I'm cringing really hard right now

[cashew]

So, in Chinese, the Vidyadhara are called 持明. At first, I thought that's just the Chinese translation of "Vidyadhara". Except, no. 持明 is historically a translation of the Sanskrit धारणी，dhāraṇī, which is "to hold the knowledge/wisdom" (according to wiki), aka, it's a chant memory aid. Which makes sense, because the literal translation of 持明 is "hold the light".

If this wiki is correct, through the spread of Buddhism, 持明 came to refer to Vidyadhara. Instead of referring to the dharani chants, it referred to the Vidyamantra instead (which was an alternate name), and then in Tibetan Buddhism became the "Knowledge Holders" (source), the Vidyadhara people.

And so, that really convoluted path was me figuring out 持明 was a Tibetan Buddhism reference.

Hence, cringe. The region of Tibet was officially incorporated under the Yuan dyansty (aka under Mongolian rule), as previously Tibet had a vassal relationship with the political entity that is China (look, multiple dynasties and constantly changing borders over thousands of years makes talking about this stuff difficult, OK?). So knowing this reference makes me wish they picked something else because...wow, do we really want to be poking this hornet's nest? Really?! (But also I can understand why the Vidyadhara have their own government inside Luofu, because Tibet has always had autonomous rule under whichever government representing China.)

Comments

[tanithryudo]

So doesn't that make the Vidyadhara "High Elders" the equivalent of the Dalai Lama(s)? They've even got the whole reincarnation leadership going for them...

[cashew]

Just Lama. Dalai is the Name.

Yes, the reincarnation thing might be referring to the Lama and the political power thereof. (BTW, Lama = boss in Tibetan, so like..."High Elder" is sooooo not the right translation.)

[tanithryudo]

Well, I think they're probably keeping the connection subtle so as to avoid political backlash from the playerbase, so they wouldn't outright use the "Lama" title in game.

[cashew]

I mean, I don't think they should translate 龙尊 into "Lama" either. But I was thinking a better translation is "Dragon Lord" or "Rex Draconis", since they've already used Latin to translate 饮月 into "Imbibitor Lunae". May as well go full Latin. And in that case, to make the connection more obscure, translate 持明 into "Haruspex" (soothsayer) or "Oracula" (oracles), since Vidaydhara are the equivalent of "guru" in Tibetan Buddhism. Or go even more literal "Luxmaior" (light holders).