The Faju jing is composed of two translations. According to the Preface, the first translation is of 26 chapters, while the second one added another 13 chapters to it. As Charles Willemen has claimed: ‘When we look at the form of the verses in F.Ch.(法句經), we see that those translating the Dhp. are tetrasyllabic; Verses from an Uv. are very often pentasyllabic.’ Thus it implied that tetrasyllabic verses would be translated simply in the first translation which is heavily related to the Pāli Dhammapada, or at least a recension very close to it. This article explores this topic from perspectives such as ‘the location of tetrasyllabic verses’, ‘the duplicated verses’, ‘content of a verse in the core 26 chapters’, and ‘verse transplanted from the other translation’. The conclusion of this article is: ‘it might not be appropriate to tell a verse is translated in the first or second translation simply by being tetrasyllabic or me words in T210 are either unclear or pentasyllabic.
