Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.40

v1.c7.40

An important aspect of the exchange of Buddhism and culture between India and China is the complete and thorough study made by Chinese Buddhists about Indian Buddhist scriptures. India used curved Sanskrit letters and China used square Chinese characters and ideograms. If one wants to understand the theories and the thought of Indian Buddhism, one has to break through the barrier of characters. That is why in China a long period of several hundreds of years was dominated by translation activities. *Sui shu* (*History of the Sui*), volume XXXV, mentions: “The investigation of books and records started before the Han when they were not transmitted to China yet. Some say that they had long been spread but in the time of the Qin, they were destroyed. Later, Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions where he heard about the teaching of Buddha. In the time of Emperor Ai, the learned disciple Qin Jing sent Yi Cun to orally preach the scriptures of Buddhism. It was not believed when it was first heard in the heartland. Emperor Ming of the later Han dreamed at night that a golden person came flying to his palace. He asked his court about it and when Chuan Yi replied it was the Buddha, the emperor sent his secretaries, Cai Yin and Qin Jing to India to enquire about him. They obtained the Buddhist text *Sishier zhang* (*Forty-two Sections*) and a standing image of Śākyamuni. They returned East with the *śramaṇas*, She Moteng and Zhu Falan. While Yin was on his way, a white horse carried the scripture and that is why he erected a *Bai Ma* (*White Horse*) Temple to the west of the Yong Gate of the city of Luo to place it there. The scripture was kept in a brick room of the Lan Terrace and the painted image was on the Qingliang terrace on the Xianjie Hill. In the time of Emperor Zhang, the prince of Chu, (Liu) Ying, was known for his respect for the law of Buddha and numerous *śramaṇas* from the Western Regions who kept arriving with Buddhist scriptures. During Yongping, Falan also translated the *Shi zhu jing* (*Daśabhūmikasūtra*). The other transmitted translations often were incomprehensible. In the time of Emperor Huan, there was a *śramaṇa* from the country of Anxi, An Jing (recorded as An Shigao). As scriptures kept arriving in Luo, his translations were most intelligible. In the time of Emperor Ling, the Yuezhi *śramaṇa* Zhi Qian, the Indian *śramaṇa* Zhu Foshuo and several others translated Buddhist scriptures. Scholars think that Zhi Qian’s translation of the two volumes of *Nihuan jing* (*Parinirvāṇasūtra*) most coherently conveys the fundamental meaning. At the end of the Han, the Prefect Zhu Rong also honoured the law of Buddha. In the time of the Three Kingdoms, a *śramaṇa* from the Western Regions, Kang Senghui, came to Wu with Buddhist scriptures and translated them. The ruler of Wu, Sun Quan, respected him greatly. During Chuzhong of the Wei, the Chinese for the first time engaged with Buddha’s precepts and practiced taking the tonsure to become monks. Chinese records notes that first a *śramaṇa* from the Western Regions came here and translated the *Xiao pin jing* (*Lesser Scriptural Text* ie, the *Aṣṭasāhasrikā*). There were, however, many mistakes, from beginning to end, and one could not understand it. During Ganlu, another *śramaṇa*, Zhu Shixing went to the Western Regions, to the country of Hotan and obtained the 90 chapters of the text. During Yuankang of the Jin, he went to Ye and translated it with the title *Fang guang bore jing* (*Scriptural Text about Shining Prajñā*). During Taishi, the Yuezhi *śramaṇa*, Zhu Fahu Dharmarakṣa) travelled to several countries in the West, obtained many Buddhist scriptures and translated them in Luo, counting many divisions. The spread of Buddhism to the East was smooth from this time on.”