Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400

by Tansen Sen

Relations between China and India underwent a dramatic transformation from Buddhist-dominated to commerce-centered exchanges in the seventh to fifteenth centuries. The unfolding of this transformation, its causes, and wider ramifications are examined in this masterful analysis of the changing patterns of interaction between the two most important cultural spheres in Asia. Tansen Sen offers a new perspective on Sino-Indian relations during the Tang dynasty (618-907), arguing that the period is notable not only for religious and diplomatic exchanges but also for the process through which China emerged as a center of Buddhist learning, practice, and pilgrimage. Before the seventh century, the Chinese clergy--given the spatial gap between the sacred Buddhist world of India and the peripheral China--suffered from a "borderland complex." The emergence of China as a center of Buddhism had profound implications on religious interactions between the two countries and is cited by Sen as one of the main causes for the weakening of China's spiritual attraction toward India. At the same time, the growth of indigenous Chinese Buddhist schools and teachings retrenched the need for doctrinal input from India. A detailed examination of the failure of Buddhist translations produced during the Song dynasty (960-1279) demonstrates that these developments were responsible for the unraveling of religious bonds between the two countries and the termination of the Buddhist phase of Sino-Indian relations. Sen proposes that changes in religious interactions were paralleled by changes in commercial exchanges. For most of the first millennium, trading activities between India and China were closely connected with and sustained through the transmission of Buddhist doctrines. The eleventh and twelfth centuries, however, witnessed dramatic changes in the patterns and structure of mercantile activity between the two countries. Secular bulk and luxury goods replaced Buddhist ritual items, maritime channels replaced the overland Silk Road as the most profitable conduits of commercial exchange, and many of the merchants involved were followers of Islam rather than Buddhism. Moreover, policies to encourage foreign trade instituted by the Chinese government and the Indian kingdoms contributed to the intensification of commercial activity between the two countries and transformed the China-India trading circuit into a key segment of cross-continental commerce. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade brings a fresh understanding to cross-cultural Sino-Indian encounters, elucidating for the first time significant changes in the religious, commercial, and diplomatic interactions between the two countries.

Genres: History, China, India, Religion, Nonfiction, Buddhism

388 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Dr. Sen's periodization scheme, we might read the title in historical sequence: the tenor of the relations move from "Buddhistic" (Tang-5D) to "economic" (Song; Yuan+) ... and the "political" forms some kind of mediator. From Xuanzang to Zheng He: the former can be read as a token of "Buddhist" relationality, the latter of "merchant" mentality. But both were undeniably astute politicians as well.

Diplomacy seems to imply two polities stable across time. Is it fair to say that we may have a better idea of what we think we're talking about when we refer to "Sino-" but less of an idea when we refer to "Indian" for this period? Not to discount the Five Dynasties / Ten Kingdoms period or the diversity of political arenas during the Song, but "India" refers to Harsha's realm, Kashmir, Nalanda/Bengal/Bihar/Pala, the S Indian Cholas, etc., depending on the period and relation under question. Sen is very sensitive to this dynamic. I'm curious about the larger implications of thinking "China" or "India" back into this period of time, especially when our eyes are diverted to the SE Asian seas or the overland routes.

Good synthesis and review of Liu, Thapar, literature on sinification of Buddhism, world-systems theory under Gills and Frank. I think works like these that attempt to get at the "big picture" in relating religion, politics, and economy across a world-system are the necessary precondition to building any purported 'area studies' expertise. This is perhaps the first new attempt to think this big since J Gernet's work half a century ago.

[Erik Champenois · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade" explores the medieval relationship between India and China, including how the relationship changed emphasis from one that involved exchanges of Buddhist texts and relics to one that focused more overwhelmingly on trade goods. As Buddhism spread in China, the Chinese were initially quite reliant on imports of texts and teachings from India, but over time, Buddhism became Sinicized and Chinese Buddhism developed its own trajectory, largely independent from Indian developments.

It was also interesting to get a sense of China-India trade in the context of Tibetan and Southeast Asian developments. While early trade had a particular Buddhist coloring, geopolitics played a role from the beginning, as the Tang and the Kanuj established diplomatic ties at a time that the Tibetans were threatening both parties. The tribute system during the Song dynasty, rather than being one where other countries brought tribute to a recognized superior, was one where the Song court actively lobbied merchants through incentives. The expansion of trade during the Song dynasty was an important element of a more global economy being created in the 13th century, and maritime trade during the Song likewise presaged Zheng He during the Ming.

[CL Chu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on the entanglement between religion and trade systems in the Sino-Indian context. Rather than a continuous, unfolding narrative, the book can be better framed as a comparison between the Sui-Tang (ca 600) and early-Song dynasties (ca 1000). Many gaps remain to be filled in between. But I really like the theme of indigenization of Buddhism in China.