Buddhist Translation Practices in Medieval China: The Case of the Buddhacarita

This work stems from the intention to analyze the phenomenon of translation from a historical-religious perspective by examining the Sanskrit poem Buddhacarita (1st-2nd centuries CE), the best-known hagiography of the historical Buddha today, and its unique Chinese translation, completed in the early 5th century CE. The study presents the various stages that led the Buddhacarita to become a classic of Buddhist literature in an academic context; it then proposes its historical contextualization and a restatement of the value of the Chinese translation: often criticized as not sufficiently adhering to the original, the Chinese translation is widely cited in academic studies as a "surrogate" for the lost parts of the Sanskrit poem. This study aims to place the Chinese translation at the center of philological and historical analysis for the first time, highlighting how it spread a model of historical Buddha biography throughout East Asia.