Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t12.3

v1.c7.s3.t12.3

Caotang Temple had close ties with Kumarajiva, a prominent Buddhist master in the history of Chinese Buddhism and also an eminent and extraordinary translator of Buddhist scriptures. He was skilled in both Sanskrit and Chinese and translated 94 Buddhist scriptures in 425 volumes in his entire life. Ji Zang, an eminent monk in the early stage of Tang Dynasty, created the Three Treatise School on the principle of three shastras - *Madhyamaka Shastra*, *Sata-shastra* and *Dvadashamukha Shastra*, all translated by Kumarajiva and honoured him as the ancestor of Three Treatise School. Caotang Temple was a place where Kumarajiva once conducted translation work and was, therefore, known as the ancestral Chamber of the Three Treatise School.