Perhaps the most common word in modern Chinese that I believe originated in a translation of a Buddhist Sanskrit term is 方便, originally a translation of ‘upaya’ meaning ‘expedient means’. Thanks for your videos. I have only just discovered this channel and am glad I have.
Thank you professor, I loved this episode! It was great to learn more about familiar words sach as dojo, zen, 世界，苦恼 ，灾难。I hope the sequel comes out soon!
@@TheChineseAlphabet A more comprehensive list!! An interesting topic would be how Buddhism affected both Taoism and Confucianism and how it intervened or mediated the debate between Taoism and Confucianism.
That actually sounds reasonable. I bet there are loads of very common expressions that can be traced back to Buddhist precedents. Even ones like hushuo badao.
If these words were used to translate Sanskrit terms, but they did not originally exist in Chinese, I wonder then how the translators decided upon these specific terms? Where did they come from?
Excellent question! Well, as it is common with new terms, they had two options. One was to transliterate the word phonetically, as it was done with the word Chan (dhyāna - meditation). This is equivalent to us today borrowing words from other languages. The other option was to coin new words using native components. Thus in the case of shijie 世界 (world), the early translators did not have a native Chinese word to translate it directly, because the Chinese used the concept of tianxia 天下 (everything under heaven), which was actually different, as it primarily referred to the central Chinese region. So they made a new word by joining two existing Chinese words: shi 世 (generation, age, realm of humans) and 界 (boundary, region, realm), and then used this term consistently to translate the Sanskrit word meaning "world".
Wow I didn’t know basic words like 苦恼 and 灾难 are also from Buddhist scripts. How about 一期一会？I saw it used a lot in the context of Zen, but not sure if it’s directly from Buddhist literature, or it goes to Japan then translates back to China.
I don't think 一期一会 comes from Chinese Buddhist literature, at least not all 4 characters together. There is a Wikipedia page specifically on this expression, which claims that it comes from Japanese tea ceremony. Of course, tea ceremony was heavily influenced by Buddhism, so who knows... :)
Thank you for the video! I wonder when did the user of these Buddhist terms change from Buddhist to common people? Someone started the trend? Or because Buddhist scriptures and preaching activities were so popular at the time that people naturally started using them, like modern memes.
Great question! I think there are two different trends here. One is that some of the sutras are so influential that their words start to be used in ordinary language. It is a bit like idioms from various sources (Buddhist or classical) become integrated into daily use. The other is when in the late 19th century people (mostly in Japan) tried to translate western ideas (such as "world", "culture" or "literature") and they tried to use a word that had already had some history in Chinese.
They are Everyday Chinese words of Chinese origin and not Buddhist origin. Chinese words are always as versatile as ever, it depends on whereas you are humble enough to learn and know how to use it for the purpose of exchange of culture. For example the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese are readily very good on these, and I used to learn from them. The Chinese Alphabet 2.52K subscribers Subscribe
Perhaps the most common word in modern Chinese that I believe originated in a translation of a Buddhist Sanskrit term is 方便, originally a translation of ‘upaya’ meaning ‘expedient means’. Thanks for your videos. I have only just discovered this channel and am glad I have.
That is absolutely true, very good point! I should have thought about it! 😀
Thank you for teaching😊🎉
Thanks for watching!
Thank you professor, I loved this episode! It was great to learn more about familiar words sach as dojo, zen, 世界，苦恼 ，灾难。I hope the sequel comes out soon!
Glad you liked it, Gabor! What would you suggest for a sequel?
@@TheChineseAlphabet A more comprehensive list!!
An interesting topic would be how Buddhism affected both Taoism and Confucianism and how it intervened or mediated the debate between Taoism and Confucianism.
太棒了。
Recently, I learnt that the idiom 胡说八道 may be a short form of 胡僧说八正道.
That actually sounds reasonable. I bet there are loads of very common expressions that can be traced back to Buddhist precedents. Even ones like hushuo badao.
If these words were used to translate Sanskrit terms, but they did not originally exist in Chinese, I wonder then how the translators decided upon these specific terms? Where did they come from?
Excellent question! Well, as it is common with new terms, they had two options. One was to transliterate the word phonetically, as it was done with the word Chan (dhyāna - meditation). This is equivalent to us today borrowing words from other languages. The other option was to coin new words using native components. Thus in the case of shijie 世界 (world), the early translators did not have a native Chinese word to translate it directly, because the Chinese used the concept of tianxia 天下 (everything under heaven), which was actually different, as it primarily referred to the central Chinese region. So they made a new word by joining two existing Chinese words: shi 世 (generation, age, realm of humans) and 界 (boundary, region, realm), and then used this term consistently to translate the Sanskrit word meaning "world".
Wow I didn’t know basic words like 苦恼 and 灾难 are also from Buddhist scripts. How about 一期一会？I saw it used a lot in the context of Zen, but not sure if it’s directly from Buddhist literature, or it goes to Japan then translates back to China.
I don't think 一期一会 comes from Chinese Buddhist literature, at least not all 4 characters together. There is a Wikipedia page specifically on this expression, which claims that it comes from Japanese tea ceremony. Of course, tea ceremony was heavily influenced by Buddhism, so who knows... :)
Thank you for the video! I wonder when did the user of these Buddhist terms change from Buddhist to common people? Someone started the trend? Or because Buddhist scriptures and preaching activities were so popular at the time that people naturally started using them, like modern memes.
Great question! I think there are two different trends here. One is that some of the sutras are so influential that their words start to be used in ordinary language. It is a bit like idioms from various sources (Buddhist or classical) become integrated into daily use. The other is when in the late 19th century people (mostly in Japan) tried to translate western ideas (such as "world", "culture" or "literature") and they tried to use a word that had already had some history in Chinese.
@@TheChineseAlphabet Thank you for your reply, I think I can do some research from the novels of Wei, Jin and Tang dynasty!
They are Everyday Chinese words of Chinese origin and not Buddhist origin. Chinese words are always as versatile as ever, it depends on whereas you are humble enough to learn and know how to use it for the purpose of exchange of culture. For example the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese are readily very good on these, and I used to learn from them.
The Chinese Alphabet
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