《滿文大藏經．維摩經》之繙譯考察及繙譯特色──以〈文殊師利問疾品〉、〈不思議品〉為中心

A Study of the Translation of the Manchu Version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Centered on Chapters 5 and 6, “Mañjuśrī's Condolence Visit” and “The Inconceivable Liberation”

The Manchu version of Vimalakīrtinirdeśa is the last translation of the text in traditional China, a work conducted by the Manchu translation bureau of the Qing court (Qingzi jing guan). So far as we know, the Manchu version of the text exists only in the Manchu Buddhist Canon (Manwen Dazang Jing), a translation project ordered by the Qianlong Emperor and printed in the eighteenth century. It was called the Qingwen Fanyi Quanzang Jing (Manju i Ubaliyambuha Amba Kanjur Nomun), commonly known today as Manchu Buddhist Canon (Manwen Dazang Jing). Both the Manchu Canon and the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries (Qingding Siku Quanshu) are the most important pieces of cultural undertakings by the Qianlong emperor in his long reign; and they should be regarded as representative of the scholarly achievement of the time. This paper first introduces the main features and components of the Manchu version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa cataloged in the Manchu Buddhist Canon; it then discusses the records and principles of the translation as well as its Chinese language sources text. The result of this study reveals that the Chinese source text is not the authoritative translation by Kumārajīva as is commonly believed, but a new Chinese translation by the Qing court that was collected in the so-called Qianlong Tripitaka, or Longzang. The paper proceeds to compare Chapters 5 and 6 of the text in order to analyze the main characteristics of the translation. The language is fluent, easy to understand, and follows a native expression of the Manchu language. Finally, in view of the Qing Dynasty translation and publication of multilingual sūtras, this paper discusses the meaning behind the translation of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa from the Chinese version in the Longzang to the Manchu version for Qing political culture.