晚清以降的中国佛典英译高潮

On the boom of English translation of Chinese Buddhist scriptures originated in late Qing Dynasty

晚清来华传教士毕尔、哈克曼、艾约瑟、欧德理、李提摩太、艾香德、苏慧廉等均在同中国宗教及文化的碰撞中有所体悟,开始认真研究佛教。致力于佛典英译的译者之中,毕尔用力最勤、译著最丰,也较为忠实,而李提摩太则援耶入佛、参以己见,是同化他者的典型。此期还有净土经典等英译流传。此次佛典英译高潮为后续的大规模有组织佛典英译做了铺垫,也为以梵、汉、藏、英对比的比较语言学佛典研究进路提供了范本,给佛典翻译史编纂提出了新的任务。

In late Qing Dynasty,Protestant missionaries like Samuel Beal,Heinrich Friedrich Hackmann,Joseph Edkins,Ernst Johann Eitel,Timothy Richard,Karl Ludwig Reichelt and William Edward Soothill had all been keen on the studies of Chinese Buddhism.During this special period of cultural and religious exchange,certain missionaries focused their attention on the English translation of these classical Buddhist sutras already translated into Chinese.Among them,productive Samuel Beal is more faithful than Richard Timothy whose translation works are always tinted with a color of Christianity.Works of pure land sects and others were also translated into English.The Sanskrit,Tibetan,Chinese and English versions throw light on the comparison of these canonical Buddhist sutras.This boom of Buddhist scripture translation promotes the dialogue between religions and enhances the cultivation of Buddhist scholars.It also poses a challenge to our compilation of translation history.More importantly,it has paved the way for the later broader and more organized English translation of Chinese Buddhist classics.