Kumarajiva, a fourth-century monk and scholar responsible for translating Buddhist texts into Chinese, is venerated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for developing Mahayana Buddhism in China. He is held up as a historical figure to in pursuit of several key objectives; highlighting the supremacy of Chinese Buddhism as part of the CCP’s strategy to Sinicize the faith; emphasizing the importance of the Silk Road as a predecessor to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); cementing China’s status as a civilization with far-reaching roots; and justifying contested territorial claims using historical revisionism and what is known as frontier archaeology. All of these aims have gained newfound centrality under President Xi Jinping.

Kumarajiva hailed from the Kucha kingdom, an ancient Buddhism kingdom that was located along the northern part of the Silk Road, in what is now modern-day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang. This kingdom had submitted to the Han Dynasty in the second century CE, but regained some degree of independence again during the period in which Kumarajiva was born, around the year 344 CE. 

Kumarajiva’s father was from Kashmir, and his mother was Kuchean. He spent time traveling through India and Central Asia, where he learned about Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Traveling to Gansu province and finally to Chang’an (today’s Xi’an), at one point along the way he was imprisoned for several years, as the emperor who had called him to court was overthrown. The new emperor eventually released Kumarajiva, allowing him to finally reach the imperial capital of Chang’an, where he received the royal title of “Teacher of the Nation.”

There, Kumarajiva set up a translation bureau, where he presided over a team of reportedly around 8,000 disciples that translated numerous sutras into scrolls of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese, including the famous Lotus Sutra. It is said that Kumarajiva’s time in captivity helped him better understand the Chinese language, which allowed him to become such a skilled translator of the holy texts. In fact, his system of translation was also the basis for the later development of pinyin romanization of the Chinese language. 

Kumarajiva is credited with being able to convey the essence of Buddhism to Chinese society in ways that had never been done before, thus contributing in a profound way to the spread and understanding of the religion and its philosophy in China. His translations are considered so well-done and respected that they are still in use today.........

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