Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t18.9

v2.c10.s2.t18.9

In India, *Meghaduta* has been translated into various local languages, and the earliest version in a foreign language was a Tibetan translation jointly written by an Indian called Sumanaśrī and Tibetan translators Byang chub rtse mo and Nam mkha' bzang po. Later a Mongolian version was translated from the Tibetan version. In 1813, the poem was first translated into English by Horace Hayman Wilson. Since then, it has been translated into German, French and other European languages. After reading Wilson's translation, the great German poet Goethe highly praised *Meghaduta*. The understanding of this epic by the Chinese people is inseparable from Goethe's praise.