Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c4.s2.47

v1.c4.s2.47

According to *Tang Shu* (Book of Tang Dynasty), *Tong Dian* and *Cefu Yuangui*, the Tang dynasty had many contacts with Indian states while the Indian rulers also sent many envoys to China. According to *Jiu Tang Shu* (Old Book of Tang), Siladitya sent envoys to China in 641 CE and the Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty wrote him a letter along with an imperial jade seal. The Tang empire also sent a number of envoys to India, and among them, Wang Xuance was the most reputed. Wang Xuance went to India three or four times. Back in China, he wrote *Zhongtian Zhuguo Xingji* (also titled *Wang Xuance Xiguo Xingzhuan*), consisting of 10 volumes, with three volumes of maps and charts and covering religion, geography, politics, law, arts and customs. Regrettably, this book was lost and is not available any longer.