Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.15

v1.c8.15

Before the Common era, no later than 2ⁿᵈ century BCE, the people of China and India both knew each other's spoken and written languages but there is no clear evidence on record in this regard. However, from the 1ˢᵗ-6ᵗʰ century CE, according to the records in the *Biographies of Eminent Monks*, the Indian monks who visited China from 1ˢᵗ-3ʳᵈ century CE, had acquired a thorough understanding of the Chinese language, and were engaged in the translation of Buddhist scriptures of alphabetic writing with active assistance of Chinese monks. During the 3ʳᵈ and 4ᵗʰ centuries CE, there were several monks who were fluent in both Sanskrit and Chinese. For example, the Kapisa (present day Kashmir) monk, Sanghadeva (Seng-jia-ti-po), after staying several years in China, was able to 'have a thorough grasp of Sanskrit, and spoke the Jin dialects fluently'. Faxian and Kumarajiva are outstanding examples of monks who were quite proficient in both Sanskrit and Chinese.