WRITER

Kumārajīva

343 - 413

Photo of Kumārajīva

Icon of person Kumārajīva

Kumārajīva (Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; traditional Chinese: 鳩摩羅什; simplified Chinese: 鸠摩罗什; pinyin: Jiūmóluóshí; Wade–Giles: Chiu1 mo2 lo2 shih2, 344–413 CE) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from Kucha (present-day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the greatest translators of Chinese Buddhism. According to Lu Cheng, Kumarajiva's translations are "unparalleled either in terms of translation technique or degree of fidelity". Kumārajīva first studied teachings of the Sarvastivadin schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became an adherent of Mahayana Buddhism, studying the Mādhyamaka doctrine of Nāgārjuna. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Kumārajīva is the 630th most popular writer (down from 528th in 2019), the 141st most popular biography from China (down from 128th in 2019) and the 11th most popular Chinese Writer.

Kumārajīva is most famous for translating the Lotus Sutra into Chinese.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Kumārajīva by language

Loading...

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Kumārajīva ranks 630 out of 7,302. Before him are Edgar Rice Burroughs, Francisco de Quevedo, Poliziano, Patricia Highsmith, Franz Werfel, and André Chénier. After him are Gabriele Amorth, Kōbō Abe, Meera, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Aratus.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 343, Kumārajīva ranks 1. After him is Emperor Mu of Jin. Among people deceased in 413, Kumārajīva ranks 2. Before him is Gwanggaeto the Great. After him are Synesius, Prudentius, Jovinus, Sebastianus, and Heraclianus.

Others Born in 343

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 413

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In China

Among people born in China, Kumārajīva ranks 141 out of 1,610. Before him are Dorgon (1612), Hong Xiuquan (1814), Bolo Yeung (1946), Sun Jian (155), 1st Dalai Lama (1391), and Ziying (-300). After him are Ei-ichi Negishi (1935), Emperor Guangwu of Han (-5), Wu Sangui (1612), Emperor Ruizong of Tang (662), Edmond H. Fischer (1920), and Bai Qi (-250).

Others born in China

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In China

Among writers born in China, Kumārajīva ranks 11. Before him are Wu Cheng'en (1500), Qu Yuan (-343), Mo Yan (1955), Luo Guanzhong (1330), Bai Juyi (772), and Su Shi (1037). After him are Faxian (340), Cao Xueqin (1724), Ban Gu (32), Tao Yuanming (365), Wang Wei (699), and Jin Yong (1924).

Chinese born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous