After Xuanzang returned to China, with the support of the Tang government, he devoted himself to the translation of Buddhist scriptures. He merged the positions of the two schools twice, which is reflected in his attitude towards the classics of various schools when translating them.
In May of the 20th year of Zhenguan (645), Xuanzang began to translate the famous work The Land of the yogi. The Brahma edition of this book is 40,000 ode (ode is a poem in Buddhist scriptures, each sentence is three to seven words, and every four sentences are called a ode for convenience of memory). Translate after two years. He translated several classics, including Ode to the Holy Religion, Theory of Mahayana's Five Meanings, Theory of Taking Mahayana, Ode to Twenty Intellectuals, Ode to Thirty Intellectuals, Interpretation of Taking Mahayana, Theory of the Middle Way and so on.
Xuanzang's translation work is not limited to the religious system, and he also attaches great importance to the important books of space education. The fundamental classic of Kongzong is the Mahayana Sutra mentioned earlier. The full name of the Great Prajna Prajna Paramita Sutra is also called the Empty Sutra in later generations. It is compiled from important classics of Confucius, and it is voluminous, with 200,000 praises in Brahma edition. Xuanzang originally lived in Ximing Temple in Chang 'an. In order to translate the Great Prajna, he thought that "many people in Beijing came to pay homage", which affected his work. With the consent of Tang Gaozong, he moved to Yuhua Temple in Zhoufang in 659. The assistants proposed to translate it into an abridged version, and he advocated not deleting a word. He wrote with great care, "If there are any questions or mistakes in the text, you should correct three books, and you can write the text only after diligent reply." Four years later, I finally finished the translation of this masterpiece. * * * The translation volume of 600 volumes is the largest among Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures. Xuanzang felt that his death was near because of overwork, and reminded his disciples; "I came to Yuhua because of Prajna, and now my career is over. If it is impermanent, you can send me to scrimp and save, wrap me in Shaanxi, or choose a secluded place with mountains and streams. " Three months later, in March of the first year of Linde (664), Xuanzang passed away. It can be seen that he bought the Chinese translation of the Great Prajna Sutra with his own life. Previously, he also translated such empty classics as White Light Theory.
Kumarajiva was a great translator before Xuanzang. He translated many classics of Kongzong and was recognized as a monk of Kongzong. Liang Qichao pointed out: "It is a teacher's lifelong wish to know Prajnaparamita yoga. Looking at his translation of classics after his return, I know that he tried his best to be as good as Roche. " Therefore, the study of Xuanzang is by no means limited to religious factions.
Xuanzang also translated almost all the important books of Hinayana Buddhism into Chinese. So his knowledge is not limited to Mahayana.
Kumarajiva, Zhen Zhen and Bukong are all famous translators. Together with Xuanzang, they are listed as the "Four Masters" in China's translation history. But their achievements are far from Xuanzang's. Together with Zhu Fahu and Yijing, the three of them translated 1200 volumes. Xuanzang has 75 books, 1335 volumes and130,000 words. As far as quality is concerned, Xuanzang's is also an unprecedented masterpiece. Ouyang, a close friend, did not comment: "A word is as firm as a rock; When a stream of righteousness comes out, it can be like a star. " (o Indian scholar Bo Letian said: "Anyway, Xuanzang was the first translator in history. His achievements will always be remembered by people all over the world. I feel honored that this great translator has practiced his native land. This great China man deserves our praise and praise. His translation is one of the greatest cultural heritages of the Chinese nation. China and India are brothers. If I don't think this is presumptuous, I want to say that this is the common heritage of China and India. "
Xuanzang won the reverence of monks and nuns because he was proficient in two cases. He pushed Buddhism to the peak in China and became the greatest Buddhist scholar in the history of China. After Xuanzang, Buddhism was very popular in China, but it lost its strong momentum.