i have a question.

most of these Buddhist chants in chinese, are replication of sounds of actual text in Pali and Sanskrit.
it always occur to me, what is the reason that these chinese Buddhist chants were not translated to Chinese in terms of literal meaning from Pali instead?

For example, (correct me if im wrong) Namo Amitabha Buddha means "Entrust to the Infinite Light who is the awaken one" and the most common expression is a replication of sound, Amituofuo 阿弥陀佛. one can hardly guess the actual meaning from this expression.

if one wants to know the meaning of 'How Are You?' in chinese, it is only helpful to explain that it actually means 'Ni Hao Ma?' in chinese. If i do not speak any English at all, replicating the sound in chinese to as close as it can sound in English tells me nothing. This is my analogy to replicating the sound of Buddhist text originated from Pali/Sanskrit to chinese, rather than translating it in a literal sense. how helpful is chanting these mantra in gaining additional insights/understanding?



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To further illustrate my point, below is the entire Da Bei Zhou in Sanskrit with its English translation in meaning. By chanting the chinese version of Da Bei Zhou, its impossible to figure the actual meaning:

Namo ratna trayāya | namo āryĀvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya mahākaruṇikāya |
Oṃ sarva-bhayeṣu trāṇa-karāya tasya namaskṛtvā imaṃ āryĀvalokiteśvara-stavanaṃ Nīlakaṇṭha-nāma |
Hṛdayaṃ vartayiṣyāmi sarv-ārtha-sādhanaṃ śubhaṃ |
ajeyaṃ sarva-bhutānāṃ bhava-mārga -viśodhakam ||
TADYATHĀ | Oṃ apaloka lokātikrānta ehi Hare mahābodhisattva sarpa-sarpa | smara smara mama hṛdayam | kuru-kuru karma | dhuru-dhuru vijayate mahāvijayate | dhara-dhara dharāṇi-rāja | cala-cala mama vimala-mūṛtte re | ehy-ehi kṛṣṇa-sarp-opavīta | viṣa-viṣaṃ praṇāśaya | hulu-hulu malla | hulu-hulu Hare | sara-sara siri-siri suru-suru | bodhiya-bodhiya bodhaya-bodhaya maitriya Nīlakaṇṭha | darśanena prahlādaya manaḥ svāhā |
siddhāya svāhā | mahāsiddhāya svāhā | siddha-yogeśvarāya svāhā | Nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā | Vāraha-mukhāya svāhā | Narasiṃha-mukhāya svāhā | padma-hastāya svāhā | cakra-hastāya svāhā | padma-hastāya? svāhā | Nīlakaṇṭha-vyāghrāya svāhā | Mahābali-Śankarāya svāhā ||
Namo ratna-trayāya | namo āryĀvalokiteśvarāya svāhā ||

Adoration to Avalokiteśvara the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva who is the great compassionate one!
Om, to the one who performs a leap beyond all fears!
Having adored him, may I enter into the heart of the blue-necked one known as the noble adorable Avalokiteśvara! It means the completing of all meaning, it is pure, it is that which makes all beings victorious and cleanses the path of existence.
Thus:
Om, the seer, the world-transcending one!
O Hari the Mahābodhisattva!
All, all!
Defilement, defilement!
The earth, the earth!
It is the heart.
Do, do the work!
Hold fast, hold fast! O great victor!
Hold on, hold on! I hold on.
To Indra the creator!
Move, move, my defilement-free seal!
Come, come!
Hear, hear!
A joy springs up in me!
Speak, speak! Directing!
Hulu, hulu, mala, hulu, hulu, hile!
Sara, sara! siri, siri! suru, suru!
Be awakened, be awakened!
Have awakened, have awakened!
O merciful one, blue-necked one!
Of daring ones, to the joyous, hail!
To the successful one, hail!
To the great successful one, hail!
To the one who has attained master in the discipline, hail!
To the blue-necked one, hail!
To the boar-faced one, hail!
To the one with a lion's head and face, hail!
To the one who holds a weapon in his hand, hail!
To the one who holds a wheel in his hand, hail!
To the one who holds a lotus in his hand, hail!
To the blue-necked far-causing one, hail!
To the beneficient one referred to in this Dhāraṇī beginning with "Namaḥ," hail!
Adoration to the Triple Treasure!
Adoration to Avalokiteśvara!
Hail!
May these [prayers] be successful!
To this magical formula, hail!
(Oṃ siddhyantu mantra-padāni svāhā ||)