Gönpojab / Gōngbùchábù 工布查布 (Qīng dynasty, mid-18th c.) — Mongol-Tibetan-Chinese translator and Buddhist iconographer of the Qīng court, native of the Wūzhūmùqín 烏朱穆秦 (Üjümüčin) Mongol tribe. Lifedates uncertain. He was distinguished for his command of Sanskrit, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese, and was retained by the Yongzheng Emperor 世宗 (r. 1722–1735) at the imperial court as Director-General of Western [Tibetan] Studies (西番學總理). Under the Qiánlóng Emperor 高宗 (r. 1735–1796) he produced his three principal Chinese translations from Tibetan / Mongolian:
- Fó shuō zàoxiàng liángdù jīng 佛說造像量度經 (T0928 in some recensions; Sūtra of Image-Construction Measurements) — his most influential translation, the canonical reference for Buddhist iconography (proportional measurements of Buddha-images) in late-imperial China; substantially shaped Qing-period Buddhist sculpture and painting.
- Fó shuō Mílè púsà fāyuànwáng jì 佛說彌勒菩薩發願王偈 (T1144).
- Yàoshī qī fó gòngyǎng yíguǐ rúyìwáng jīng 藥師七佛供養儀軌如意王經 (KR6j0099, T19n0927) — Esoteric ritual text for the Seven Medicine Buddhas (translated from Tibetan).
He also authored Fó shuō zàoxiàng liángdù jīng jiě 佛說造像量度經解 (T1419) and Zàoxiàng liángdù jīng xùbǔ 造像量度經續補 — auto-commentaries on the iconographic measurement scripture.
His translations are an important witness to the late-imperial Qīng-court Tibetan-Buddhist establishment and to the institutional integration of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism into the late-imperial Chinese Buddhist canon.
Source: DILA Buddhist Person Authority A000091; Qīng-period imperial Buddhist translation records; Fóguāng dà cídiǎn p. 956.