E.H., p.
14.
(11) This is the first time that Fa-Hsien employs the name Ho-shang {.} {.}, which is now popularly used in China for all Buddhist monks without distinction of rank or office.

It is the representative of the Sanskrit term Upadhyaya, "explained," says Eitel (p.

155) by "a self-taught teacher," or by "he who knows what is sinful and what is not sinful," with the note, "In India the vernacular of this term is {.} {.} (?
munshee (?
Bronze)); in Kustana and Kashgar they say {.} {.} (hwa-shay); and from the latter term are derived the Chinese synonyms, {.} {.} (ho-shay) and {.} {.} (ho-shang)." The Indian term was originally a designation for those who teach only a part of the Vedas, the Vedangas.

Adopted by Buddhists of Central Asia, it was made to signify the priests of the older ritual, in distinction from the Lamas.

In China it has been used first as a synonym for {.} {.}, monks engaged in popular teaching (teachers of the Law), in distinction from {.} {.}, disciplinists, and {.} {.}, contemplative philosophers (meditationists); then it was used to designate the abbots of monasteries.