Kumarajiva, a monk of the Later Qin Dynasty, was one of China’s four great translators of Buddhist scriptures. As his name means “youth of long life,” he was also called Tongshou in Chinese. His father was an Indian who served as State Preceptor to the king of Kucha, and his mother was the king’s younger sister. Kumarajiva was born in Kucha. In 382, the 18^th year of the Jianyuan reign of the Former Qin Dynasty, Fu Jian brought Kumarajiva to Chang’an. In 385, Kumarajiva went to Liangzhou, where he stayed for 17 years. In 401, the third year of the Hongshi reign of the Later Qin Dynasty, Emperor Yao Xing invited Kumarajiva to Chang’an, and appointed him State Preceptor. Kumarajiva translated many Buddhist scriptures. He provided competent translations of important Buddhist texts previously rendered into Chinese only in crude versions. His translations of the authoritative texts of the Madhyamika school of Buddhism provided Chinese philosophy with a new way of thinking and influenced the development of the Xuanxue ("School of the Mystery") that flourished during the Wei and Jin dynasties.