Bio of a historical mixed race Asian: (reprinted with permission)

5th century Buddhist translator Kumarajiva - a symbol of the ancient
cultural connections between Central Asia, India, and China

Kumarajiva (344-413) was born in Kucha, Central Asia to an Indian
father Kumarayana and a Kuchean mother Jiva. Kumarayana, descendant
of a line of Prime Ministers, had travelled from India to Kucha where
he entered the king's service as the royal priest. Princess Jiva,
sister of the king of Kucha, married him. Their son Kumarajiva shared
his parents' interest in religion and became a monk at age 7. Prior
to entering the monastery, the child prodigy had already memorized
many Buddhist scriptures. By the time he was 20, Kumarajiva's name
was well-known in Central Asia and China. Before Jiva left Kucha for
India, she encouraged the 20 year old Kumarajiva to go to China to
further Mahayana Buddhism. But it was not until many years later that
Kumarajiva was able to fulfil his mother's wish through a tumultous
and circuitous route.

In 379, Chinese Buddhist monks returning from a study tour of Kucha
praised the wisdom and learning of Kumarajiva before the Former Qin
king Fu Jian of the Di ethnic group. The renowned Chinese translator-
monk Dao An also urged Fu Jian to invite Kumarajiva to China. In 382,
Fu Jian's forces launched their Central Asian campaign. They had
orders to capture Kumarajiva, whose influence in Central Asia made
him a valuable political pawn.

In 384, Lu Guang, a general of Fu Jian, entered Kucha and took
captive Kumarajiva. Lu sought to make fun of the monk by forcing him
to ride on unruly beasts, amongst other acts of humiliation. But
Kumarajiva showed no anger. On the way back to China, Lu Guang set
camp in the foothills, but Kumarajiva, who had the reputation of
being a seer, warned him that this course of action would not bode
well for the soldiers; they should move camp to higher ground. Lu
disregarded the warning. During the night, torrential rains caused a
flash flood that drowned thousands of troops. From then on, Lu took
Kumarajiva's words more seriously.

When Lu's army reached Gansu, China, they received the news that
their king Fu Jian had been killed by rival king Yao Chang of the
Qiang ethnic group. Lu Guang decided to set up his own dynasty, the
Later Liang. Kumarajiva remained in Lu's custody. Yao Chang, who had
established the Later Qin Dynasty, admired the reputation of
Kumarajiva and repeatedly invited him to his court, but the Lu house
of the Later Liang Dynasty were not about to let the Kuchean sage go
to their enemy.

It was not until after the death of Lu Guang and Yao Chang that Yao
Chang's son Yao Xing was able to defeat the Liang king Lu Long and
bring Kumarajiva into China proper. By this time, the Kuchean monk
was already 58 years old. But he had made use of his time in
captivity to become fluent in Chinese.

King Yao Xing treated Kumarajiva with great honor, appointing him
Teacher of the Nation. At the king's behest, Kumarajiva (known in
Chinese as Jiumoluoshi) began his work on the translation of Buddhist
scriptures from Sanskrit to Chinese. Many accomplished Chinese
Buddhist scholar monks came to work under his direction. Jiumoluoshi
had 3000 disciples in China. There had been a few hundred
translations of Buddhist scriptures done before his time, but none
reached Kumarajiva's quality and clarity. Of the many works he
translated, the most important ones are the Wisdom Shastra, the Lotus
Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. Kumarajiva's easy-to-understand
translations survive to this day in Chinese society, taking the form
of famous quotes that even non-Buddhists have heard through exposure
to pop culture.

Kumarajiva died in Chang'an, China at age 70. He has been described
as "the first teacher of the Madhyamika doctrine in China" and
the "symbol of cultural cooperation between India, China and Central
Asia to this day."