宋高僧傳 1.29

1.29

系曰：「譯」之言「易」也，謂以所有易所無也。譬諸枳橘焉，由易土而殖，橘化為枳。枳橘之呼雖殊，而辛芳𠏉葉無異。又如西域尼拘律陀樹，即東夏之楊柳，名雖不同，樹體是一。自漢至今皇宋，飜譯之人多矣。晉、魏之際，唯西竺人來，止稱「尼拘」耳。此方參譯之士，因西僧指楊柳，始體言意。其後東僧往彼，識尼拘是東夏之柳。兩土方言，一時洞了焉。唯西唯東，二類之人未為盡善。東僧往西，學盡梵書，解盡佛意，始可稱善。傳譯者，宋、齊已還，不無去彼迴者，若入境觀風必聞其政者，奘師、淨師為得其實。此二師者兩全通達，其猶見璽文知是天子之書，可信也。《周禮》象胥氏通夷狄之言，淨之才智，可謂釋門之象胥也歟！

The appraisal says: 'To translate' (yi) means 'to exchange' (yi), which means using what one has to exchange for what one lacks. It is like trifoliate orange and sweet orange: when cultivated after exchanging soils, sweet orange turns into trifoliate orange. Though the names trifoliate orange and sweet orange differ, their pungent fragrance, stems, and leaves are no different. It is also like the nyagrodha tree of the Western Regions, which is the willow of the Eastern Land: though the names are dissimilar, the substance of the tree is one. From the Han down to our present imperial Song, those who translated have been many. During the Jin and Wei periods, only people from Western India came, and they only called it 'nyagrodha'. The local scholars who assisted in the translation only grasped the meaning when the Western monks pointed to a willow. Later, Eastern monks went there and recognized that nyagrodha was the willow of the Eastern Land. The regional tongues of the two lands were then thoroughly understood at once. Those who were solely of the West or solely of the East—neither of these two groups was wholly perfect. Only when Eastern monks go to the West, completely master Sanskrit books, and thoroughly understand the Buddha's intent can they be called perfect. Among translators since the Song and Qi dynasties, there were certainly those who went there and returned; but when it comes to entering a realm, observing its customs, and necessarily hearing of its government, Master Xuanzang and Master Yijing truly attained reality. These two masters were completely versed in both, just like seeing the seal script and knowing it to be the Son of Heaven's document—truly trustworthy! In the Rites of Zhou, the Xiangxu interpreters communicated the speeches of foreign peoples; might not Yijing's talent and wisdom be called the Xiangxu of the Buddhist fold?