A New Look at Zhī Qiān’s Translation of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā

Abstract

Zhī Qiān 支謙 (fl. 220-252 CE) is one of the most controversial translators in the history of early Chinese Buddhist translation because of the high degree of inconsistency and variability in his language and terminology. Among his works, the Dà míngdù jīng 大明度經 (T225), which is the second Chinese translation of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Stanzas (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā- prajñāpāramitā), is the one which has attracted the most significant scholarly attention. This is because, when it comes to vocabulary and sentence style, the Dà míngdù jīng is clearly divided into two parts. Chapter 1, includes the interlinear commentary and the use of unusual vocabulary with an irregular prosodic style that appears not to be attributed to Zhī Qiān. The rest of the sūtra, Chapters 2-27, written in elegant four-character prosody without interlinear commentary, is considered to be Zhī Qiān’s genuine translation by modern Buddhist scholars, such as Lancaster, Karashima, and Nattier. This paper examines previous research on Zhī Qiān’s translations, and discusses issues found while reading this text in comparison with its Sanskrit, Gāndhārī, Tibetan and other Chinese versions. Focusing on the analysis of Zhī Qiān’s translation style and his terminology, this article argues that the relationship between the Dà míngdù jīng and other versions should be reconsidered in light of newly available sources like the Gāndhārī manuscript fragments. This article also asserts that the relationship between Chapter 1 and the rest of the sūtra needs to be reinvestigated on the grounds that there seems to be commentary in Chapter 2, even though it is not marked as the interlinear commentary in the Tripiṭaka Koreana and Taisho edition.