Longxiang: An Early Case of Sinisization of Buddhism

Abstract

「龍象」是漢傳佛教界日常生活中經常用到的一個詞，但其含義的源流與發展尚無專門研究。本文利用它的梵語和巴利語同形原詞，分析其出現在漢譯佛典中幾類語境及其對應的巴利語佛典中的原意，結合「龍」崇拜和「象」文化在中印文明中的基本特點，推論這個漢譯術語形成的大致過程，考察其現代喻意（即其引申義）的根源。論證表明，這個詞是印度佛典在漢譯過程中譯者（或翻譯團隊）受中國本土文化觀念影響的創造性產物，而這個創造性的翻譯過程就是佛教中國化的最初和最重要的方式。

Longxiang is a term of daily vocabulary in Chinese Buddhism, but the origin and development of its meaning and its current structure have yet to be studied. This paper traces its original Indic form back to Sanskrit and Pāli “nāga”, analyses its renderings in various contexts of some early Chinese Buddhist translations, and argues that the forming of the term was a result of combination of Indian Buddhist culture of elephant and Chinese cult of the dragon. This study presents an early example of the process of Buddhist sinicization.