The traditional culture of Ji Xianlin.

How did I learn Sanskrit? This is really an interesting question. I haven't thought about this question before. On the contrary, what I consider most is another question: If I can go back to 50 years ago now, would I still be on this road today? However, my answer to this question has been wavering and unclear. I won't talk about it here.

I'll just talk about how I learned Sanskrit. I studied western literature in college, mainly in English, supplemented by German and French. At that time, although Tsinghua University stipulated some compulsory courses, students were free to choose several courses from other departments. I was probably a sage from the beginning, with a wide range of hobbies. I have taken many courses in the Foreign Languages Department. One of them is Mr. Zhu Guangqian's Psychology of Literature. The other is Mr. Chen Yinque's Translation Literature of Buddhist Scriptures. The latter takes the Six Ancestors Tanjing as the teaching material. I have never believed in any religion. But I have a strong interest in Buddhism. Because I know that China and Indian culture are inextricably linked, I also want to know about it, but I have never had a chance. Teacher Chen's class broadened my horizons and improved my interest. Once, several classmates and I visited Mr. Chen and asked him to give a Sanskrit class. He made it clear that he couldn't drive. At that time, it seemed hopeless for me to learn Sanskrit.

However, the contingency of things under the sun sometimes works. After graduating from college, I taught Chinese in my hometown high school for one year. On the one hand, because it does not combine business; On the other hand, when I first entered the society, I didn't like some phenomena, and my rice bowl in my hand was very unstable, so I felt very heavy. There is no way out at this critical moment. Suddenly, an accidental opportunity came and I had the possibility to study in Germany. Germany's research on Sanskrit is quite famous, with a long history, many celebrities and rich works, so it has great attraction. Many Sanskrit scholars from all over the world were trained in Germany, even India is no exception. With such an opportunity, once my long-cherished wish hidden in my heart for many years is met, my joy is beyond words.

In Germany, enter G? ttingen (G? Tingen) University from Waldschmitt (E? Waldschmidt) teaches Sanskrit and Pali. The topic of the paper he gave me was about the grammatical changes of ancient Indian proverbs. From then on, it laid the foundation for learning Buddhist mixed Sanskrit. After five years of hard work, I passed my thesis and oral exam. Because of the war, it was difficult to return to China, so I was forced to stay in that small town. Professor Waldschmidt was drafted into the army. His predecessor, the Turk (e? Professor Siegel River is 80 years old and has retired. At this time, I came out as a teacher. Actually, I am the only student. Professor Sikh is a world-famous authority on the study of Tusi Tam. It was he who spent decades reading this language. Although the old man is very old, he is kind to others and has high hopes for me, a young man from other places. He repeatedly urged me to learn from him about spitting fire, Tam and Vedas. I didn't appreciate his kindness, so I began to learn. At this time, a young scholar came from Belgium. He studied Tam on toast with Professor Sikh. In winter, heavy snow covers the sky, and it is often dusk after class. I'm worried that the road will be slippery when it's cold, and the old man will be in danger on the road. I often accompany Mr. Sack home in person. I helped him through the snowy long street, walked to his door, and watched his back disappear into the darkness before going home. It has been 40 years since this scene, and every time I recall it, I can't help but feel warm.

My situation was not wonderful at that time. In my own country, the war is raging, and I haven't heard from home for several years. "After three months of war, a message from home is worth a ton of gold." I have nothing to eat, and I feel dizzy with hunger every day. Bombers flew overhead from time to time, and the sound of the plane shook the whole city as if spreading death. I don't think Mr. Sikh cares. He still sits at the window and studies hard every day, and he has to go to the graduate school to give us lessons. I'm worried about him. But he himself took it in stride. Of course it will affect me. I also sit at my desk all day, risking my life and death in the buzz and hunger of the machine, burning ointment and oil, and struggling with extinct language, who others think is extremely boring. A few years passed in a blink of an eye.

If anyone wants to ask, where does my motivation come from? This is really a complicated problem, and I can't explain it clearly in a few words. Simply listing a few articles will inevitably lead to stereotyped writing. I think the foundation is the understanding of the importance of this subject. However, personal hobbies are also indispensable. When I was in college, I gradually realized that it is difficult to make achievements in the study of China's history of thought, Buddhism, art and literature without understanding these aspects of Indian history. The people of China and India have a long historical tradition of cultural exchanges and friendly exchanges. This tradition needs us to inherit and carry forward. As for personal hobbies, it is related to this understanding, but it is not entirely determined by it. If a person really falls in love with a subject, then day and night efforts, even some physical torture, will be readily tolerated and indifferent.

In addition, I also want to carry forward the glorious tradition of ancient China in this respect through this study. Most people think that Sanskrit study is a new knowledge in China. Judging from the modern situation, this view is indeed correct. After the Song Dynasty, our contacts with India gradually decreased. Buddhism, once a center of cultural exchange, began to decline or even die out in India from 1 1 and 12 centuries. After western colonialism came to the East, the future of the two countries was even more hindered. The cultural exchanges that were in full swing in those days have long since vanished. Both peoples are in dire straits. Of course, it is impossible to study Sanskrit.

However, before the Song Dynasty, especially in the Tang Dynasty, the situation was completely different. At that time, there were more people learning Sanskrit and their level was relatively high. Not many countries can keep pace with us except India. Unfortunately, times have changed and things have changed. Not only Indian friends don't know this, but even we don't.

After liberation, I visited India many times. The Indian people's enthusiasm for the people of China deeply touched my heart. Many Indian scholars have also actively explored the history of cultural exchanges between China and India, thus historically demonstrating the necessity and inevitability of friendship between the two peoples. However, even these scholars don't understand that China used to have a glorious tradition of studying Sanskrit. Therefore, it is necessary for us to explain. Last spring, I visited India again, and Delhi University welcomed me at a meeting. I mentioned in my speech that the history of cultural exchange between China and India is much earlier than we usually think. In Hyderabad, Osman University held another meeting to welcome me. It seems that this is a general meeting of the whole school, and the vice principal (actually the principal) presides over and gives a welcome speech. In his speech, he asked me to talk about the combination of education and productive labor in China. I was shocked at first sight: how dare I talk about such a big topic without preparation? I had a brainwave and changed the topic, that is, China studied the history of Sanskrit. I mentioned that in ancient times, apart from Indian, China had the longest history and the greatest achievement in studying Sanskrit. Chinese and foreign people have not paid much attention to this. I gave many examples. The biography of Master Sanzang has a saying about Sanskrit grammar. Tang's Siddhartha Talk is about Sanskrit letters. The thousand-character Sanskrit script of the Tang Yijing is a very interesting book. It speaks Sanskrit in the old way of China. It only lists about 1000 words: heaven, earth, sun, moon, yin, yang, circle, far, sun, night, light, darkness, thunder, electricity, wind, rain, etc., for Sanskrit students to recite. The Book of Changes said in the preface: "It is different from the old thousand-character script. If you read Brahma at the same time, you can translate it in a year or two. " As we know, Sanskrit is a completely different language from Chinese, and its grammatical changes are extremely complicated. Can you be competent in translation just by learning a few words? But I appreciate the optimism of the Book of Changes. There are also Tang Quanzhen's Sanskrit Characters and Tang Liyan's Sanskrit Miscellaneous Names, which are two books similar to dictionaries. The Sanskrit script in the Tang Dynasty is similar to the Sanskrit script. Sanskrit miscellaneous names are first classified into Chinese and then into Sanskrit, which is not as convenient as the current dictionary in alphabetical order. However, Sanskrit dictionaries written in foreign languages will probably be the earliest.

As for the study of Sanskrit in the Tang Dynasty, we don't know much. The fourth volume of Xuanzang's Biography says: "(Xuanzang) traveled around Beijing, learned books and languages, sat down and asked for advice, and got through in a few days." It can be seen that Xuanzang learned the Indian language from foreigners. Probably in the Yijing era decades after Xuanzang's death, the learning conditions improved. As mentioned above, I ching and others have compiled some books on studying Sanskrit, which will be of great help to monks studying Sanskrit. For these situations, the Book of Changes is described in the Biography of Eminent Monks in the Western Regions of Datang. Xuanzang Biography said: "In the middle of Zhenguan, I studied Sanskrit in Zheng Xuan Branch of Daxing Shansi Temple." "Biography of Teacher's Whip" said: "Be good at forbidding spells and be idle in Sanskrit." "The Legend of Mahayana Lantern" said: "Sanskrit is quite idle." Daolian Biography said: "I went to Dharma in East India, lived there for three years and learned Sanskrit." Legend of Cleverness says: "Sanskrit is extremely idle." "Otsu Biography" said: "It took more than a month to reach the corpse, and the Buddha died in Zhou. I stopped for many years and learned Kunlun language, and Brahma learned it well. " Gu Zhen and four others "have been attached to the ship, and they are all dead. After studying for three years, Brahma and Han gradually became familiar. " Some of the monks mentioned in the Book of Changes studied Sanskrit in China, while others studied in Indonesia. In short, they knew Sanskrit before they came to India.

China's research on Sanskrit in Tang Dynasty is briefly introduced above, which shows that Sanskrit research has a long history in China, and it is not new knowledge. Our task today is to inherit and carry forward it. Of course, it also includes innovation, which is self-evident.

What we want to inherit and carry forward today is not only in language research. In other fields, there is much work to be done. As we all know, Indian works, mainly Buddhist classics, which have been translated into the languages of various ethnic groups in China, are loaded with cars and tons of sweat. This includes Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian and Manchu, as well as ancient Uyghur, Hotan, Yanqi, Qiuci and so on. Even Buddhist scriptures are not limited to Buddhist teachings. Many books are natural sciences in the name of Buddhist scriptures, such as astronomy and medicine. Indian people attach great importance to these Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures and regard them as their extremely valuable cultural heritage. Unfortunately, it has long been extinct in our own country and only exists in China's translation. They planned to translate it from Chinese to Sanskrit decades ago. When I visited India in the early days of liberation, I saw the fruits of their efforts. When I arrived in India the year before last, I knew the work was still going on. It can be seen that the Indian people's attitude towards this work is serious and their spirit is admirable. We sincerely hope that they will make greater achievements. We in China should also make corresponding efforts to explore and study this cultural treasure house. Today, many countries in the world, such as academically developed European and American countries and Japan in the East, have made great achievements in this field. In contrast, for various reasons, we are obviously a little behind. If you don't catch up quickly, the gap will get bigger and bigger. When it comes to "seeking the wild for the sake of ceremony", you will regret it.

In addition, there is a great deal of information about the trade and cultural exchanges between China and South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa in the vast historical records of China. This is unmatched by any country in the world and is a treasure of mankind. Among them, information about India is particularly rich and precious. These materials also need us to collect, sort out, analyze and study. A very gratifying phenomenon is that in recent years, Indian scholars have paid more and more attention to this research, written some high-level papers and translated a lot of information about China. It is suggested that a complete history of Sino-Indian cultural relations should be written. They are willing to cooperate with Indian scholars and make joint efforts to promote the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Indian peoples and strengthen mutual understanding between the two peoples. I think we should also do our best to do research in this field.

As for how to learn Sanskrit and Sanskrit-related issues, my experience and understanding are commonplace, not humble. I think we should first understand the significance of this research work. Under this premise, perseverance, not afraid of any difficulties, will eventually achieve something. Part of the history of scientific development has fully proved the fact that only those who work hard, race against time and are not afraid of difficult climbing can reach the peak of science. Diligence is better than genius, and effort is better than inspiration. This is an irrefutable truth. If you can't forget the eight-hour working day in your mind, you will accomplish nothing. We ancients said, "An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but an inch of gold can't buy an inch of time." Anyone who doesn't know how to cherish time is equal to chronic suicide. Of course, we can't forget: "A relaxation, the way of civil and military." Work and rest, handle the dialectical relationship between work and rest, and live and work nervously and rhythmically.

Here, I also want to talk about my personal experience. I studied mainly Sanskrit mixed with ancient Indian proverbs and Buddhism abroad. In the last few years, I also made a toast. It should be said that I have a strong interest in these subjects. However, after returning to China, even the most basic books and periodicals were gone. The ancients said, "A clever woman can't cook without rice." Besides, I am not even a "smart woman"! As the saying goes, "You can eat as much rice as you have a big bowl of rice." I have to eat according to the size of the bowl. In other words, I have to change careers, at least partially. So I looked around to see what materials I had and did some research. For decades, he has become a veritable saint. Sometimes, I feel nostalgic and can't bear to itch and do something I have done before. However, once you encounter information problems and know that some new books have been published abroad, you will be overwhelmed. I had to sigh and put down my work. Among them, the ups and downs are not enough for outsiders.

So we can go back to the question I mentioned at the beginning of this article: If I could go back fifty years now, would I still be on this road today? Why do I ask such a strange-looking question? Now everyone probably understands. The question itself contains a little regret, a little regret, a little hesitation, a little vacillation and a little complaint. I have always had such a question, and I have never been able to give a clear answer, just because I am obsessed with my old job and can't satisfy my wishes. Knowing that it is difficult to quench your thirst by watching plums, isn't it better to have plums than nothing? Now the situation has changed: the dust of Wan Li in the sky of the motherland has been cleared, and the four modernizations of the golden belt have been placed in front of us brilliantly. We heard the good news that China ancient scrolls were unearthed in the northwest-Xinjiang and Gansu. The situation is really a bit threatening! These ancient languages are more or less related to Sanskrit. If we don't strengthen the study of Sanskrit, we will see a table full of delicious food like people with stomach problems, but we can't eat it. It is urgent to strengthen the study of Sanskrit and northwest ancient Chinese. This is a good opportunity for us to work hard. Of course, there will be difficulties, and it may be great. But the possibility of overcoming difficulties already exists. If I ask myself the above question now, then my answer is very clear and unambiguous: if I can go back to 50 years ago now, I will still go this way.

Written on February 26th 1980.