翻譯名義集 1.15

1.15

As for “translation,” it refers to translating the speech of the Brahma Heavens and converting it into the language of the Han land. Although the sounds seem distinct, the meanings are largely identical. The Song Biographies of Eminent Monks states: “It is like turning over embroidered brocade: both the front and back display patterns, yet left and right are reversed.” “Translation” (yi) means exchange (yi); it refers to exchanging what is present for what is absent. Therefore, using the scriptures of this land, one reveals the Dharma of that land. The Rites of Zhou specifies that the officials in charge of the languages of the four quarters each had their own titles: those of the east were called ji, those of the south were called xiang, those of the west were called didi, and those of the north were called yi. The reason why all Western languages are now comprehensively referred to as “translation” (yi) is that during the Han dynasty, affairs were largely concerned with the north, and the northern translation officials were concurrently skilled in the Western languages. Thus, when Kāśyapa Mātaṅga first arrived and translated the Sūtra of Forty-Two Chapters, it came to be called “translation” (yi). As for “names and meanings,” that which can express is called the “name,” while that which is expressed is the “meaning.” As for names that can express, Hu and Sanskrit sounds differ; from the Han through the Sui, the Western Regions were uniformly regarded as Hu states. In the Tang, Dharma Master Yancong was the only one to distinguish Hu from Sanskrit: everything west of the Congling Mountains belongs to the Sanskrit stock, while everything to the left of the Iron Gate is called Hu territory. As for the Sanskrit sound: at the beginning of the kalpa, in the vast expanse, deities from the Ābhāsvara Heaven descended to become the ancestors of humanity, propagating the Sanskrit sounds. Therefore, the Records of the Western Regions states: “Examining their script, it was formulated by the god Brahmā, establishing the initial rules with forty-seven phonemes. Combining them to designate things, they adapt and function according to circumstances; their lineages branch out, and their source has gradually expanded. Varying slightly according to locality and people, their general outline has not diverged from the original source. Central India is particularly detailed and standard; its phrasing and intonation are harmonious and elegant, identical to divine sounds, and its clear, bright resonance serves as a model for men.”