Tang and Sanskrit Scripts (唐梵文字)

About 唐梵文字

Tang · by 全真集

4,274 · about 14 min

The Tang-Fan Wenzi Quanzhen Ji (Complete Collection of Tang and Sanskrit Characters) is an important Buddhist phonetic and semantic dictionary from the Tang Dynasty. It is traditionally attributed to the eminent monk Yijing or scholars associated with him. Compiled during the peak of Tang Buddhism and the flourishing of sutra translation, this work primarily compares Sanskrit and Chinese Buddhist terminology, providing Sanskrit pronunciations and Chinese definitions to aid monks in accurately understanding and reciting Sanskrit originals. Systematically organizing a vast array of Tang-Sanskrit correspondences for Buddhist terms, it serves as a key document for studying ancient sutra translation, Sanskrit-Chinese linguistic exchange, and the history of Buddhism's spread. With irreplaceable academic value in Buddhist linguistics and philology, it preserves precious linguistic materials from the Tang and Sanskrit traditions for later generations.