Scythian sages: An Shih Kao
An Shigao (Ch:安世高) (in the Wade-Giles transcription system, An Shih-kao) (?-~168) was a prince of Parthia, nicknamed the "Parthian Marquis", who renounced his prospect as a contender for the royal throne of Parthia in order to serve as a Buddhist missionary monk.
The prefix An in An Shigao's name is an abbreviation of Anxi (Ch:安息), meaning Parthia in ancient Chinese: Anxi is a transcription of "Arsaces", the founder of the Arsacid Dynasty of Parthia. Most Parthian visitors who took a Chinese name received the An prefix to indicate their Parthian origin.
When An Shih Kao first came to Luoyang, most Buddhist adherents regarded Buddhism as a theurgy, thus they worshiped deities for longevity. An Shih Kao thought he should tell people the truth of Buddhism so that he decided to translate Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese. He translated 35 Buddhist scriptures in 41 volumes altogether but only 22 scriptures in 26 volumes are extant, most of which are Hinayana sutras. An Shih Kao was the first to translate Buddhist documents into Chinese and founded Chinese Buddhism.
More information:
- An Shigao - wikipedia
- An Shih Kao -
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