Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t1.3

v1.c7.s7.t1.3

One of the earliest references to *Pańcavidyā* in the Chinese language is found in a Buddhist work Wu Ming Lun 五明論 that has been part of the Chinese Buddhist canon. This work is attributed to Nagarjuna which is often written as Long Shu 龍樹 in Chinese, so the title Long Shu Wu Ming Lun 龍樹五明論or Nagarjuna’s *Pańcavidyā*. There are references to medicine including gynaecology and obstetrics in this work. Incidentally, Nagarjuna had studied and taught at Nalanda too according to the accounts of Xuanzang 玄 奘 (602-664 CE) and Yijing 義 淨 (635-713 CE) the famous Chinese Buddhist travellers of Tang Dynasty. An Indian Buddhist monk Jnanabhadra, visiting China in 6^th century CE, translated this work in collaboration with three other monks.