang was born near Luoyang, Henan in 602 as Chen Yi (陳褘 Ch'en I, yi1). He came from a scholarly family, and had three elder brothers. He became famous for his seventeen year-long trip to India, during which he studied with many famous Buddhist masters, especially at the famous center of Buddhist learning in Nalanda|Nālanda.
When he returned, he brought with him some 657 Sanskrit texts. With the emperor's support, he set up a large translation bureau in Chang'an, drawing students and collaborators from all over East Asia. He is credited with the translation of some 1,330 fascicles of scriptures into Chinese. His strongest personal interest in Buddhism was in the field of Yogācāra (瑜伽行派) or Consciousness-only (唯識).

The force of his own study, translation and commentary of the texts of these traditions initiated the development of the Faxiang school (法相宗) in East Asia. Although the school itself did not thrive for a long time, its theories regarding perception, consciousnesses, karma, rebirth, etc. found their way into the doctrines of other more successful schools. Xuanzang's closest and most eminent student was Kuiji (窺基) who became recognized as the first patriarch of the Faxiang school.