Collaborative Translation and the Transmission of Buddhism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

This chapter presents collaborative translation as essential to the transmission of Buddhism. It argues that the study of collaborative translation in religious contexts is of benefit both to scholars of translation and of religion: the religious sphere has hitherto been overlooked in translation studies accounts of collaborative translation, while placing the focus on translation and the mechanisms of collaborative production can provide an important perspective for considering issues in the production and legitimation of the sacred. After outlining these issues, the chapter first examines the historical context, focusing in particular on the case of classical China, while also taking in other Buddhist cultural traditions. It then moves on to consider contemporary collaborative translation contexts, an area which has been little researched. The chapter incorporates a discussion of methodologies for conducting such research, principally in the contemporary translation context, and concludes with observations as to future research.