Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s6.t10.37

v1.c7.s6.t10.37

The *Vaisesika* philosophy of Hinduism spread to China in earlier times and its Padartha and Anu had an enormous influence on Chinese philosophy. *Vaisesika* emerged in 2^nd century BCE, much later than Samkhya, and its sutras included *Vaisesika-sutra* by the sage Kanada and *Daśapadārthaśāstra* (*Treatise on the Ten Padarthas*) by Maticandra. Vaisesika was transliterated into “fei-shi-shi-jia” (吠世师迦) and “pi-shi-jia” (毗世师) and literally translated into “sheng-lun” (胜论) or “sheng-zong” (胜宗) in Chinese sutras. Because Chinese scholars regarded *Vaisesika* as a philosophy that studied difference among the world’s phenomena, and some deemed that it focussed on special categories (*Visesa-padartha*), it outshone other sects. According to *Annotation of the Doctrine of Mere Consciousness* by Kui Ji, it was named *Vaisesika* because it established Padartha and other unrivalled doctrines or it was created by Vaisesika. In 5^th century CE, *Vaisesika* spread to China and this is attributed to eminent Indian monk Kumarajiva whose translation work entitled *Satyasiddhi Shastra* (*Completion of Truth*) mentioned *Vaisesika* many times. In 6^th century CE, eminent Chinese monk Ji Zang elaborated on Padartha in *Vaisesika* in his work entitled *Sata shastra* in Sui Dynasty. In 7^th century CE, Xuanzang studied in India and brought *Daśapadārthaśāstra* (*Treatise on the Ten Padarthas*) in Sanskrit by Maticandra to China. In 648 CE, he translated it into Chinese in Chang’an in the 22^nd year of the Zhenguan Reign. Subsequently, Vaisesika prevailed in China. In modern times, the *Daśapadārthaśāstra* (*Treatise on the Ten Padarthas*) in Sanskrit was lost in India and only its Chinese version translated by Xuanzang was well-preserved in China. Therefore, it was of great academic value to study the philosophy of Vaisesika and the thought of ancient India. After the spread of *Vaisesika* to China, its Visesa-Padartha and Anu had an enormous influence on Chinese philosophers. For instance, Tang Materialist philosopher Lu Cai (600～655 CE) quoted the Anu of Vaisesika many times and defined atoms and transmittable gas within the scope of substances which formed the basis for the world when he was expounding on his Atheism and Materialism. Additionally, he made a comparison between the doctrine of atoms constituting substance in *Vaisesika* and the doctrine of *qi* producing all things in *Book of Changes* and drew a conclusion that Vaisesika and *Book of Changes* advocated the same doctrine in different forms.