Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t3.21

v2.c10.s2.t3.21

Su Manshu thoroughly understood the two great Indian Sanskrit epics, also had a deep understanding of the Upanishads and *Manusmrti*, and had a strong desire to translate them. He had a particular interest in Kalidasa, and once avowed to translate *Shakuntala* and the long epic *Meghaduta*. He, Yan Fu and Lin Shu are considered to be three great translators in the late Qing and early Republic of China. Were it not for his early death, he must have become a Sanskrit master and earn greater achievements in translation. In respect of Sanskrit, his contemporaries and successors have greatly benefited from his studies. In the 1950s, less than 40 years after the death of Su Manshu, Ji Xianlin translated *Shakuntala*, and Jin Kemu translated *Meghaduta*. Now, the two great Sanskrit epics all have been translated into Chinese and Su Manshu’s wishes have been fulfilled one by one. China has a growing study and research of Sanskrit.