On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh, Zhang Xianyi looks back into the past and look forward into the future with expectation and hope, in a two-part article
History and legend of Sino-Bangla contacts
BOTH China and Bangladesh are countries with time-honoured history and splendid culture. These two magical lands have witnessed contacts between the two vigorous nations for thousands of years. As an old Chinese saying goes, we can always get a better understanding of the present by reviewing the past.
Centuries-old Southern Silk Road
IN HISTORY, there were three Silk Roads connecting China and the Indian subcontinent. One is Northern Silk Road, which started from the central region of ancient China and extended into Europe through northwest China and the Indian subcontinent. Among the explorers who once took this path of dangers and wonders there was Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy of China's Western Han Dynasty, Fa Xian, a monk of Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xuan Zang, a monk of Tang Dynasty and Marco Polo, an Italian who travelled to China in Yuan Dynasty. Our ancestors also had contacts on the oceans to the south of China and the Indian subcontinent. The ancients began travelling on Maritime Silk Road some time after Northern Silk Road was opened. Fa Xian, Jacob D Ancona, an Italian merchant, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller, all tried this maritime route. Zheng He, a great explorer of China's Ming Dynasty, commanded seven voyages to the Indian Ocean and arrived in Bangla at least twice.
Centuries-old Southern Silk Road
IN HISTORY, there were three Silk Roads connecting China and the Indian subcontinent. One is Northern Silk Road, which started from the central region of ancient China and extended into Europe through northwest China and the Indian subcontinent. Among the explorers who once took this path of dangers and wonders there was Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy of China's Western Han Dynasty, Fa Xian, a monk of Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xuan Zang, a monk of Tang Dynasty and Marco Polo, an Italian who travelled to China in Yuan Dynasty. Our ancestors also had contacts on the oceans to the south of China and the Indian subcontinent. The ancients began travelling on Maritime Silk Road some time after Northern Silk Road was opened. Fa Xian, Jacob D Ancona, an Italian merchant, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller, all tried this maritime route. Zheng He, a great explorer of China's Ming Dynasty, commanded seven voyages to the Indian Ocean and arrived in Bangla at least twice.
I would like to give special introduction to the third Silk Road — Southern Silk Road, which was closely related to Bangladesh. Many scholars believe this road has existed since the 4th century BC before China's Qin Dynasty. It has a history of over 2,400 years, longer than the above-mentioned two Silk Roads. Southern Silk Road was first mentioned in the narration of Zhang Qian's visit to Bactria in Shiji, a masterpiece of Chinese history by Sima Qian, a historian of Western Han Dynasty. Bactria located in the north of today's Afghanistan, south of the Amu River and north of the Hindu Kush Mountain Range. In 122 BC, Zhang Qian returned from Bactria to Chang'an (today's Xi'an), capital of Western Han Dynasty and reported to the emperor, 'When I was in Bactria, I saw bamboo sticks from the Qionglai Mountain (in today's Sichuan Province) and cloth made in the province of Shu (in today's Sichuan Province). When I asked the locals where they got such articles, they replied, "Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Yuandu (India).
Yuandu lies several thousand kilometres southeast of Bactria. The people there live much like us. The region is hot and damp. The inhabitants ride elephants when they go to battle. The kingdom is situated by a great river." In my opinion, if Bactria, a kingdom 6,000 kilometres away from China, can get Shu articles from Yuandu, Yuandu must not be far from Shu.' From Zhang Qian's perspective, nomadic tribes in the north 'might cut the northern transportation' between China and Bactria while it was 'risky' to go to Bactria through Qinghai-Tibet Plateau because of its high altitude, so the Shu-Yuandu-Bactria route would be 'the best choice'. Upon Zhang Qian's advice, the emperor decided to rebuild the connection with the south-western region, and thus Southern Silk Road, a road that had been there long ago, was restored. Many Chinese and foreign scholars believe Southern Silk Road was the earliest link between China and the Indian subcontinent and also the shortest distance covered by ancient Chinese inhabitants of border areas when they entered the subcontinent through Myanmar. Southern and Northern Silk Roads were the two important communication channels in the ancient Asian-European Continent.
Bangla — the only access on Southern Silk Road to Indian subcontinent
ACCORDING to historical records, during Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty (211 BC–220), Southern Silk Road started from the province of Shu (today's Chengdu Plain), ran southwards through Kunming, Dali, Baoshan and Ruili of Yunnan Province and entered Myanmar and India. In Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty (618–1279), trade and people-to-people exchanges on this road became more active and there were several routes available. One of them entered Myanmar, went along the Irrawaddy River, crossed the Chindwin River and the Naga Mountain Range and arrived in the Assam state of today's India. Another one travelled out of China from Yunnan, followed the Ruili River and the Irrawaddy River southwards to Mandalay, turned northwest after it passed Prome and climbed over the Arakan Yoma into the Manipur state of today's India. It should be noted that all these different routes, before they found their way into the Indian plain, reached the same place called 'Pundravardhana', a kingdom on the bank of the river Brahmaputra. 'Pundravardhana' was recorded in the geography chapters of the New Book of Tang edited from 1044 to 1060 and the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions finished by Xuan Zang in 646. It was probably located near Rangpur or Pabna of today's Bangladesh.
Cultural interactions brought by Southern Silk Road
SOUTHERN Silk Road served as an indispensable bridge for cultural, scientific and business exchanges between China, especially its south-western region, and the Indian subcontinent.
As is known to all, techniques of sericulture and silk-weaving originated from Sichuan and Yunnan of China and spread through Southern Silk Road into the Indian subcontinent and Persia. Some ancient documents said Chinese silk was commonly used by dignitaries in the Indian subcontinent as early as 2,400 years ago. Some Sanskrit classics, written at that time or later, like Mahabharata, kept records of silk and China. Tea and sesame have their origins on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau. It is quite possible that these two plants were introduced to the west by Southern Silk Road as well. In view of this, traditional textile and tea industries in Bangladesh today may find their roots in the abovementioned ancient exchanges. Study shows that ironware and iron-smelting techniques also followed Southern Silk Road into the Indian subcontinent, and even further to Central Asia and Ancient Rome. Rice cultivation in Asia might have started in Yunnan of China and Assam of India at the same time. Gourd, balsam pear, eggplant, sugarcane and haricot were the plants introduced from the Indian subcontinent to China.
Bangla — the only access on Southern Silk Road to Indian subcontinent
ACCORDING to historical records, during Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty (211 BC–220), Southern Silk Road started from the province of Shu (today's Chengdu Plain), ran southwards through Kunming, Dali, Baoshan and Ruili of Yunnan Province and entered Myanmar and India. In Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty (618–1279), trade and people-to-people exchanges on this road became more active and there were several routes available. One of them entered Myanmar, went along the Irrawaddy River, crossed the Chindwin River and the Naga Mountain Range and arrived in the Assam state of today's India. Another one travelled out of China from Yunnan, followed the Ruili River and the Irrawaddy River southwards to Mandalay, turned northwest after it passed Prome and climbed over the Arakan Yoma into the Manipur state of today's India. It should be noted that all these different routes, before they found their way into the Indian plain, reached the same place called 'Pundravardhana', a kingdom on the bank of the river Brahmaputra. 'Pundravardhana' was recorded in the geography chapters of the New Book of Tang edited from 1044 to 1060 and the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions finished by Xuan Zang in 646. It was probably located near Rangpur or Pabna of today's Bangladesh.
Cultural interactions brought by Southern Silk Road
SOUTHERN Silk Road served as an indispensable bridge for cultural, scientific and business exchanges between China, especially its south-western region, and the Indian subcontinent.
As is known to all, techniques of sericulture and silk-weaving originated from Sichuan and Yunnan of China and spread through Southern Silk Road into the Indian subcontinent and Persia. Some ancient documents said Chinese silk was commonly used by dignitaries in the Indian subcontinent as early as 2,400 years ago. Some Sanskrit classics, written at that time or later, like Mahabharata, kept records of silk and China. Tea and sesame have their origins on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau. It is quite possible that these two plants were introduced to the west by Southern Silk Road as well. In view of this, traditional textile and tea industries in Bangladesh today may find their roots in the abovementioned ancient exchanges. Study shows that ironware and iron-smelting techniques also followed Southern Silk Road into the Indian subcontinent, and even further to Central Asia and Ancient Rome. Rice cultivation in Asia might have started in Yunnan of China and Assam of India at the same time. Gourd, balsam pear, eggplant, sugarcane and haricot were the plants introduced from the Indian subcontinent to China.
Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent had the most tremendous and profound influence on Chinese culture. Knowledge of astronomy, calendar, mathematics, architecture, painting, sculpture and geography was also introduced with Buddhism, providing nutrition to Chinese civilisation. Buddhism was transmitted to China in 2 BC during Western Han Dynasty. Gradually assimilated and integrated in its collisions with Chinese traditional ideology and culture, Buddhism finally became part of Chinese culture, ideology and philosophy. It also greatly affected the shaping of custom and characters of ethnic minorities in China like the Dai and the Bai.
Southern Silk Road is also an ethnic immigration passage. It is possible that some of the ancestors of minorities in Northeast and Southeast Bangladesh came from Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet and Mongolia. From the local Bangladeshi people I can always hear the legend of their forefathers who might have come from the east.
Fa Xian, Xuan Zang and Yi Jing
BANGLADESHI friends often mention to me the names of Chinese and Bangladeshi eminent monks including Fa Xian, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Atisha Dipankar. There is no doubt that Buddhism is one of the most important carriers in the early cultural interactions between China and the Indian subcontinent. In those remote years, religious faith built Buddhist monks into persevering envoys of civilisations. It was reasonable for learned men and scholars like Fa Xian, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Atisha Dipankar to take down history and pass it on to future generations. Thanks to their precious works, we are able to get closer to our ancestors and communicate with them today.
Fa Xian, Xuan Zang and Yi Jing
BANGLADESHI friends often mention to me the names of Chinese and Bangladeshi eminent monks including Fa Xian, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Atisha Dipankar. There is no doubt that Buddhism is one of the most important carriers in the early cultural interactions between China and the Indian subcontinent. In those remote years, religious faith built Buddhist monks into persevering envoys of civilisations. It was reasonable for learned men and scholars like Fa Xian, Xuan Zang, Yi Jing and Atisha Dipankar to take down history and pass it on to future generations. Thanks to their precious works, we are able to get closer to our ancestors and communicate with them today.
Fa Xian was a monk of China's Eastern Jin Dynasty. In 399 AD, he started his journey to the Indian subcontinent from Chang'an at the age of 63. Fourteen years later when he returned to China by sea, he had travelled more than 20,000 kilometres and was already 76 years old. Fa Xian was the first person in Chinese history who visited the places in today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia by land and sea and also the first monk in record who arrived in the Indian subcontinent to worship Buddha and seek copies of Buddhist scriptures and returned. He stayed in Bangla for two years and witnessed the prosperity of Buddhism — 30 monasteries with more than 2,000 devotees. Fa Xian studied Buddhism at the famous Tamralipta Monastery and devoted himself to translating Buddhist scriptures after his return. His work filled the blank of commandments in the scriptures circulated in China at that time. He also wrote a book named A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, telling his experiences in more than 30 countries. At Fa Xian's time, there was not a second person in the world who had similar experiences or writing, which makes the value and role of Fa Xian's book so unique.
Many friends told me one saying in the Qur'an, 'If you want more knowledge, go to China', while in China we often say, 'Go to the Western Heaven for Buddhist scriptures', which means if you desire for the true meaning of the scriptures, you must learn it at the birthplace of Buddha. 'The Western Heaven' is a sacred place. This Chinese saying comes from the story of Xuan Zang, a monk of China's Tang Dynasty who travelled to India for scripture study. In 629 AD, Xuan Zang started from Chang'an to India. After fighting against extreme weather and adverse environment and crossing the desolate desert on foot, he finally arrived in a kingdom called Magadha, a Buddhist centre in the south of Bihar State of today's India, and learned the scriptures at Nalanda Monastery, the centre and highest institution for Buddhist study with around 10,000 believers. Indian Buddhism was at its peak during that period named by some scholars as 'Age of Nalanda'. At Nalanda Monastery, Xuan Zang learned from Sila-Bhadra for five years. Experts have found that Sila-Bhadra came from Dhaka area of today's Bangladesh. Xuan Zang described Sila-Bhadra in his Great Tang Records on the Western Regions as 'a Brahmin and royal member of the Kingdom of Samatata'. 'When Sila-Bhadra was young, he was morally-principled and eager to learn. So he travelled around India for truth of the universe.' At Nalanda Monastery, he met Dharmapala Bodhisattva and 'asked for the way of self-detachment not only in theory but also in detail.' On his thirtieth birthday, Sila-Bhadra had already become 'a promising talent among newcomers'. As time went by, Xuan Zang's in-depth study and broad knowledge made him increasingly famous. The King of Magadha held a grand gathering for him to lecture on Buddhist scriptures for 18 kings and over 3,000 monks in India.
In Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, Xuan Zang recorded tens of kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent. Experts consider three of them, Pundravardhana, Samatata and Kajangala, are located within the territory of today's Bangladesh. Reading Xuan Zang's book, we feel as if we were entering the life of Bangla people over 1,300 years ago. At that time this land was gifted with beautiful sceneries and bountiful resources. 'Flourishing plants and fruits', developed economy and self-sufficient agriculture made it one of the advanced farming areas of Indian Subcontinent. It was also 'a land with a large population' due to pleasant environment. People lived in houses 'built near water and surrounded by flowers, trees and pools'. 'The society was in harmony and nice order.' Mahayana and Hinayana monks could peacefully coexist in Buddhist monasteries. 'Believers of various religions lived together in peace.' Bangla had a history and tradition of putting education first. The locals 'loved learning' and 'respected learned people'. They were 'diligent and willing to accept different ideas.' It was an enlightened society with open minds and encouragement for communication. Therefore, 'most prominent and knowledgeable monks of East India gathered here,' and made Bangla an important academic centre and one of the shrines of Buddhism. Sakyamuni once lectured on Buddhist scriptures in Bangla, where Buddhism enjoyed prosperity with magnificent monasteries, tens of thousands of monks and many Buddhist relics, including sacred sites where Tathagata had visited, The Tower of Ashoka, a jade statue of Buddha which was 2.7 metres tall and stone-built Buddhist platforms with fine carvings.
In 645 AD, Xuan Zang returned to Chang'an, a city that he left 17 years ago. Having brought back 657 Buddhist classics from 'the Western Heaven', he began to translate them into Chinese. Xuan Zang not only made a great contribution to the enrichment of Chinese culture but also helped preserve valuable Buddhist classics of ancient India. His book Great Tang Records on the Western Regions has become a priceless historical and geographic masterpiece and also one of the most important bases for study of the history of the Indian subcontinent. His legend provided the inspiration for a widely-known novel in China — Journey to the West written by Wu Cheng'en, a novelist of Ming Dynasty.
Among Chinese monks who went to 'the Western Heaven' for Buddhist scriptures, Yi Jing was as famous as Fa Xian and Xuan Zang. Admiring the heroic undertaking of Fa Xian and Xuan Zang since childhood, he started his journey in 671 AD, travelled in the Indian subcontinent for 30 years, studied in Nalanda Monastery and once arrived in today's Bangladesh. Yi Jing finished two travelogues, translated a lot of Buddhist classics and even edited an elementary Sanskrit dictionary for Chinese monks going to the Indian subcontinent for study.
to be continued
to be continued
Zhang Xianyi is the ambassador of China to Bangladesh
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