Based upon the diary of the Japanese monk Ennin (794-864), The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law (in Chinese, Ju-T'ang Ch'iu-fa Hsu n-li Hsing-chi; in Japanese, Nitto guho junrei gyo ki), this article focuses its discussion on Ennin's eyewittness experiences of the policing system during his more than 9 year stay in T'ang China. Hsu n-chien, in T'ang China, referred to a "touring inspection or touring surveillance." It was conducted by a delegate, often a military inspector or local government official. In his 4 volume diary, containing 80 thousand Chinese characters, Ennin describes this practice in detail. He records many instances, including his encounters with military inspectorates on the sea-shore, in a mountain pass, and among the villages and towns of T'ang China. He also makes a record of the regulations and practices behind the application for official documents and issuance of passports from counties and prefectures. These first-hand records, when compared with other T'ang sources, provide us with a rare glimpse of the policing system in T'ang society.
