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Publication date:
15 September 2017Length of book:
560 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442220928
This pathbreaking study provides the first comprehensive examination of India-China interactions in the broader contexts of Asian and world history. By focusing on material exchanges, transmissions of knowledge and technologies, networks of exchange during the colonial period, and little-known facets of interactions between the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China, Tansen Sen argues convincingly that the analysis of India-China connections must extend beyond the traditional frameworks of nation-states or bilateralism. Instead, he demonstrates that a wide canvas of space, people, objects, and timeframe is needed to fully comprehend the interactions between India and China in the past and during the contemporary period. Considering as well the contributions of people and groups from beyond India and China, Sen also explores the interactions between Indians and Chinese outside the Asian continent. The author’s formidable array of sources, pulled from archives and libraries around the world, range from Chinese travel accounts to Indian intelligence reports. Examining the connected histories of the two regions, Sen fills a striking gap in the study of India and China in a global setting.
Tansen Sen has the remarkable knowledge and skills to be considered a historian of both China and India. In this groundbreaking study, his facility with the languages of both cultures enables him to provide a sophisticated history and analysis of their exchanges of products, philosophical and religious views, and scientific ideas. Noting that the relations between the two cultures need to be perceived in a broader context, Sen describes the influences of their interactions on other Asian civilizations. He concludes with an analysis of their relations in the modern world.