Title: Buddhist Scholars’ Attitudes toward “Zheng Fan” and “Yi Fan” in Tang Dynasty

Abstract: “Zhengfan” and “Yifan” were a pair of Buddhist Scripture translation methods in ancient China. “Zhengfan” was invented to translate the names of “those that appeared both in China and in India”, while “Yifan” was used when the object “only existed in India.” Through exploring the naming and usages of these two terms, we found that Buddhist Scriptures commentators in Tang Dynasty generally gave priority to “Zhengfan” and considered “Yifan” as a temporary expedient. Such attitudes were closely related to the criticism of Geyi Buddhism (hermeneutic Buddhism) at that time. However, not all commenters stick to the legitimacy of "Zhengfan” and denied the value of “Yifan”. The controversy over the translation of “Sūtra” revealed that “Yifan” was accepted or even preferred so as to highlight the sacredness of Buddhism in some particular cases, in which the Sanskrit words could be “Zhengfan” actually.

Keywords: Zhengfan, Yifan, Geyi Buddhism, Sūtra, Qijing

Author: Lei Tao, Lecturer, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.