Sally was one of the first Western women to trek in the footsteps of Xuanzang. Here is one spot she visited, Bamiyam in Afghanistan, where the giant Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

The first Westerner and first woman to walk extensively in the footsteps of Xuanzang, she lived and traveled in Asia for years — following Xuanzang’s path in China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. While living in Sri Lanka with her husband, Howard Wriggins, an international relations professor at Columbia University, then American Ambassador, she studied Buddhism with the Venerable Kheminda Thero.

A contributor to Archaeology, Orientations, and Faces, Sally is a writer and lecturer specializing in Asia. She has lectured at several universities, the Asia Society, the Explorers Club in New York, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and at International House in Tokyo. She appeared on the National Geographic channel in the “Treasure Seeker” series. She has been interviewed by Radio Melbourne and Boston Public Radio.

The monk Sally writes about, Xuanzang, was heralded by the people and the Emperor when he returned to Xian. Here the Wild Goose Pagoda was constructed in his memory.

She first wrote about the Silk Road for children with White Monkey King in 1977. To share the historical origins of the popular fantasy, Sally organized exhibitions of the Monkey King story at the New York Public Library. The show also appeared in Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco.

In Washington, D.C., where her husband was, she helped found the Asian-American Forum, of which she was the first president. The Asian-American Forum promoted understanding between East and West through lectures, workshops and social events. Currently, Sally is a member of the Explorers Club, the Society of Women Geographers, the Tang Studies Society, the Association of Asian Studies, and the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.