Fanyi mingyi ji 翻譯名義集

Fanyi mingyi ji 翻譯名義集 "Collection of translated terms and meanings" is a Buddhist lexicon. It was compiled by the monk Fayun 法雲 of Jingde Temple 景德寺 in Pingjiang 平江 (modern-day Suzhou 蘇州, Jiangsu) during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279). The work consists of 7 juan and 64 sections.

It systematically collects Sanskrit terms scattered throughout various sutras and treatises, categorizes them, and provides explanations. Another circulating edition, as recorded in Ouyi Zhixu's 藕益智旭 (1599-1655) book catalogue Yuezang zhijin 閱藏知津 (JB271), notes 14 juan, while the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) canon version contains 20 juan.

The book includes over 2,040 transliterated entries. Each section begins with a general introduction outlining its main idea. For each transliterated Sanskrit term, it lists variant translations, sources, and provides explanations. In addition to sutras and treatises, the sources used include phonetic glossaries, commentaries, sub-commentaries, and other Buddhist writings. It also cites secular works such as Classical texts and historical writings. In total, more than 400 works by over 100 authors are referenced.

Unlike ordinary phonetic glossaries, which limit themselves to explaining meanings, this book provides fuller interpretations of Sanskrit terms. For particularly important doctrinal concepts, it offers detailed discussions, mainly based on the interpretations of the Tiantai school (Tiantai Zong 天台宗). The work also contains dedicated sections on important translators throughout history.

The compiler also notes that differences in time and place led to variations in language, resulting in differences between newer translations of the Liang 梁 (502-557) and Tang 唐 (618-907) periods and older translations from the Later Qin 後秦 (384-417) and Jin 晉 (265-420) periods.

In a preface written by the lay scholar Zhou Dunyi 周敦義 (1017-1073) of the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126), the translation theory of the eminent translator Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664) from the Tang period is preserved, known as the "five cases where terms should not be translated into Chinese" (wu zhong bu fan 五種不翻). These include cases of secrecy (mimi 秘密), e.g., dhāraṇī or mantras (Ch. tuoluoni 陀羅尼); multiple meanings (han duo yi 含多義), e.g., Bhagavān (Ch. Bojiafan 薄伽梵), which has six meanings; if an object does not exist in China (wu ci 此無), e.g., the Jambū tree (yanjing shu 閻淨樹); because of established convention (shun gu 順古), e.g., Anuttara Bodhi (Ch. Anou Puti 阿耨菩提); or because a Sanskrit term inspires reverence (sheng shan 生善), e.g., prajñā (Chinese transcription bore 般若), whose translation as "wisdom" (zhihui 智慧) would seem too shallow.

In the newer translations of sutras and treatises by Xuanzang, Yijing 義淨 (635-713), etc., transliterations of technical terms often differ from earlier translations, and the older versions are frequently considered erroneous or abbreviated. However, the author of this work holds that neither the old nor the new translations are fully standardized.

A biography of Fayun is found in the book's appendix.