Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.s1.10

v1.c8.s1.10

In the second year of Da Ye Period (606 CE), he took charge of a royal translation organisation and translated 23 books and over 100 volumes. Yan Cong’s contribution in theory was the writing of the famous essay in the history of Chinese translation named *Syndrome Differentiation*. In the book, he first approved Dao An’s theory of *Wu Shi Ben*, *San Bu Yi* and then he developed it into another theory of the *Eight Requirements* (ba-bei) to be followed by Buddhist translators. The theory included comprehensive requirements both in psychological quality like aim, manner and style and in professional quality like knowledge, scope and the nature of writing.