Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.s1.12

v1.c8.s1.12

During the period starting from 7ᵗʰ to 10ᵗʰ centuries, the translation of Buddhist scripture reached its heyday. In the early 7ᵗʰ century, Prabhamitra, the sramana in ancient middle India, arrived in Chang’an and started organising translation work in Da Xing-shan Temple in the third year of Zhenguan Period (629 CE). Prabhamitra died in the seventh year of Zhenguan Period. Twelve years later, Xuanzang returned to China and directed the translation work in Hongfu Temple. After that Xuanzang translated Buddhist scriptures in Ci’en Temple and Yuhua Palace. From the 19ᵗʰ year of Zhenguan Period (646 CE) to the first year of Linde Period (664 CE), he translated 73 amounting to 1,330 chapters. Xuanzang had unprecedented contribution in translation history. Firstly, he set up a large scale translation organisation and founded a complete set of organisational system for it. Secondly, he used various translation skills that could be referred to by modern scholars even till today. Thirdly, he put forward important translation theories and enacted 'five conditions that were appropriate to the principle of transliteration'. Fourthly, the Buddhist scriptures he translated took up over half of newly translated Buddhist Scriptures in the Tang Dynasty. Fifthly, he was the first Chinese in Chinese Buddhist scripture translation history that translated alone without the help of any Indian or other scholar of the Western Region. Sixthly, he had outstanding achievements in translating Chinese into Sanskrit and had translated 5,000 words of Lao Zi into Sanskrit. Seventhly, his professional ethics became a model for posterity.