There are seven Chinese translations of the Astasāhasrika Prajñāpāramitā, of which the Daoxing Banre jing 道行般若經, translated in 179 C.E., by Lokaksema is the oldest, followed by the translations by Zhi Qian (fl. ca. 220~257 C.E.), Zhu Fonian (translated in 382 C.E.), Kumārajiva (translated in 408 C.E.) and so on. Being not well-versed in Classical Chinese, Lokaksema used many vernacular words and expressions in his translations of Buddhist scriptures inadvertently. In contrast to him, Zhi Qian, who was born in China and a master of Classical Chinese, seems to have just "sinicised" Lokaksema's translation. Zhu Fonian, however, merely copied Lokaksema's translation and just replaced old-fashioned, vernacular words and expressions in it. Therefore, in this respect, if we focus on how these translators modified Lokaksema's translation, we are able to trace the changes and developments of the Chinese language from the Eastern Han to the Jin Dynasty.
目次
(1) Comparison between the Daoxing Banre jing 道行般若經 and the other translations of the same text 275 (1.1) From 黠 to 慧, 智 277 (1.2) From 曉 to 知 278 (1.3) From 索 to 求 279 (1.4) Lokaksema 我 > Zhi Qian 吾 > Zhu Fonian and Kumārajiva 我 279 (1.5) Lokaksema 汝 > Zhi Qian and Zhu Fonian 若 > Kumārajiva 汝 282 (2) Noteworthy words in the Daoxing Banre jing: 慈 = 孝 284 (2.1) cí 慈 284 (2.2) cíxīn 慈心 285 (2.3) cíxiào 慈孝 285 (2.4) zhòngjìngcí 重敬慈 285 (2.5) cíxīn 慈心, xiàocí 孝慈 and cíxiào 慈孝 in the (Da) Amituo jing (大)阿彌陀經 286 (2.5.1) cíxīn 慈心 (2.5.2) xiàocí 孝慈 (2.5.3) cíxiào 慈孝
