Buddhist Influence on Chinese Synesthetic Words—A Case Study of 味 Wèi in the Āgamas and Indigenous Chinese Literature

Abstract

This study examines whether Chinese synesthetic words that are composed of 味 wei ‘taste’ were influenced by the spread of Buddhism to China through the translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese. Many terms of 味 wei found in the Chinese Āgamas go beyond the gustatory field, e.g., the taste of material form and the taste of feeling. To confirm that these terms are derived from their source language, the parallel Pāli texts of the Āgamas are used to identify the original terms of wei. By doing so, this study reveals the essential meanings of wei in the Āgamas, which are employed as a yardstick to determine whether they influenced the wei terms found in Chinese literature across different periods of time. The results show that translated Buddhist texts influenced the Chinese language regarding synesthetic words, as exemplified by the case of wei.