According to the biography of Zhu Fahu in the Chu san zang ji ji 出三藏記集, it is well known that Zhu Fahu, who was a famous translator in the early Chinese Buddhist period, lived during the Western Jin dynasty 西晋 (265–314). He translated a great number of sutras including the Zheng fa hua jing 正法華経. It is commonly stated that Zhu Fahu’s translations are difficult to understand compared to the translations of Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 or Xuanzang 玄奘. According to Kawano 2006: 75 and Bai 2017: 127, Zhu Fahu’s translations that are found in the Zheng fa hua jing contain a symbolic characteristic called “the usage of synonymic compounds.” Bai 2019: 126–127 provides a lot of examples, such as “yang xin 殃釁 (disasters and faults)” and “jiao man zi 憍慢恣 (arrogant, willful and haughty),” corresponding to “pāpa (sin)” and “adhimānika (self-conceited)” in Sanskrit respectively, which were total neologisms that were created and used only by Zhu Fahu, with parts derived from the doctrines of the three teachings 三教. Setting aside the question of these synonymic compounds created by Zhu Fahu, this paper presents the synonymic compounds quoted from the preceding Chinese Buddhist sutras, such as the translations of Zhi Qian 支謙 or An Shigao 安世高 and Chinese classics, to clarify Zhu Fahu’s translation style. We will focus on the following features of his translation:
1. The synonymic compounds quoted from the preceding Chinese Buddhis sutras, such as “jingfa 經法 (doctrine)” were quoted in the translations of Zhi Qian as “sūtra (doctrine),” “fugai 覆蓋 (covering)” and quoted in the translations of An Shigao as “vastra (clothes).”
2. The synonymic compounds quoted from the works of Chinese classics, such as “zhubo 竹帛 (bamboo writing strip)” quoted in the Jia yi xin shu 賈誼新書 correspond to “pustaka (manuscripts),” “faxun 法訓 (teachings)” and were quoted in the San guo zhi 三國志 as “sūtra (doctrine).”
It may be said that Zhu Fahu paid respect to Chinese Buddhist translations and Chinese classics by selecting the synonymic compounds very carefully to spread the Zheng fa hua jing, the doctrine of One Vehicle 一乘 to Chinese intellectuals.