Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t3.88

v1.c6.s2.t3.88

and Tibetan traditions, he is considered to be the son of an unwed mother, probably a courtesan of the famous Magadh king, Bimbisara. He had been thrown out of his place of birth and was found alive (hence his name from the Sanskrit root, *jiva* meaning life) and raised by the king’s son, Abhaya. Jivaka was written as Qi Po耆婆 in Chinese. Many other phonetically equivalent characters were also used to represent Qi Po eg 耆域 Jīva, 時縛迦 Jīvaka. The word, Qi气, which means “life force” in Chinese, has probably originated from the Sanskrit term Jīva. Some scholars date Jīvak to the 5^th century CE.