New-age robot offers centuries-old wisdom in Beijing temple

机器僧：诵经卖萌 传播佛法

A robot named "Xian’er" makes its debut at Guangzhou Animation Festival in Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong province, Oct 4, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

“贤二机器僧”在广东省省会城市广州的广州动漫节上首次正式亮相(2015年10月3日，图片来自新华网)

Standing about 60-cm-tall and dressed in a yellow rob, Xian’er, a cute-looking robot that resembles a Buddhist monk, has become an internet celebrity as it is able to sense its surroundings and answer questions about Buddhism at Beijing’s Longquan Temple.

贤二身高约60厘米，身着黄色罗布僧袍，像个和尚，看起来十分可爱。在北京龙泉寺，因为他能感知他周围的环境并且回答与佛教有关的问题，迅速在网上走红。

"Who are you?" "How old are you?" Let me ask my master"..., the chatty robot can answer simple questions and interact with the surroundings, and also chant and play Buddhist music, the Beijing News reported on Thursday.

“你是谁?”“你多大了?” “让我问问我的主人”……，据星期四《新京报》的报道称，这个会聊天的机器人可以回答一些简单的问题，并且和周遭环境互相影响，还能吟唱和演奏佛教音乐。

The cute pudgy monk, developed by Longquan Temple in October last year, is the protagonist of cartoon series "Trouble, you seek for yourself" published by the Temple.

这个可爱的胖和尚是在去年十月由龙泉寺研发出来，人物原型是由龙泉寺出版的动漫书《麻烦都是自找的》里的主人公。

"We just want to take a modern approach to promote Buddhism," said Master Xianfan, the creator of the cartoon novice monk

“我们只是想采取一种现代化的方式来传播佛法”，这个卡通小和尚的原型创作者贤帆法师说到。

"To differentiate from the cartoon images from Japan and Western countries, we used the traditional Chinese painting as the cultural symbol," Xianfan said.

“为了与日本和西方国家的卡通形象相区别，我们采用传统的国画手法作为文化的象征”，贤帆法师说到。

The robot is so cute that many visitors want to buy one, but Xianfan said there is only one such robot monk there and the temple has no plans to commercialize it.

因为这个机器人实在太呆萌了，好多参观的游客都想买一个，但是贤帆法师说这样的机器人只有一个，而且寺庙没有将其商业化的打算。

In order to better promote Buddhism among the growing number of tech-savvy young Chinese, Longquan Temple has launched various new ways to combine traditional Buddhism with modern technologies.

中国精通科技的年轻人越来越多，为了将更好地向他们传播佛法，龙泉寺已经开始着手进行各种新项目将传统的佛教与现代科技相结合。

Comic books, animation, music video, micro films, also virtual reality, which features the cartoon character Xian’er, are all used by the animation group to disperse Buddhist wisdom to more people.

动漫组还通过所有以卡通人物“贤二”为主角的漫画书、动漫、音乐视频、微电影，还有虚拟现实技术向更多的人民大众传布佛教智慧。

According to the report, Xian’er even has its own account on Weibo, and messaging app Wechat, to interact with its fans through simple conversations.

据报道，“贤二”甚至还有它自己的微博和微信账号，可以通过它们进行一些简单的交流和粉丝互动。

"Xian’er is the first generation of robot monk," Xianfan said. "We are planning the development of second generation of robot monk, which will be more intelligent," he added.

“贤二是第一代机器僧，”贤帆法师说，“我们正在计划第二代机器僧的研发，它将更加智能”他补充说到。

Sparkling conversation with Xian’er robot

以下是与“贤二”的愉快对话

Reporter: Why do they call you Xian’er? Xian’er: My master gave me this name.

记者：你为什么叫贤二?贤二：我师父给我起的。

Reporter: Who is your master?Xian’er: My master is my master.

记者：你师父是谁呀?贤二：我师父就是我师父啊。

Reporter: What you will eat today?Xian’er: Will a duck swim? Robot never eat!

记者：你今天吃什么?贤二：机器人不用吃饭，这还用问吗?

Reporter: Will the stock market go up today?Xian’er: How do you want me to answer this?

记者：今天的股票会涨吗?贤二：这个问题我怎么回答得了。

Reporter: What will you do if you were caught in traffic?Xian’er: Good time for chanting.

记者：塞车怎么办?贤二：正好可以念佛。

Reporter: My wife has a bad temper. What should I do?Xian’er: Well, hang on in there. I can’t advice you divorce.

记者：我老婆脾气暴躁怎么办?贤二：只好跟她过下去咯，我又不能劝你离婚。

Reporter: How to stop my mom from nagging me?Xian’er: Be more nice to her.

记者：妈妈老是唠叨怎么办?贤二：老人嘛，让着她吧。

Reporter: I don’t want to live any more.Xian’er: You are not the only one with miserable experiences.

记者：我活不下去了怎么办?贤二：别以为世界上只有你一个人最惨。

Reporter: Have you ever felt sleepy when chanting?Xian’er: You mean when I run out of battery?

记者：你念佛困了怎么办?贤二：没电了算困了吗?

Reporter: How do you know so much?Xian’er: The more you know, the more trouble.

记者：你为什么懂这么多?贤二：懂的多，麻烦就多。

Reporter: Can I take you away with me?Xian’er: Are you kidding? No way!

记者：我可以带你走吗?贤二：开玩笑，那怎么可以