鳩摩羅什，出生于古代西域的龜茲國，是東晉時后秦的一位高僧，譯經(jīng)家。

他7歲隨母出家，初學(xué)小乘經(jīng)典。9歲隨母赴罽賓（今克什米爾地區(qū)）從盤頭達(dá)多誦讀雜藏、阿含等經(jīng)。12歲與母返龜茲途中，在疏勒駐留年余，修習(xí)阿毗曇及六足論，從大乘僧人﹑莎車王子須利耶蘇摩誦讀《中論》﹑《百論》和《十二門論》，復(fù)從佛陀耶舍授讀《十誦律》等。后佛陀耶舍一直和他合作翻譯佛經(jīng)。鳩摩羅什為人開朗，秉性坦率，虛己善誘，專以大乘教人，而善于辨析義理，應(yīng)機(jī)領(lǐng)會，獨具神解。羅什回龜茲后，廣習(xí)大乘經(jīng)論，講經(jīng)說法，成為中觀大師，名聲大震西域，在漢地也有傳聞。前秦建元十八年（382），苻堅遣呂光攻伐焉耆，繼滅龜茲，劫鳩摩羅什至涼州。三年后，姚萇殺苻堅，滅前秦，呂光遂割據(jù)涼州，自立為涼主，鳩摩羅什隨呂光滯留涼州近17年。后秦弘始三年（401），姚興攻伐后涼，親迎鳩摩羅什入長安，入逍遙園西明閣，以國師禮待，并在長安組織了規(guī)模宏大的譯場，請鳩摩羅什主持譯經(jīng)事業(yè)。此后10多年間，鳩摩羅什悉心從事譯經(jīng)和說法。

鳩摩羅什及其弟子含辛茹苦歷經(jīng)12年，譯出佛經(jīng)共74部，834卷。鳩摩羅什羈留涼國17年，對于中土民情非常熟悉，在語言文字上能運(yùn)用自如，又加上他原本博學(xué)多聞，兼具文學(xué)素養(yǎng)，因此，在翻譯經(jīng)典上，自然、生動，契合妙義，在傳譯的里程上，締造了一番空前的盛況。

鳩摩羅什是中國歷史上偉大的高僧，是中國佛教史乃至思想文化史上一位非常杰出的人物。鳩摩羅什“刪去原文繁重”，“不拘原文體制”，“變易原文”，他譯出的佛經(jīng)在內(nèi)容的表達(dá)、詞語的應(yīng)用等方面都達(dá)到了前所未有的水平。印度佛教最主要、最重要的經(jīng)典，鳩摩羅什都通過翻譯把它們介紹到了中國，對中國的佛教發(fā)展起到了重大的作用。

Kumarajiva， born in Qiuci， was an eminent monk and translator of Buddhist scriptures of Later Qing Kingdom.

Kumarajiva became a monk with his mother at the age of seven and went Jibin （in Kashmir） at the age of nine. He studied Theravada Buddhist scriptures at first read Agama and other scriptures in Jibin. On his way back to Qiuci together with his mother， he stayed in Shule for more than a year， and in this period he studied Mahayana Buddhist scriptures after monks， the prince of Shache Kingdom， and Buddhayeshe. He cooperated with Buddhayeshe in his translation in later years. Kumarajiva was cheerful， frank， modest， and keen on teaching people with Mahayana Buddhism. He was good at analysis and quick to learn and often had his special understanding of the Buddhist scriptures. After he returned to Qiuci， he studied Mahayan Buddhist scripture extensively， preached Buddhism to the people， and became a famous master in west area， even known to people in Central China. In 382， Qiuci Kingdom was conquered by Fu Jian and Kumarajiva was brought to Liangzhou and there he stayed for about 17 years. In 401， he was greeted to Chang’an by the king himself of Later Qin and treated as king’s teacher. He lived in Chang’an for more than 10 years， leading the large scale translation activities preached to the people.

Kumarajiva and his disciples worked hard for twelve years and 74 Buddhist scriptures including 834 volumes were translated into Chinese. Before coming to Chang’an， he had stayed in Liangzhou for 17 years and got to be quite familiar with people’s life in Central China and had mastered Chinese language very well. Kumarajiva was an eminent monk and with his extensive knowledge and good mastery of literature， his translation of Buddhist scriptures read natural， interesting， and meaningful. He created a new milestone in the translation of Buddhist scriptures.

Kumarajiva was a great eminent monk in China’s history， and also an outstanding figure in Chinese Buddhist history and thought and culture history. Kumarajiva did not stick to the original languages when he made his translation and the Buddhist scriptures which he translated reached an unprecedented high level in the expression of the content and the usage of words. The main and most important scriptures of Indian Buddhism were translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva and these scriptures played important role in the development of Chinese Buddhism.

法顯（334～420）

法顯，俗姓龔，東晉司州平陽武陽（今山西臨汾地區(qū)）人，3歲出家，20歲受具足戒。

他是中國經(jīng)陸路到達(dá)印度并由海上回國而留下記載的第一人，他還參加翻譯從天竺取回的佛經(jīng)《摩訶僧祗律》、《大般泥洹經(jīng)》等。

東晉安帝隆安三年（399），法顯65歲高齡，從長安出發(fā)，經(jīng)河西走廊、敦煌以西的沙漠到焉夷（今新疆焉耆附近），向西南穿過今塔克拉瑪干大沙漠抵于闐（今新疆和田），南越蔥嶺，取道今印度河流域，經(jīng)今巴基斯坦入阿富汗境，再返巴基斯坦境內(nèi)，后東入恒河流域，達(dá)天竺（今印度）境，又橫穿尼泊爾南部，至東天竺，在摩揭陀國留住三年，學(xué)梵書佛律。他由東天竺著名海港多摩梨帝（今加爾各答西南之德姆盧克）乘商船到獅子國（今斯里蘭卡），留住兩年，續(xù)得經(jīng)本，再乘商船東歸，中途經(jīng)耶婆提（今蘇門答臘島或爪哇島），換船北航。在今山東半島南部的嶗山附近登陸，轉(zhuǎn)取陸路，于義熙九年（413）到達(dá)建康（今南京）。

法顯到印度是為尋求戒律。他經(jīng)過了千辛萬苦，確實尋到了，其中最重要的是《摩訶僧祗律》40卷。歸國后，他同佛陀跋陀羅共同譯出。這對于中國當(dāng)時的僧伽來說，宛如及時春雨，對佛教的發(fā)展起到了促進(jìn)作用。

法顯根據(jù)自己歷時15年遠(yuǎn)赴印度的旅行經(jīng)過所撰《法顯傳》對于世界的影響遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過了他在譯經(jīng)方面的影響。《法顯傳》在歷代著錄中有很多不同的名稱，比如《佛游天竺記》、《佛國記》、《歷游天竺記傳》、《法顯記》等。書中記述的地域甚為廣闊，對所經(jīng)中亞、印度、南洋約30國的地理、交通、宗教、文化、物產(chǎn)、風(fēng)俗乃至社會、經(jīng)濟(jì)等狀況都有所述及，是中國和印度間陸、海交通的最早記述，是中國古代關(guān)于中亞、印度、南洋的第一部完整的旅行記，在中國和南亞地理學(xué)史和航海史上占有重要地位。

法顯不僅是中國佛教史上的一位名僧，一位卓越的佛教革新人物，也是中國第一位到海外取經(jīng)求法的大師，是杰出的旅行家和翻譯家。

Fa Xian （334-420）

Fa Xian was born in a Gong family in Pingyang （Linfen， Shanxi）. He went to live in a temple at the age of three and became a full monk at the age of twenty. He was the first recorded Chinese who went to India on the land and returned to China by the sea. He participated in the translation of Maha Sangha against law and other scriptures brought back from India.

In 399， at the age of 65， Fa Xian started from Chang’an， crossed Hexi Corridor and the desert in west of Dunhuang， and reached Yanyi （near Yanqi， Xinjiang）， and then he went southwestward and reached Yutian （Hetian， Xinjiang） through Taklimakan Desert. There he crossed Congling Mountains and along Indus valley he crossed Pakistan and reached Afghanistan， and then he returned to Pakistan and went eastward to Ganges River valley and reached Tianzhu （India）. Then he crossed the south part of Nepal and reached the east Tianzhu and stayed there for three years to study Brahmana and Buddha law. He then got aboard a business ship to Sri Lanka and stayed there for two years and got more Buddhist scriptures. He then got aboard on ship again and landed near Laoshan. In 413， he returned to Nanjing.

Fa Xian went India to look for Buddhist law. After a lot of hard work， he found it at last and the most important was the 40 volumes of Maha Sangha against law. He translated the book together with Buddhatuobatuoluo after he returned to China. The law book was like timely rain to sanghas and it played an important function in the development of Buddhism in China.

Autobiography of Fa Xian， an account of his experiences in 15 years to and from India， influenced the world much more than the Buddhist scriptures he translated. Autobiography of Fa Xian was recorded with different titles in other books， such as Buddha’s Tour in Tianzhu， Record of Buddha’s Country， Record of the Tour in Tianzhu， and Record of Fa Xian. This book described the geography， transportation， religions， culture， products， customs， and the social and economic conditions of about 30 countries including the Central Asian countries， India， and South Pacific countries. It is the earliest descriptions about the transportation between China and India on the land or by the sea， and the first book in China completely recording the tour in India， South Pacific countries， and Central Asian countries， and it occupies an important position in maritime history and in the history of geography of China and the South Asia.

Fa Xian is not only a famous monk in China’s Buddhist history， an excellent religious reformer， but also an outstanding tourist， a translator， and a master to learn Buddhism overseas.

玄奘（602～664）

玄奘，俗名陳袆，洛川緱氏（今河南偃師）人，唐代高僧，又稱“三藏法師”，是中國佛教法相唯識宗創(chuàng)始人。

玄奘少時因家境困難，跟長捷法師住凈土寺，學(xué)習(xí)佛經(jīng)五年。在這期間，他學(xué)習(xí)了小乘和大乘佛教，而他本人偏好后者。613年，11歲的玄奘就已熟讀《妙法蓮華經(jīng)》、《維摩詰經(jīng)》。13歲時，洛陽度僧，玄奘被破格入選。

629年，玄奘從長安出發(fā)西行，在途中經(jīng)蘭州到?jīng)鲋荩ń窀拭C武威），繼晝伏夜行，至瓜州，再經(jīng)玉門關(guān)，越過五烽，渡流沙，備嘗艱苦，抵達(dá)伊吾（今新疆哈密），至高昌國，被高昌王阻留，卻毫不動搖，絕食三日，以死明志，堅決西行。后越過蔥嶺，南下至今阿富汗、巴基斯坦，最終抵達(dá)印度。貞觀五年（631），抵摩揭陀國的那爛陀寺受學(xué)于戒賢。在那爛陀寺歷時五年，玄奘備受優(yōu)遇，并被選為通曉三藏的十德之一。前后聽戒賢講《瑜伽師地論》、《順正理論》、《顯揚(yáng)圣教論》、《對法論》、《集量論》、《中論》、《百論》以及因明、聲明等學(xué)，同時又兼學(xué)各種婆羅門書。645年，玄奘回到長安，帶回經(jīng)書657部。

回國后，玄奘被唐太宗指定留在長安弘福寺譯經(jīng)。翌年，即貞觀二十年（646），玄奘即開始組織翻經(jīng)譯場。首先在弘福寺翻經(jīng)院進(jìn)行，其后在大慈恩寺、北闕弘法院、玉華宮等處舉行，直至麟德元年（664）圓寂前為止，共19年，先后譯出佛典75部，1335卷。所譯之經(jīng)，后人均稱為新譯。其數(shù)量之巨、譯文之精美、內(nèi)容之完備信達(dá)，實超前代譯師，后更無與倫比。他還口述由辯機(jī)執(zhí)筆完成《大唐西域記》。全書記述高昌以西玄奘所經(jīng)歷的110國和傳聞所知的28個以上的城邦、地區(qū)、國家的情況，內(nèi)容包括這些地方的幅員大小、地理形勢、農(nóng)業(yè)、商業(yè)、風(fēng)俗、文藝、語言、文字、貨幣、國王、宗教等，成為研究中亞、南亞地區(qū)古代史、宗教史、中外關(guān)系史的重要文獻(xiàn)。玄奘還把印度的天文、歷算、醫(yī)學(xué)、因明乃至制石蜜技術(shù)等引入到中國，豐富了中國傳統(tǒng)文化的寶庫。此外，玄奘又奉敕將《老子》等中國經(jīng)典譯作梵文，傳于印度，成為中外文化交流的杰出使者。

Xuan Zang（602-664）

Xuan Zang was born in Luochuan （Yanshi， Henan） with a secular name of Chen Yi known as Master San Zang . He was an eminent monk in Tang Dynasty and the founder of one of the main Buddhist Sects.

When he was a child， his family was poor and he lived in Jingtu Temple for five years to learn Buddhist scriptures after Master Chang Jie. During this time， he learned Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism， and he preferred the latter. At the age of 11， Xuan Zang had been familiar with some important Buddhist scriptures and in 615， at the age 13， he was chosen exceptionally as a monk to Luoyang.

In 629， Xuan Zang started from Chang’an and went westward to Liangzhou （Wuwei） via Lanzhou. He rested during the day and walked during the night， and after a lot of hardships， he crossed Hexi Corridor and arrived at Yiwu （Hami， Xinjiang）. When he got to Gaochang Kingdom， the King tried to persuade him to stay there. But Xuan Zang was insisted on his westbound mission and on hunger strike for three day to show his determination. He then crossed Congling Mountains and went southward through Afghanistan and Pakistan and reached India at last. In 631， he studied in Nalanda Temple after Jie Xian. In this temple he studied for five years and received preferential treatment. He was chosen as one of the ten learned monks and attended Jie Xian’s class about various Buddhist scriptures and studies and he also learned Branhman book. In 645 he returned to Chang’an， bringing with him 657 Buddhist scriptures.

In Chang’an， he was appointed by Emperor Taizong to translate the scriptures. Next year translation group was organized and 19 years were spent on the job. Before he passed away in 664， 75 Buddhist scriptures consisting of 1335 volumes were translated into Chinese. The scriptures translated by Xuan Zang were called New Translation. He transcended his predecessors in both quantity and quality. Record of Tang Monk in the West， dictated by Xuan Zang and written by Bian Ji， described the dimensions， geography， agriculture， business， customs， literature and arts， language， currencies， kings， and religions of the 110 countries he visited and 28 countries or states he heard about. This book is now an important literature to study religion history， China’s diplomatic history， and the ancient history of Central Asian countries. Xuan Zang also introduced Indian astronomy， calendar， medicine， hetuvidya， and some practical techniques into China and enriched Chinese culture. He had also， following the command of the emperor， translated Chinese classics， such as Lao Tzu， into Sanskrit and send to India.

慧超（704～783）

慧超，也作惠超，是唐朝時朝鮮半島新羅國僧人。

719年，慧超到中國學(xué)習(xí)佛學(xué)，在廣州被密教大師金剛智收為弟子。723年，為朝拜五天竺佛跡，由中國南海乘船往印度諸國巡禮，先到東印度，再往中印度、南印度、西印度、北印度，然后前往波斯、大食、大拂林、突厥，經(jīng)蔥嶺、疏勒、龜茲、于闐，727年抵達(dá)安西，再經(jīng)焉耆回到長安，歷時約15年。其后，慧超在長安復(fù)從金剛智學(xué)習(xí)，并開始翻譯《大乘瑜伽金剛性海曼殊利室利千臂千缽大教王經(jīng)》。780年，在五臺山將此經(jīng)譯完。

慧超所作《往五天竺國傳》，記述了他在這次長途旅行中所到國家的政治、宗教、文化、風(fēng)俗、物產(chǎn)、語言等情況。書中描述了唐朝與吐蕃兩大勢力在西域?qū)χ徘闆r，迦葉彌羅國（今克什米爾）東北有大勃律（今巴基斯坦西北邊省之吉爾吉特地區(qū)）、楊同等三國屬于吐蕃，而與大勃律相鄰的小勃律，雖然“衣著、人風(fēng)、飲食和語音”均與大勃律相同，但歸唐朝管轄?；鄢€記載了西突厥征服犍陀羅的過程，說這里“兵馬總是突厥，土人是胡”。突厥貴族在此稱王，受當(dāng)?shù)匚幕绊懀б婪鸾?，“甚敬倌三寶”?；鄢€追述了波斯被大食滅亡的大致經(jīng)歷，說大食原是波斯的“牧駝戶”，后來背叛波斯，殺波斯王，吞并其國?；鄢⒁獾讲ㄋ谷松瞄L經(jīng)商，有許多波斯胡商從西海（今阿拉伯海）泛舟至南海（今印度以南印度洋水域），向獅子國（今斯里蘭卡）“取諸寶物”，亦向昆侖國（今東南亞）“取金”，還航至“漢地”（即中國）貿(mào)易。

慧超是8世紀(jì)初西域政治形勢巨變的見證人。其著作《往五天竺國傳》代表了新羅散文的成就，不僅在朝鮮文學(xué)史上具有重要價值，對研究中西交通和亞洲有關(guān)國家的歷史也提供了珍貴的資料。

Hui Chao （704-783）

Hui Chao was a monk from Silla in Korea Peninsula.

In 719， Hui Chao came to China to study Buddhism and became a disciple of Master Jin Gangzhi in Guangzhou. In order to worship Buddhist relics in India， he took aboard ship from South China Sea and visited the five parts of India. He then went to Persia and many Central Asian countries and in 727， he reached Anxi and after about 15 years he finished his tour and arrived at Chang’an. Later he studied Buddhism again after Jin Gangzhi and at the same time he began to translate a Mahayana Buddhist scripture and finished his work in 780 in Mount Wutai.

In his book Record of the Tour in Five Tianzhu， he described the politics， religion， culture， customs， products， and language of the countries he visited. He also described the confrontation situation between Tang Dynasty and Tibet. He said that in northeast of Jiayemiluo （Kashmir）， a kingdom called Big Bolv was controlled， together with two other kingdoms， by Tibet while the Small Bolv， although its clothes， customs， food， and voice were the same as those of Big Bolv， belonged to Tang Dynasty. He also described the course the western Turks conquered Gandhara. Turkish nobles were called kings and they were converted to Buddhism because of the influences of the people there and they were awful of ratna-traya. He also recounted the process Persia was replaced by Dashi. He said that Dashi was originally the camel family of Persia and later they betrayed Persia， killed its king and annexed its country. He also noticed that Persians were good st business. Many Persian businessmen sailed from West sea （Arab sea） to South Sea （south Indian Ocean）， and got treasures in Lion Country （Sri Lanka） and gold in Southeastern Asian countries. They also went Han’s place （China） to do business.

Hui Chao witnessed the great political changes in the Western areas. His book represented the achievement of prose in Silla. It is not only of importance in Korean literature history， but also contains treasure materials for the study of the history of the transportation between the East and the West and the history of concerning countries.

馬可·波羅（1254～1324）

馬可·波羅，13世紀(jì)世界著名旅行家和商人。生于意大利威尼斯一個商人家庭，17歲時，馬可·波羅跟隨父親和叔叔，途經(jīng)中東，歷時四年多到達(dá)元朝的首都，與大汗忽必烈建立了友誼。

馬可·波羅在中國游歷了17年，曾訪問當(dāng)時中國的許多古城，到過西南部的云南和東南地區(qū)。回到威尼斯之后，在一次威尼斯和熱那亞之間的海戰(zhàn)中被俘，在獄中口述了大量有關(guān)中國的故事，其獄友魯斯蒂謙寫下了著名的《馬可·波羅游記》，記述了他在東方最富有的國家——中國的見聞，激起了歐洲人對東方的熱烈向往。

馬可·波羅的中國之行及其游記，在中世紀(jì)時期的歐洲被認(rèn)為是神話，被當(dāng)作“天方夜譚”。但《馬可·波羅游記》卻大大豐富了歐洲人的地理知識，打破了宗教的謬論和傳統(tǒng)的“天圓地方”說。同時，《馬可·波羅游記》對15世紀(jì)歐洲的航海事業(yè)起到了巨大的推動作用。意大利的哥倫布，葡萄牙的達(dá)·伽馬、鄂本篤，英國的卡勃特、安東尼·詹金森和約翰遜、馬丁·羅比歇等眾多的航海家、旅行家、探險家讀了《馬可·波羅游記》后，紛紛東來，尋訪中國，打破了中世紀(jì)西方神權(quán)統(tǒng)治的禁錮，大大促進(jìn)了中西交通和文化交流。同時，西方地理學(xué)家還根據(jù)書中的描述，繪制了早期的世界地圖。

13世紀(jì)以前，中西方在政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化等方面的交流都是通過中亞這座橋梁間接地聯(lián)系著。中西交往只停留在以貿(mào)易為主的經(jīng)濟(jì)聯(lián)系上，缺乏直接的接觸和了解。而歐洲對中國的認(rèn)識，一直停留在道聽途說的間接接觸上，他們對中國充滿了神秘感和好奇感?！恶R可·波羅游記》對東方世界進(jìn)行了夸大甚至神話般的描述，更激起了歐洲人對東方世界的好奇心。這又有意或者無意地促進(jìn)了中西方之間的直接交往。從此，中西方之間直接的政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化交流的新時代開始了。因此，可以說，馬可·波羅和他的《馬可·波羅游記》為歐洲開辟了一個新的時代。

《馬可·波羅游記》掀起了一股東方熱、中國流，激發(fā)了歐洲人此后幾個世紀(jì)的東方情結(jié)。

Marco Polo（1254-1324）

Marco Polo was born in a merchant family in Italy. At the age of 17， he went the Middle East with his father and his uncle and then he spent four years to reach the capital of Yuan Dynasty and established friendship with the emperor Kublai Khan.

Marco Polo stayed in China for 17 years and visited many cities and places including the Southeast and Southwest areas. Back in Venice， he was captured in a naval battle and in prison dictated large amount of stories about China and his cellmate wrote the famous Travels of Marco Polo in which his knowledge about the richest country in the East， in China， was accounted and Europeans were provoked to see the East.

Marco Polo’s tour in China and his travel notes were regarded as myths or the same as Arab Nights in the medieval Europe. But Travels of Marco Polo greatly enriched Europeans’ geographical knowledge and religious beliefs about universe and traditional beliefs of a round heaven and a square earth were doubted. This book also greatly promoted Europe’s maritime industry. After reading this book， navigators， travelers， and explorers like Colombia came to the East to look for China one after another， thus breaking theocratic imprisonment and increased the transportation and communication between the east and the West. The western geographers drew the early world maps according to the descriptions in this book.

Before the thirteenth century， the communications in politics， economy， and culture between the East and the West were made by the bridge of Central Asia. The connection was mainly in economy and there was not direct contact and understanding. Europeans’ knowledge about China was from hearsay and they were curious about this country. In Travels of Marco Polo， the exaggerated and myth-like descriptions about the Eastern world provoked the curiosity in the mind of Europeans and the direct communication was promoted intentionally or unintentionally. A new era of direct communication between the East and the West in politics， economy， and culture was opened.

Travels of Marco Polo set off an East hot， and inspired Europeans’ East complex in the follower centuries.

利瑪竇（1552～1610）

利瑪竇，號西泰，又號清泰、西江，是天主教耶穌會意大利籍神父、傳教士、學(xué)者，利瑪竇是他的漢名。明神宗萬歷十一年（1583）來到中國居住，在中國頗受士大夫的敬重，被尊稱為“泰西儒士”。

利瑪竇是天主教在中國傳教的開拓者之一，也是第一位閱讀中國文學(xué)并對中國典籍進(jìn)行鉆研的西方學(xué)者。他除傳播天主教教義外，還傳播西方天文、數(shù)學(xué)、地理等科學(xué)技術(shù)知識。1610年5月11日，利瑪竇因病卒于北京，在中國歷史上，皇帝第一次允許了一個外國人在中國領(lǐng)土安葬。

利瑪竇來到中國后，先后在肇慶、韶州、南昌、南京建立了傳教駐地，出版了第一份中文世界地圖，并用中文和神父羅明堅起草了第一部《祖?zhèn)魈熘魇]》，出版了第一部中文著作——《交友論》。1601年，利瑪竇作為歐洲使節(jié)被召進(jìn)紫禁城。

1602～1605年，利瑪竇做了很多偉大的功績。出版了第三版中文世界地圖，起名為《兩儀玄覽圖》，以及其他著作如《天主實錄》、《天主教要》和《二十五言》。1607年，利瑪竇與朋友徐光啟合作，出版了歐幾里德《幾何原本》前六回的譯本。1608年，印刷《畸人十篇》，并在同年開始編纂他的歷史著作——《基督教遠(yuǎn)征中國史》。

利瑪竇撰寫的《天主實錄》以及和徐光啟等人翻譯的《幾何原本》等書不僅帶給中國許多先進(jìn)的科學(xué)知識和哲學(xué)思想，而且許多中文詞匯，例如點、線、面、平面、曲線、曲面、直角、鈍角、銳角、垂線、平行線、對角線、三角形、四邊形、多邊形、圓、圓心、外切、幾何等以及漢字“歐”等就是由他們創(chuàng)造并沿用至今的?！短熘鲗嶄洝纷钤绨研瞧谥贫纫M(jìn)中國，后來被清朝乾隆皇帝收錄在《四庫全書》中，并有蒙、滿、朝鮮、越南及日文譯本。

利瑪竇制作的世界地圖《坤輿萬國全圖》是中國歷史上的第一個世界地圖，在中國先后被刻印12次。北極、南極、地中海、日本海等詞匯皆出于此地圖。

長期以來，西方許多人，尤其是天主教徒將利瑪竇視為令人景仰的，“誘導(dǎo)異教徒皈依的”傳教士。而東方人卻將他視為促進(jìn)東西方交流的科學(xué)家，因為他向東亞地區(qū)傳播了西方的幾何學(xué)、地理學(xué)知識，以及人文主義和天主教的觀點，同時，他又向西方介紹了中國文化。也因此，有人將他視為一位漢學(xué)家。

Matteo Ricci （1552-1610）

Matteo Ricci， Italian scholar， missionary， Jesuit， with a Chinese name of Li Madou and politely called Xi Tai or Qing Tai or Xi Jiang， came to China in1583 and was popularly respected by Chinese scholars and regarded as Confucian from the West.

Matteo Ricci was one of the earliest Catholic missionaries in China and the first Western scholar to read Chinese literature and study Chinese classics. Beside Catholic doctrine， Matteo Ricci spread Western scientific knowledge in China. He died of illness in Beijing on May 11th， 1610 and was allowed by the emperor to be buried in Chinese territory， the first foreigner in Chinese history.

Matteo Ricci established preaching station in Zhaoqing， Shaozhou， Nanchang， and Nanjing. He published the first Chinese world map， his first Chinese work On Making Friends， and drafted， together with Father Michele de Ruggieri， the first Ten Commandments of God in Chinese. In 1601， he was summoned into the Forbidden City as European envoy.

From 1602 to 1605， Matteo Ricci achieved a lot. He published the third edition of the world map in Chinese and other works such as Record of God and Outlines of Catholic Doctrine. In 1607， the first six volumes of Geometry by Euclid were translated into Chinese， together with his friend Xu Guangqi， and published. Ten Pieces about Strange People was printed and in the same year he began to compile his history work The History of the Expedition of Christianity in China.

The books such as Record of God and Geometry brought to China not only advanced scientific knowledge and philosophical ideas， but also many new Chinese words， for example， point， line， plane， curve， surface， right angle， acute angle， obtuse angle， vertical line， parallel line， diagonal line， triangle， quadrilateral， polygon， round， center， and the Chinese character and these words are still used today. Record of God first brought the week system into China. The book was collected into Sikuquanshu by Emperor Qianlong and translated into Mongolian， Manchu language， Korean， Vietnamese， and Japanese.

The world map made by Matteo Ricci was the first one in China and was printed twelve times. The Chinese words Arctic， South Pole， Mediterranean， and Japanese sea were the produts of this map.

For a long time， many Westerners have regarded Matteo Ricci as admirable Catholic missionary who could induce heathens to believe in God. Easterners have regarded him as a scientist who spread to Eastern Asia the western knowledge in Geometry， geography， humanism， as well as Catholic doctrine. Because he also introduced Chinese culture to the West， he is also regarded as a sinologist.

郎世寧（1688～1766）

郎世寧，意大利人，原名朱塞佩·伽斯底里奧內(nèi)，生于米蘭，19歲入熱那亞耶穌會。不久即運(yùn)用他的藝術(shù)才華為該市修道院內(nèi)小教堂繪了兩幅宗教畫。

清康熙帝五十四年（1715），郎世寧以傳教士的身份遠(yuǎn)涉重洋來到中國，隨即被重視西洋技藝的康熙皇帝召入宮中，從此開始了長達(dá)50多年的宮廷畫家生涯，先后受到康熙、雍正、乾隆皇帝的重用。他曾參加圓明園西洋樓的設(shè)計工作。郎世寧給中國帶來了西洋繪畫技法，向皇帝和其他宮廷畫家展示了歐洲明暗畫法的魅力，使得清代的宮廷繪畫帶有“中西合璧”的特色，呈現(xiàn)出不同于歷代宮廷繪畫的新穎畫貌和獨特風(fēng)格。他是一位藝術(shù)上的全面手，人物、肖像、走獸、花鳥、山水無所不涉、無所不精，成為雍正帝、乾隆帝時宮廷繪畫的代表人物。他的代表作品有《聚瑞圖》、《嵩獻(xiàn)英芝圖》、《百駿圖》、《弘歷及后妃像》、《平定西域戰(zhàn)圖》等。今日，全球各大博物館都有他的作品陳列。

郎世寧以驚人的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)能力，創(chuàng)造了大量具有高度歷史價值和藝術(shù)價值的作品，也使清代宮廷紀(jì)實繪畫的數(shù)量與水平遠(yuǎn)超前代。這些繪畫以精彩的筆墨記錄了中華帝國最輝煌的歷史，栩栩如生地表現(xiàn)了盛世的恢宏和光榮。據(jù)文獻(xiàn)記載，郎世寧的畫法被稱作“線畫法”，代表當(dāng)時宮廷的主流畫派。郎世寧來到中國以后，畫有大量作品，存世的有近百幅。雖然郎世寧的繪畫并不能代表那時歐洲繪畫的最高水平，但是他擅于采納中國繪畫技巧而又保持西方藝術(shù)的基本特點，融中國工筆繪法和西洋畫三維要領(lǐng)為一體，從而形成了自己獨有的風(fēng)格，創(chuàng)作了新的畫風(fēng)，在一定程度上代表了西方文化和中國文化的匯通。

郎世寧為200多年前中國與歐洲的文化藝術(shù)交流做出了重要和積極的貢獻(xiàn)。由于郎世寧的一生幾乎都是在中國度過的，他的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作也都以中國的人和事為題材，所以郎世寧的生平和藝術(shù)，已經(jīng)成為中國美術(shù)史上的一個組成部分被加以敘述和評價了。

Giuseppe Castiglione （1688-1766）

Giuseppe Castiglione was born in Milan， Italy. He joined Jesuit in Genoa at the age of 19 and not long after that， he painted two religious paintings for a small church in the monastery of the city.

In 1715， Giuseppe Castiglione came to China as a missionary， and was summoned， shortly after his arrival， into the Forbidden City by Emperor Kangxi who was interested in Western techniques. He worked in China for more than 50 years as court painter and was trusted by Emperor Kangxi， Emperor Yongzheng， and Emperor Qianlong. He participated in the design of the Western Building in Yuanmingyuan. Giuseppe Castiglione brought to China the techniques of Western painting and showed emperors and other court painters the charm of shading. The court paintings of Qing Dynasty then have new style， wear the characteristics of both Chinese and Western art and are quite different from those of earlier dynasties. He tried every kind of painting and was good at almost all， from portraits， animals， flowers and birds， and landscapes. He was a representative of the court painters in the times of Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong. Now his paintings are shown in almost all big museums in the world.

Giuseppe Castiglione created， with his amazing ability in artistic expression， a lot of paintings of high historical and artistic value， and because of him， the quantity and quality of the documentary paintings of Qing dynasty greatly surpassed those of the earlier dynasties. These paintings recorded， with wonderful techniques， the most brilliant history of China Empire， the grand and glory of the prosperous time. It is recorded in literature that Giuseppe Castiglione used the “l(fā)ine technique”， the mainstream techniques of the court. He had created a lot of paintings since he came to China and near 100 survived. Although his paintings do not represent the highest level of Europe at that time， he kept the basic characteristics of Western painting and adopted the techniques of Chinese painting and his unique style was formed by combining the main points of three-dimension and meticulous techniques. His style represents， at certain degree， the mergence of Chinese culture and Western culture.

Giuseppe Castiglione made important and active contribution to the communication between the Eastern and Western culture and arts 200 years ago. Because he spent almost all his life in China and what he recorded with his brushes were the people and incidents in China， Giuseppe Castiglione’s experiences and his art have been accounted and evaluated as part of the history of Chinese fine arts.