East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia which follow the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vi ...

, monks and nuns usually adopt a Buddhist surname and a

Dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

, which are combined in the surname-first East-Asian naming order. Since the 4th century the standard Buddhist surname has been Shi (Chinese: 釋, Korean: Seok, Vietnamese: Thích, Japanese: Shaku), which is the first syllable of Shijiamoni, the Chinese word for Shakyamuni. This practice was introduced by the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

monk

Dao'an Dao'an (; 312–385) was a Buddhist monk, author and bibliographer, during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was from what is now Hebei. His main importance was that of overseer of translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese, organizer of the Chinese sa ...

in around 370, when he stayed in

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

, and became general practice in China after 385. Previously Chinese monks and nuns used several other Buddhist surnames, typically designating the ethnonational origin of their foreign preceptors. The most notable early surname was Zhu (), which came from Tianzhu (the Chinese word for India).

Jingjian Zhu Jingjian (Chinese: 竺淨檢; 292–361) was a Chinese Buddhist nun, referred to as the first nun in China.Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E ' After h ...

(292–361) or Zhu Jingjian was the first nun of China.

Daosheng Daosheng (; ca. 360–434), or Zhu Daosheng (), was an eminent Six Dynasties era Chinese Buddhist scholar. He is known for advocating the concepts of sudden enlightenment and the universality of the Buddha nature. Life Born in Pengcheng, Daoshe ...

( 360–434) or Zhu Daosheng was one of the last influential monks to use Zhu rather than Shi. Other Buddhist surnames included: *Zhi () which came from

Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...

or its successor state, the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

. Examples include

Zhi Qian Zhi Qian (; fl. 222–252 CE) was a Chinese Buddhist layman of Yuezhi ancestry who translated a wide range of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. He was the grandson (or according to another source, the son) of an immigrant from the country ...

and

Zhi Dun Zhi Dun (; 314-366 CE) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and philosopher. A Chinese author, scholar, and confidant of Chinese government officials in 350 CE, he claimed that all who followed Buddhism would, at the end of their life, enter Nirvana. I ...

. *An () which came from Anxi (the Chinese word for

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...

). Examples include

An Xuan An Xuan () was a Parthian layman credited with working alongside An Shigao () and Yan Fotiao () in the translation of early Buddhist texts in Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of ...

and

An Shigao An Shigao (, Korean: An Sego, Japanese: An Seikō, Vietnamese: An Thế Cao) (fl. c. 148-180 CE) was an early Buddhist missionary to China, and the earliest known translator of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese. According to legend, he was a pri ...

. *Yu () which came from Yutian (the Chinese word for

Khotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...

). *Kang () which was a designation for

Sogdiana Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Emp ...

. An example is Kang Senghui. *Bo () which came from the Chinese word for the surname of several

Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t=庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...

kings, Bo (). The adoption of a Buddhist surname signifies the ordinand's severance of family bonds and their full devotion to the teachings of the Buddha.

References

* * {{Personal names Buddhism Surnames