ABSTRACT
Zhu Fonian was the translator. He was a scholar well versed in the literature within and outside the domain of Buddhism. He often queried the necessity for the circumlocutions in the languages of the western lands, treating them as signs of an unhewn style. He argued that the people in these lands had a strong preference for a polished style. So he was inclined to retain the lustrous and embellished parts, and to trim the long and repetitive segments. Master Dao An and Zhao Zheng were both averse to this practice. They checked and edited the translation meticulously, verifying the contents through research in order to preserve the essence. Since both the language and the customs of the two lands were different, Fonian was permitted five types of losses pertaining to the source, but no other changes or omissions beyond those. The Five Losses were listed in Master Dao An's Preface to A Collation of Extracts from the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra.
