Ancient India
The idea of comparing India and China since 1949 due to the Communist takeover in China, is a very different task than it was in the various eras of history before this time. The key difference is the disregard that China developed towards India as the way history began to be viewed in China through the prism of the Chinese Communist Party. In order to establish a new national order the idea of the incredible influence India had traditionally held in China was negated or tilted to be far less profound than the reality of of this past showed. Indian Civilization may be older than that found in China, and it was Indian Civilization which influenced China far more than China influenced India. Indian Philosophy, Sciences, Mathematics and Indian Ethics spread to China beginning in a very slow process in the centuries before Indian Unification in 260 B.C., and accelerated after this. The very basis of many of the concepts of what we today call “Asian Values” came from the Mauryan Age in India. Incredibly, a vivid description of the wonder that was Ancient India comes from the voice of Ancient China.
A complex based upon Ancient Indian Astronomy and Time Keeping. Jantar Mantar, Rajasthan India.
Indian Astronomy, which was very different than what was found in China before the period of the Great Interchange between India and China, would profoundly influence Chinese Astronomy. Not only do Chinese records show this clearly but also record an Indian Astronomer known in China as, Qutan Xida who was the Director of the Tang Dynasties National Astrological Observatory. His true name was Gotamma Siddha, and he assisted in the translation of his many works on astronomy into Chinese. His efforts, also reinforced the knowledge the Chinese had of Indian Scholars and Scientists such as Aryabhata and Brahmagupta. The works showed the pioneering of Indian Mathematicians in developing the trigonometric, Sine and its use in accurate time keeping.
Prime Minister Modi, honors Ancient Indian Social Reformer and Pioneer of Democratic Principles, Basavanna.
In later times Arab Mathematicians would simply translate the the Indian Surya Siddhanta, and the knowledge would be transmitted to Europe. For centuries the Indian Decimal system and number system would be attributed to Arab Mathematicians until European Scholars became aware of the original Indian Texts which were far more ancient, and actually attributed to, by Arab Scholars such as Mohmmad Al-Fazari and Persian Indologist Al-Beruni. Yet, it would be the realization which would come from Chinese records which would actually finally give justice to Ancient India for the wonder it was, for so many records were lost in India during the period of Islamic invasion.
The Unification of India in 260 B.C. by Emperor Piyadaasi Ashoka, established the world’s largest empire at this time by geography and population. A standardization of weights and measures created an economic zone unrivaled on the globe. Emperor Ashoka had seen the fringes of his vast Empire and realized that these areas were not only less populated, but far less developed in terms of philosophy, science and medical knowledge. He came to to the conclusion that he had to alleviate the suffering of the people of these areas and those abroad, by spreading knowledge. India already had a flourishing system of medicine known as Aryurvedic Medicine. dentistry, surgeries and even inoculations were performed routinely in Ancient India.
Faxian. Travels to India
After Emperor Ashoka sent emissaries all over the known world bringing with them Indian Buddhism, Philosophy and Scientific knowledge. These emissaries would also invite populations to come and study in India, Chinese students journeyed over vast largely sparsely populated areas to reach the universities of Ancient India. They would generally travel around the Himalayas and enter India through the passes of North Western India. The frontier they crossed showed them the very fringe of the Pan-Indian World. As their journey neared its end, they would cross from what is now Afghanistan and then cross the Indus River. They would be astounded by the civilization they saw, as it was heavily populated and developed. One city passed just as quickly as another came. For some their journey had already ended as they went to study at Taxila University, for others their destinations lay deeper into the Pan-Indian World.
Puphagiri Mahavihara, Odisha, India.
Puphagiri Mahavihara, in the Indian State of Odisha was described as one of the oldest and most established of Indian Universities by Chinese Traveler and Student, Hiuen Tsang in 639 A.D. The University was spread out over 143 acres. Excavation at the site today confirms that it was indeed a place built long ago, as it has been dated to the 2nd Century B.C. Incredibly, the University was only known through ancient texts until a local Professor, Harish Chandra Prusty found the site by accident. The Archeological Survey of India had in vain been searching for the site since the 1950’s. Though many clues were found, the only purpose they served was to disqualify misidentified sites. It would Professor Prusty’s discovery of a seal with the name of the University inscribed in Brahmi Script which would finally shine light on one of Ancient India’s long lost seats of learning.
Nalanda University, Bihar India.
Chinese Students would also document the Academic Masterpiece of Ancient India which was Nalanda University in the State of Bihar. To come to study here was an achievement in itself. And like Puphagiri Mahavihara, the academics taught were extensive. More than 6 Million books were present in its massive libraries. The scientific, literary and mathematical achievement of Ancient India was here. Original manuscripts from Indian Playwright Ashwagosh were present, along with the works of Kalidas, Aryabhata and Panini. It was a University which had been Endowed by Emperor Pyadaasi Ashoka himself. Chinese travelers would record the extensive staff, and the education they received there. They would take copies of thousands of manuscripts back to China and continue to correspond with their friends and Professors in India sometimes for the rest of their lives. The influence that Ancient India had on China from the Third Century B.C. to the destruction of India’s Universities and final burning of Nalanda by an Islamic Fanatic known as Kilji around 1157 A.D., is a matter which simply is profound. For no two civilizations in recorded human ever interfaced the way Ancient India did with Ancient China.
Sanskrit language still survives in many Chinese terms, even the word Mandarin comes from the Indian Sanskrit “Mantri” or “Minister” hence Mandarin equates to the language of Governance. The Sanskrit word “Dhyan” or “Concentration” would become “Chan” in Mandarin Chinese, and “Zen” by the time it reached Japan. Hindu mythology would travel and maintain it's essence with elements changed in name but still recognizable in China and Japan. The Pagoda is Indian in origin and today very much part of the skyline of China and the far east.
Vispana Pagoda, Mumbai, India.
To look at two civilizations such as India and China and ascertain which one was more advanced can only be done deductively. It was Ancient China who sent students to study in India, and it was Ancient China who called India, “The Celestial Storehouse of Knowledge”, it is quite apparent that India was a sophisticated Civilization. At the same time the viewpoint of Indians at this time could be very straight forward as noted by many Chinese Students and travelers who crossed the frontier of India near Taxila including Dao Jing who journeyed along with Faxian, he would state in a third person form of writing:
“The crowd of Monks came out, and asked from which Kingdom they were come, they replied ‘from the land of Han (China)’, They would reply ‘Strange’ said the Monks with a sigh, ‘that men of a border country should come here in search of our laws!’. they then said……’followers of our system’”
The statements of Chinese travelers would correlate over during Great Interchange, many would view India as a Utopia, and the words of Faxian would become valued in his own time, as his views were impartial and held great importance when he would return back to China. Traveling widely in India during the rule of Chandragupta II (400–410 A.D.), he would gain and even greater reverence for India than he came with, and it seems India exceeded his already high expectations. He would state:
“The people are very well off, without poll tax or official restrictions.. The Kings govern without corporal punishment, and criminals are fined according to circumstance.”
His description of this contrasted to China at the time, and he would remark on the free medical care which was received by Indians at the time and of high quality. Faxian would record India as being a virtual utopia at this time, with flourishing trade and governance which was exceptional. His various writings would inspire future Chinese students, and travelers to seek India. Faxian would in the first time in Chinese History refer to a foreign nation India, as the “Middle Kingdom” and place China on a secondary level. The respect and awe he held for India did not fade for Faxian.
By act of the Indian Parliament in 2010, Nalanda University is being rebuilt and has started functioning after nearly 10 centuries.
When looking at the relationship of Ancient India and Ancient China, the very records which China has left indicate its own opinion of India. Ancient India, held a unique place in the world after the Mauryan Dynasty and the later Gupta Dynasty. India’s place in the world was not simply because of its economic prosperity which was unmatched, it was India’s Scientific. Philosophical achievement, and the combination of humanity reflected in nearly every facet of governance at that time. Ancient India, was a place where trade occurred with Ancient Persia, Ancient Greece and later Rome. Ancient India, unlike Empires which based their identity on ability to conduct conquest and expansion, had realized it possessed something far more than this, for it spared no effort to spread its vision of Enlightened Coexistence. The quest to alleviate suffering as much as possible became a pursuit Ancient India engaged in like no civilization before it. Chinese travelers to India very much understood this, they came to India to gain the knowledge of a civilization which magnanimously shared its enlightenment with the world without inhibition. Their opinion still is present in their own words.
Footnotes:
[1] The argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen
[2] India a History, John Keayi
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