record of buddhistic kingdoms-第1节

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Record　of　Buddhistic　Kingdoms

by　Fa…Hien




Being　an　Account　by　the　Chinese　Monk　Fa…Hien　of　his　Travels　in　India　and　Ceylon　（A。D。　399…414）　in　Search　of　the　Buddhist　Books　of　Discipline

Translated　and　annotated　with　a　Corean　recension　of　the　Chinese　text

BY

JAMES　LEGGE



PREFACE

Several　times　during　my　long　residence　in　Hong　Kong　I　endeavoured　to　read　through　the　〃Narrative　of　Fa…hien；〃　but　though　interested　with　the　graphic　details　of　much　of　the　work；　its　columns　bristled　so　constantlynow　with　his　phonetic　representations　of　Sanskrit　words；　and　now　with　his　substitution　for　them　of　their　meanings　in　Chinese　characters；　and　I　was；　moreover；　so　much　occupied　with　my　own　special　labours　on　the　Confucian　Classics；　that　my　success　was　far　from　satisfactory。　When　Dr。　Eitel's　〃Handbook　for　the　Student　of　Chinese　Buddhism〃　appeared　in　1870；　the　difficulty　occasioned　by　the　Sanskrit　words　and　names　was　removed；　but　the　other　difficulty　remained；　and　I　was　not　able　to　look　into　the　book　again　for　several　years。　Nor　had　I　much　inducement　to　do　so　in　the　two　copies　of　it　which　I　had　been　able　to　procure；　on　poor　paper；　and　printed　from　blocks　badly　cut　at　first；　and　so　worn　with　use　as　to　yield　books　the　reverse　of　attractive　in　their　appearance　to　the　student。

In　the　meantime　I　kept　studying　the　subject　of　Buddhism　from　various　sources；　and　in　1878　began　to　lecture；　here　in　Oxford；　on　the　Travels　with　my　Davis　Chinese　scholar；　who　was　at　the　same　time　Boden　Sanskrit　scholar。　As　we　went　on；　I　wrote　out　a　translation　in　English　for　my　own　satisfaction　of　nearly　half　the　narrative。　In　the　beginning　of　last　year　I　made　Fa…hien　again　the　subject　of　lecture；　wrote　out　a　second　translation；　independent　of　the　former；　and　pushed　on　till　I　had　completed　the　whole。

The　want　of　a　good　and　clear　text　had　been　supplied　by　my　friend；　Mr。　Bunyiu　Nanjio；　who　sent　to　me　from　Japan　a　copy；　the　text　of　which　is　appended　to　the　translation　and　notes；　and　of　the　nature　of　which　some　account　is　given　in　the　Introduction；　and　towards　the　end　of　this　Preface。

The　present　work　consists　of　three　parts：　the　Translation　of　Fa…hien's　Narrative　of　his　Travels；　copious　Notes；　and　the　Chinese　Text　of　my　copy　from　Japan。

It　is　for　the　Translation　that　I　hold　myself　more　especially　responsible。　Portions　of　it　were　written　out　three　times；　and　the　whole　of　it　twice。　While　preparing　my　own　version　I　made　frequent　reference　to　previous　translations：those　of　M。　Abel　Remusat；　〃Revu；　complete；　et　augmente　d'eclaircissements　nouveaux　par　MM。　Klaproth　et　Landress〃　（Paris；　1836）；　of　the　Rev。　Samuel　Beal　（London；　1869）；　and　his　revision　of　it；　prefixed　to　his　〃Buddhist　Records　of　the　Western　World〃　（Trubner's　Oriental　Series；　1884）；　and　of　Mr。　Herbert　A。　Giles；　of　H。M。's　Consular　Service　in　China　（1877）。　To　these　I　have　to　add　a　series　of　articles　on　〃Fa…hsien　and　his　English　Translators；〃　by　Mr。　T。　Watters；　British　Consul　at　I…Chang　（China　Review；　1879；　1880）。　Those　articles　are　of　the　highest　value；　displaying　accuracy　of　Chinese　scholarship　and　an　extensive　knowledge　of　Buddhism。　I　have　regretted　that　Mr。　Watters；　while　reviewing　others；　did　not　himself　write　out　and　publish　a　version　of　the　whole　of　Fa…hien's　narrative。　If　he　had　done　so；　I　should　probably　have　thought　that；　on　the　whole；　nothing　more　remained　to　be　done　for　the　distinguished　Chinese　pilgrim　in　the　way　of　translation。　Mr。　Watters　had　to　judge　of　the　comparative　merits　of　the　versions　of　Beal　and　Giles；　and　pronounce　on　the　many　points　of　contention　between　them。　I　have　endeavoured　to　eschew　those　matters；　and　have　seldom　made　remarks　of　a　critical　nature　in　defence　of　renderings　of　my　own。

The　Chinese　narrative　runs　on　without　any　break。　It　was　Klaproth　who　divided　Remusat's　translation　into　forty　chapters。　The　division　is　helpful　to　the　reader；　and　I　have　followed　it　excepting　in　three　or　four　instances。　In　the　reprinted　Chinese　text　the　chapters　are　separated　by　a　circle　in　the　column。

In　transliterating　the　names　of　Chinese　characters　I　have　generally　followed　the　spelling　of　Morrison　rather　than　the　Pekinese；　which　is　now　in　vogue。　We　cannot　tell　exactly　what　the　pronunciation　of　them　was；　about　fifteen　hundred　years　ago；　in　the　time　of　Fa…hien；　but　the　southern　mandarin　must　be　a　shade　nearer　to　it　than　that　of　Peking　at　the　present　day。　In　transliterating　the　Indian　names　I　have　for　the　most　part　followed　Dr。　Eitel；　with　such　modification　as　seemed　good　and　in　harmony　with　growing　usage。

For　the　Notes　I　can　do　little　more　than　claim　the　merit　of　selection　and　condensation。　My　first　object　in　them　was　to　explain　what　in　the　text　required　explanation　to　an　English　reader。　All　Chinese　texts；　and　Buddhist　texts　especially；　are　new　to　foreign　students。　One　has　to　do　for　them　what　many　hundreds　of　the　ablest　scholars　in　Europe　have　done　for　the　Greek　and　Latin　Classics　during　several　hundred　years；　and　what　the　thousands　of　critics　and　commentators　have　been　doing　of　our　Sacred　Scriptures　for　nearly　eighteen　centuries。　There　are　few　predecessors　in　the　field　of　Chinese　literature　into　whose　labours　translators　of　the　present　century　can　enter。　This　will　be　received；　I　hope；　as　a　sufficient　apology　for　the　minuteness　and　length　of　some　of　the　notes。　A　second　object　in　them　was　to　teach　myself　first；　and　then　others；　something　of　the　history　and　doctrines　of　Buddhism。　I　have　thought　that　they　might　be　learned　better　in　connexion　with　a　lively　narrative　like　that　of　Fa…hien　than　by　reading　didactic　descriptions　and　argumentative　books。　Such　has　been　my　own　experience。　The　books　which　I　have　consulted　for　these　notes　have　been　many；　besides　Chinese　works。　My　principal　help　has　been　the　full　and　masterly　handbook　of　Eitel；　mentioned　already；　and　often　referred　to　as　E。H。　Spence　Hardy's　〃Eastern　Monachism〃　（E。M。）　and　〃Manual　of　Buddhism〃　（M。B。）　have　been　constantly　in　hand；　as　well　as　Rhys　Davids'　Buddhism；　published　by　the　Society　for　Promoting　Christian　Knowledge；　his　Hibbert　Lectures；　and　his　Buddhist　Suttas　in　the　Sacred　Books　of　the　East；　and　other　writings。　I　need　not　mention　other　authorities；　having　endeavoured　always　to　specify　them　where　I　make　use　of　them。　My　proximity　and　access　to　the　Bodleian　Library　and　the　Indian　Institute　have　been　of　great　advantage。

I　may　be　allowed　to　say　that；　so　far　as　my　own　study　of　it　has　gone；　I　think　there　are　many　things　in　the　vast　field　of　Buddhist　literature　which　still　require　to　be　carefully　handled。　How　far；　for　instance；　are　we　entitled　to　regard　the　present　Sutras　as　genuine　and　sufficiently　accurate　copies　of　those　which　were　accepted　by　the　Councils　before　our　Christian　era？　Can　anything　be　done　to　trace　the　rise　of　the　legends　and　marvels　of　Sakyamuni's　history；　which　were　current　so　early　（as　it　seems　to　us）　as　the　time　of　Fa…hien；　and　which　startle　us　so　frequently　by　similarities　between　them　and　narratives　in　our　Gospels？　Dr。　Hermann　Oldenberg；　certainly　a　great　authority　on　Buddhistic　subjects；　says　that　〃a　biography　of　Buddha　has　not　come　down　to　us　from　ancient　times；　from　the　age　of　the　Pali　texts；　and；　we　can　safely　say；　no　such　biography　existed　then〃　（〃BuddhaHis　Life；　His　Doctrine；　His　Order；〃　as　translated　by　Hoey；　p。　78）。　He　has　also　（in　the　same　work；　pp。　99；　416；　417）　come　to　the　conclusion　that　the　hitherto　unchallenged　tradition　that　the　Buddha　was　〃a　king's　son〃　must　be　given　up。　The　name　〃king's　son〃　（in　Chinese　｛。。。｝）；　always　used　of　the　Buddha；　certainly　requires　to　be　understood　in　the　highest　sense。　I　am　content　myself　to　wait　for　further　information　on　these　and　other　points；　as　the　result　of　prolonged　and　careful　research。

Dr。　Rhys　Davids　has　kindly　read　the　proofs　of　the　Translation　and　Notes；　and　I　most　certainly　thank　him　for　doing　so；　for　his　many　valuable　corrections　in　the　Notes；　and　for　other　suggestions　which　I　have　received　from　him。　I　may　not　always　think　on　various　points　exactly　as　he　does；　but　I　am　not　more　forward　than　he　is　to　say　with　Horace；

　　〃Nullius　addictus　jurare　in　verba　magistri。〃

I　have　referred　above；　and　also　in　the　Introduction；　to　the　Corean　text　of　Fa…hien's　narrative；　which　I　received　from　Mr。　Nanjio。　It　is　on　the　whole　so　much　superior　to　the　better…known　texts；　that　I　determined　to　attempt　to　reproduce　it　at　the　end　of　the　little　volume；　so　far　as　our　resources　here　in　Oxford　would　permit。　To　do　so　has　not　been　an　easy　task。　The　two　fonts　of　Chinese　types　in　the　Clarendon　Press　were　prepared　primarily　for　printing　the　translation　of　our　Sacred　Scriptures；　and　then　extended　so　as　to　be　available　for　printing　also　the　Confucian　Classics；　but　the　Buddhist　work　necessarily　requires　many　types　not　found　in　them；　while　many　other　characters　in　the　Corean　recension　are　peculiar　in　their　forms；　and　some　are　what　Chinese　dictionaries　denominate　〃vulgar。〃　That　we　have　succeeded　so　well　as　we　have　done　is　owing　chiefly　to　the　intelligence；　ingenuity；　and　untiring　attention　of　Mr。　J。　C。　Pembrey；　the　Oriental　Reader。

The　pictures　that　have　been　introduced　were　taken　from　a　superb　edition　of　a　History　of　Buddha；　republished　recently　at　Hang…chau　in　Cheh…kiang；　and　profusely　illustrated　in　the　best　style　of　Chinese　art。　I　am　indebted　for　the　use　of　it　to　the　Rev。