An Shigao, Parthian monk among the earliest known missionaries to China; responsible for the first systematic translations of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. Of royal lineage, An renounced his throne to enter monastic life. In the year 148 he reached the Han capital, Luoyang, where he presided over a thriving center of preaching and translation for twenty years. The number of titles attributed to An ranges from 35 to 175; however, of the 19 that are extant only 4 can be reliably attributed to the patriarch. His translations are mainly of works treating the dhyana practices of meditation, concentration, and breath control.

Kenneth Ch'en, Buddhism in China: A historical survey (1964). E. Zurcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China (rev. ed. 1972.)