On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c3: Yüan Chwāng or Hiouen Thsang?
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c3
- Language
- English
Yüan Chwāng or Hiouen Thsang?
v1.c3.1
The name of the celebrated Chinese pilgrim and translator is spelt in English in the following ways (among others):—
1. M. Stanislas Julien . . . . . . Hiouen Thsang.
2. Mr. Mayers¹. . . . . . . . . Huan Chwang.
3. Mr. Wylie . . . . . . . . . . . Yuén Chwàng.
4. Mr. Beal . . . . . Hiuen Tsiang.
5. Prof. Legge². . . . . . . . . Hsüan Chwang.
6. Prof. Bunyiu Nanjio³ . . . . . Hhüen Kwân.
v1.c3.2
¹ Readers Manual, p. 290.
v1.c3.3
² Fa Hien, p. 83, etc.
v1.c3.4
³ Catalogue, p. 435.
v1.c3.5
Sir Thomas Wade has been kind enough to explain this diversity in the following note:—
v1.c3.6
“The pilgrim’s family name was 陳, now pronounced ch’ên, but more anciently ch’in. His ‘style’ (official or honorary title) appears to have been both written
玄 1 and 元 2.
奘 奘
In modern Pekinese these would read in my transliteration (which is that here adopted by Dr. Legge)—
1 hsüan chuang.
2 yüan chuang.
The French still write for these two characters—
1 hiouen thsang,
2 youan thsang,
following the orthography of the Romish Missionaries, Premare and others, which was the one adapted to English usage by Dr. Morrison. I doubt, *pace* Dr. Edkins, that we are quite sure of the contemporary pronunciation, and should prefer, therefore, myself, to adhere to the French
v1.c3.7
Hiouen, seeing that this has received the sanctification of Julien’s well-known translation of the pilgrim’s travels.”
v1.c3.8
It is quite clear from the above that in the Chinese pronunciation of the first part of the name there is now nothing approaching to an English H. And of course Julien never intended to represent that sound by his transliteration. Initial H being practically silent in French, his Hiouen is really equal to Iouen, that is, to what would be expressed by Yuan in the scientific system of transliteration now being adopted for all Oriental languages. But the vowel following the initial letter is like the German ü, or the French u, so that Yüan would, for Indianists, express the right pronunciation of this form of the word. It is particularly encouraging to the important cause of a generally intelligible system of transliteration to find that this is precisely the spelling adopted by Sir Thomas Wade.
v1.c3.9
This is, however, only one of two apparently equally correct Chinese forms of writing the first half of the name. The initial sound in the other form of the word is unknown in India and England. Sir Thomas Wade was kind enough to pronounce it for me; and it seems to be nearly the German ch (the palatal, not the guttural,—as in Mädchen) or the Spanish x, only more sibilant. It is really first cousin to the y sound of the other form, being pronounced by a very similar position of the mouth and tongue. If it were represented by the symbol HS (though there is neither a simple h sound nor a simple s sound in it), then a lazy, careless, easy-going HS would tend to fade away into a y.
v1.c3.10
The latter half of the name is quite simple for Indianists. Using c for our English ch and ŋ for our English ng (ü or ṁ or ṃ), it would be simply cwaŋ.
v1.c3.11
Part of the confusion has arisen from the fact that some authors have taken one, and some the other, of the two Chinese forms of the name. The first four of the transliterations given above are based on Sir Thomas Wade’s No. 2, the other two on his No. 1. All, except only that of Mr. Beal, appear to be in harmony with different complete systems of representing Chinese characters in English letters, each of which is capable of defence. The French, not having the sound of our English CH, for instance, have endeavoured to reproduce it by THS. This may no longer be used even by scholars; but in Julien’s time reasons could be adduced in support of it.
v1.c3.12
It appears, therefore, that the apparently quite contradictory, and in some parts unpronounceable, transliterations of this name, so interesting to students of Indian history, are capable of a complete and satisfactory explanation, and that the name, or rather title, is now in Pekinese—whatever it may have been elsewhere, and in the pilgrim’s time—YÜAN CHWÄNG.
v1.c3.13
T. W. RHYS DAVIDS.
v1.c3.14
ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND.
v1.c3.15
NEW SERIES.
v1.c3.16
THE following works of this series are now for sale at the rooms of the Royal Asiatic Society, 22, Albemarle Street, London, W. Price 10s. a volume, except vols. 9, 10.
v1.c3.17
1, 2. REHATSEK (Mr. E.) Mīr Khwānd’s ‘Rauẓat-us-Ṣafā’, or ‘Garden of Purity’, translated from Persian. Part I (Vols. I and II) containing the lives of the prophets from Adam to Jesus, and other historical matter. 1891 and 1892.
v1.c3.18
3, 4. Part II (Vols. I and II) of the above, containing a life of Muḥammad. 1893.
v1.c3.19
5. Part II (Vol. III) of the above, containing the lives of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and ‘Alī, the immediate successors of Muḥammad. 1894.
v1.c3.20
6. TAWNEY (Mr. C. H.) The Kathā Koṣa, a collection of Jain stories, translated from Sanscrit. 1895.
v1.c3.21
7. RIDDING (Miss C. M.) Bāṇa’s Kādambarī. 1896.
v1.c3.22
8. COWELL (Professor E. B.) and Mr. THOMAS (of Trinity College, Cambridge). Bāṇa’s Harṣa Carita. 1897.
v1.c3.23
9, 10. STEINGASS (Dr. F.) The last twenty-four Maḳāmāts of Abu Muḥammad al Ḳasim al Ḥarīrī, forming Vol. II; Chenery’s translation of the first twenty-four Maḳāmāts sold with it as Vol. I. 1898. Price 15s. a volume.
v1.c3.24
11. GASTER (Dr. M.) The Chronicles of Jerahmeel, or the Hebrew Bible Historiale. A collection of Jewish legends and traditions translated from the Hebrew. 1899.
v1.c3.25
12. DAVIDS (Mrs. Rhys). A Buddhist manual of psychological ethics of the fourth century B.C., being a translation of the Dhamma Saṅgaṇi from the Abhidhamma Piṭaka of the Buddhist Canon. 1900.
v1.c3.26
13. BEVERIDGE (Mrs. H.) Life and Memoirs of Gulbadan Begum, aunt of Akbar the Great, translated from the Persian. 1902. With illustrations.
v1.c3.27
In preparation—
v1.c3.28
14, 15. WATTERS (T.) On Yuan Chwang’s Travels. (Vol. XIV ready. Vol. XV in the press.)
v1.c3.29
16. DAVIDS (Professor Rhys). The Kathā Vatthu.
v1.c3.30
17. ROSS (Principal E. D.) History of the Seljuks.
v1.c3.31
ASIATIC SOCIETY MONOGRAPHS.
v1.c3.32
Arrangements have been made for the publication of the following:
v1.c3.33
(1) GERINI (Lieut.-Col. G. E.). Researches on Ptolemy's Geography. (In the Press.)
v1.c3.34
(2) WINTERNITZ (Dr. M.). Catalogue of Sanskrit MSS. in the Royal Asiatic Society's Library, with an Appendix by Mr. F. W. Thomas. 8vo; pp. xvi, 340. (Price 5s., or 3s. 6d. to members.)
v1.c3.35
(3) HIRSCHFELD (Dr. H.). New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qoran. 4to; pp. 155. (Price 5s., or 3s. 6d. to members.)
v1.c3.36
(4) DAMES (M. Longworth). The Baloch Race. A Historical and Ethnological Sketch. (Price 5s., or 3s. 6d. to members.)
v1.c3.37
(5) LE STRANGE (Guy). Description of Persia and Mesopotamia in the year 1340 A.D., from the Nuzhat-al-Kulūb of Hamd-Allah Mustawfi, with a summary of the contents of that work. (Price 5s., or 3s. 6d. to members.)
v1.c3.38
(6) BROWNE (Professor E. G.). Chahár Maqála ("Four Discourses") of Niẓhámí-i-'Arúḍí-i-Samarqandí. (Price 3s.)
v1.c3.39
(7) CODRINGTON (O.), M.D., F.S.A. A Manual of Musalman Numismatics. (Price 7s. 6d.)
v1.c3.40
The above works, so far as ready, are for sale at the Office of the Society:
v1.c3.41
22, ALBEMARLE STREET, LONDON, W.
Linked texts (3)
- Kathāvatthu — Moggaliputta Tissa, Pāli
- Dhammasaṅgaṇī — Pāli
- Abhidhammapiṭaka — Pāli