An Shih-kao (?-~170) (安世高; pinyinĀn Shgāo) was a prince of Parthia that renounced his throne in order to serve as a Buddhistmissionary monk.
In 148, he arrived in China at the Han Dynasty capital of Loyang, where he set up a centre for the translation of Buddhist texts. He translated thirty-five texts, mostly from the Theravada school of Buddhism.
An Shih-kao is the first Buddhist missionary to China to be named in Chinese sources. Another Parthian monk named An Hsuan is also said to have joined An Shih-Kao at Loyang around 181 CE.
AnShigao, a Parthian Buddhist prince, arrived at the Han capital in 148 and was the first to initiate a systematic translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese.
Works were written arguing that the salvation of an individual was a benefit to that individual's society and family and monks thus contributed to the greater good.
It is conjectured that the shocking collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 and the resulting period of social upheaval and political unrest known as the Three Kingdoms period may have helped the spread of Buddhism.
An Shih-kao (?-~ 170) (å®ä¸é«; pinyin Än ShÃgÄo) was a prince of Parthia, nicknamed the "Parthian Marquis", who renounced his throne in order to serve as a Buddhistmissionary monk.
The prefix An in An Shih Kao's name is an abbreviation of Anxi (Ch:å®æ¯), meaning Parthia in ancient Chinese: Anxi is a transcription of " Arsaces ", the founder of the Arsacid Dynasty of Parthia.
An Shih-kao is the first Buddhistmissionary to China to be named in Chinese sources.
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