A Proposal for the Compilation of a Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary
By Walter Liebenthal
Summary
The proposal advocates for compiling a comprehensive Chinese-Sanskrit dictionary to address gaps in understanding Buddhist and philosophical terminology. It highlights that many Sanskrit originals are lost, surviving only in Chinese and Tibetan translations, which are crucial for studying Indian philosophy and culture. European scholars, starting with Louis de La Vallée Doussin, recognized the need for such a dictionary, prompting preliminary efforts like indexing bilingual works and leveraging existing resources: ancient dictionaries used by translators, comparative studies of Sanskrit equivalents, and Japanese dictionaries explaining terminology from the Tripitaka. However, these efforts remain incomplete, unreliable, or limited in scope. The proposal emphasizes the necessity of a standardized dictionary covering technical terms from translated literature, requiring collaboration between European and Asian scholars. It outlines a two-phase process: completing a card register and compiling the dictionary, with technical tasks best handled in China or Japan and Sanskrit expertise provided by European or Indian scholars. The work could involve students trained in systematic methods, ensuring accuracy through checks. The proposal underscores the urgency and feasibility of the project, anticipating progress in France and Japan, and calls for international cooperation to utilize existing card registers and expand the scope of lexicographical efforts.
Conclusion
This proposal underscores the critical need for a comprehensive Chinese-Sanskrit dictionary, a foundational tool to unlock the rich interplay between Buddhist philosophical traditions and cross-cultural intellectual exchanges. By systematically organizing scattered terminological data from Chinese and Japanese translations of lost Sanskrit texts, this dictionary would bridge gaps in understanding Indian philosophy, culture, and linguistic evolution. It would consolidate fragmented efforts, enhance scholarly reliability, and empower future research across disciplines. The proposed collaboration between Eastern and Western scholars highlights the project’s global significance, ensuring technical precision and cost-efficiency while fostering international academic cooperation. Such a dictionary would not only preserve ancient knowledge but also catalyze new insights into the dynamic history of ideas, solidifying its role as an indispensable resource for linguists, historians, and philosophers alike.