TY - JOUR
T1 - “Buddhism for Chinese readers”
T2 - Zhi Qian’s literary refinements in the Foshuo pusa benye jing
AU - Han, Jaehee
AU - Hwang, Soonil
AU - Lee, Hyebin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - The present article continues the modern scholarship on the transmission of Buddhism from India to China by focusing on one of the most influential figures among the early Chinese Buddhist translators, namely, Zhi Qian (ca. 193-252 CE). His translation style is characterized as “kaleidoscopic, " as Jan Nattier describes, due to the high degree of diversity and variability in his language and terminology. In this study, we explore Zhi Qian’s literary refinements from the lexical, stylistic, and conceptual points of view based on his Foshuo pusa benye jing (T. 281) in close conjunction with three related sūtras, the Foshuo dousha jing (T. 280), the Zhu pusa qiufo benye jing (T. 282), and the Pusa shizhu xingdao pin (T. 283), all attributed to Lokaks. ema. We specifically discuss how Zhi Qian produced such a polished and “sinicised” version with various modes of literary modifications (e.g., using wenyan elements, four-syllable prosodic pattern, diverse vocabulary, and indigenous Chinese concepts) within the context of his life and times. In this article, we also argue that his main aim in producing the Foshuo pusa benye jing was to provide a more classical, elegant, and readable Buddhist scripture to the Chinese readers, but that he had to sacrifice being able to faithfully reflect the language used in the original Indic texts.
AB - The present article continues the modern scholarship on the transmission of Buddhism from India to China by focusing on one of the most influential figures among the early Chinese Buddhist translators, namely, Zhi Qian (ca. 193-252 CE). His translation style is characterized as “kaleidoscopic, " as Jan Nattier describes, due to the high degree of diversity and variability in his language and terminology. In this study, we explore Zhi Qian’s literary refinements from the lexical, stylistic, and conceptual points of view based on his Foshuo pusa benye jing (T. 281) in close conjunction with three related sūtras, the Foshuo dousha jing (T. 280), the Zhu pusa qiufo benye jing (T. 282), and the Pusa shizhu xingdao pin (T. 283), all attributed to Lokaks. ema. We specifically discuss how Zhi Qian produced such a polished and “sinicised” version with various modes of literary modifications (e.g., using wenyan elements, four-syllable prosodic pattern, diverse vocabulary, and indigenous Chinese concepts) within the context of his life and times. In this article, we also argue that his main aim in producing the Foshuo pusa benye jing was to provide a more classical, elegant, and readable Buddhist scripture to the Chinese readers, but that he had to sacrifice being able to faithfully reflect the language used in the original Indic texts.
KW - Early chinese buddhist translation
KW - Foshuo pusa benye jing
KW - Translated terminology
KW - Zhi qian
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107605970&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/rel12050361
DO - 10.3390/rel12050361
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85107605970
SN - 2077-1444
VL - 12
JO - Religions
JF - Religions
IS - 5
M1 - 361
ER -