Author ｜
Wei Ling-chia
Abstract ｜
Scholars have presented different theories about how Buddhism spread to China and which routes were followed since its birth. In order to reinforce the linguistic evidence that Central Asian languages and non-Sanskrit languages played a role of medium in the sutra translation, this paper focuses on the Chinese transcribed words in the translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, translated by Lokakṣema. The comparison and correspondence between the Chinese transcribed words and the sounds in Tocharian, Gāndhārī and Middle Indic highly suggest that the Chinese version of the sutra was not translated directly from Sanskrit to Chinese; the linguistic evidence proves the existence of Central Asian languages and non-Sanskrit languages in the process of translating the Buddhist sutra into Chinese. The tradition of oral transmission in Buddhism offered a precious opportunity for Central Asian monks to dictate and recite the Buddhist sutras in their local languages; the Chinese transcribed words in the sutra translation are concrete and valid proof that certain Central Asian languages, such as Tocharian, Sogdian, Bactrian, and other non-Sanskrit languages, such as Gāndhārī and Middle Indic, were mediums and may actually be the source languages for Buddhist sutra translation into Chinese.
keywords ｜
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, sutra translation, Central Asian languages, Lokakṣema, Chinese transcription