China and India are two veritable giants in the world. Long history, ancient civilisations. Not to forget they are neighbours who are into skirmishes off and on. They fought a war in 1962. Another one was recently in 2020. China banned the last Indian reporter from being in the country this week. There is always an undercurrent of hostility between these two nations.
Two incidents are amongst the most defining in their history.
The first one is a glorious, inspiring one. In the 7th century, under the Tang dynasty, China had postal systems, road networks and a flourishing open culture. Since that time, Xuanzang is one of the most respected figures in Chinese history. In 629 AD, he crossed the Himalayas into India to learn more about Buddhism. He spent seventeen years travelling to Peshwar, Patna, Kanchi, Bodh Gaya, Bengal, Malwa and Gujarat amongst other places. He spent two years in monasteries in Kashmir trying to understand Buddhist philosophies. He also spent two years studying at the University in Nalanda. Sixteen years after he had left, in 645 AD, he went back to China laden with books, statues and other cultural artefacts. He was considered wise and evolved. When he went back, he was given a rapturous welcome by the people and the emperor asked him to be his Prime Minister. He decided to continue as a monk. His influence triggered a great intermingling of Indian, Buddhist and Chinese cultures with hundreds of monks travelling across these countries. China became a centre of Buddhism too with Indian influences and two great civilisations drew from each other.
Another significant interaction between India and China was around opium almost 1000 years later. East India Company had established itself in India in 1757 and over time it started smuggling opium from Bengal into China. This had its own bad effects. Opium addiction had grown tremendously in the population. Estimates put the number of addicts at 12 million and the annual trade of opium at 30,000 chests of 170 pounds each.
To curb this menace, the emperor appointed a commissioner Lin Zexu. In 1839, he set about his task vigorously, arresting traders, seizing almost 1 million kilograms of opium and destroying it. The British then decided to attack the Chinese forces with an army from India consisting mostly of Indian sepoys. Eventually, the Chinese lost, conceding several important concessions including rights to Hong Kong. This has been always a sore wound in the Chinese mind.
Thus Buddhism and opium, both from India, in fact from the Eastern part of India, played a significant role in Chinese history and the relationship between these giants.
