Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s9.t6: Zhang Binglin (Zhang Taiyan)
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s9.t6
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Zhang Binglin (Zhang Taiyan)
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Zhang Binglin 章炳麟 also known as Zhang Taiyan 章太炎 (December 25, 1868 – June 14, 1936) was a well-known Chinese scholar, philosopher and revolutionary nationalist of the early 20th century. He was known for his radical political views and outspokenness, which got him into trouble with the authorities both at the end of the Qing dynasty and after the establishment of the Republic of China. As a writer and contributor to several papers, among them the *Shiwubao* and *Minbao*, he wrote several pieces analysing the condition of India. During his exile in Japan, he appears to have maintained contact with some Indians studying in Japan who influenced his views on India and Asia.
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Some of his important writings on India are to be found in the 20th issue of *Minbao* in April 1908, under the heading “Methods for the Chinese Indian Alliance (支那印度聯合之法)”.
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Some of his earliest comments on India appeared in a discussion of the views expressed by his contemporary, the famous reformer Kang Youwei. He argued that the Indians had been preconditioned to accept the British rule by their experience of subjugation of other foreign rulers, particularly, the Mughals. He wrote: “By the time the Mughals unified the land, the Indian people had already pledged their allegiance to different people. To be owned by the Mughals and then be owned by the British, what difference did it make to them?”
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At that time, there was an extensive literature in China on the *wangguo* 亡国 or ruined countries, which sought to understand the reason for the apparent decline of countries like India. Like Kang Youwei, Zhang Taiyan tried to ascribe responsibility for certain qualities of the Indian people, which had led to their subjugation, to their environment. As he puts it - “Various objects quickly rot in the heat, and so the (Indian) people have little idea of ownership... Precisely because they lack the idea of ownership, they think that everything is impermanent and they cannot hold on to anything... Since their idea of possession is weak, Indians have generally not cared if their national territory is lost or if their race declines.” At this stage, Zhang was convinced that
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*Zhang Binglin*
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the Chinese people did not share such weaknesses, and hence, China was not in imminent danger of becoming one of the *wangguo* in spite of the many troubles that it faced at that time.
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A major change in Zhang Taiyan’s attitude towards India seems to have occurred as a result of his serious study of Buddhism while imprisoned by the Qing authorities from 1903 to 1906. In Zhang’s writings, India is identified repeatedly as the home of Buddhism, and Indians as Buddhists. In the essay entitled, “Method for a Chinese-Indian alliance (支那印度聯合之法)”, he wrote: “There are only two great Asian nations: the Han scholars in the East and the Buddhist scholars in the West... the world of the Han owe a great debt to the exchanges across the Congling (Pamir) mountains.” In another piece on “The Indian people’s discussion of National Essence (印度人之論國粹)”, he recounts having had a discussion with an Indian friend in Japan whom he identifies as “Dai”, in which both expressed very similar views about the importance of historical thinking to bring out the national essence of the people. He wrote that "When I heard my Buddhist friend say this, I knew that the Han and Fan (梵) (Buddhist) peoples shared the same feelings, and I was secretly overwhelmed with joy (竊沾沾自欣幸).”
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After his prison term, Zhang Taiyan left for Japan, where he associated himself with the Revolutionary Alliance or ‘*Tongmenhui*’同盟會led by Sun Yat-sen. In Japan, he recorded his impressions of a meeting he attended there in April 1907 organised by some Indian students to commemorate the 16th century Indian ruler Shivaji. While in Japan his pan-Asianist ideas also began to develop. However, Zhang Taiyan was critical of what he saw as a growing trend of Japanese hegemonism and gravitated towards the idea of a Chinese-Indian alliance.
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He expressed his support for the struggle of the Indian people for liberation from British rule, which he saw as part of their struggle to rediscover their national essence. He wrote that - “if only the Indian people gained independence through one war, then they would already surpass the level of British culture, but they would not necessarily surpass the level of culture of their own past."
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Although Zhang Taiyan did not have the opportunity to visit India, unlike his contemporary Kang Youwei, he was one of the prominent intellectuals of early 20th century China who did interact with Indians and tried to understand and analyse their views, particularly on the subjects of nationalism and Asianism. He was one of the early intellectuals of modern China to espouse the idea of a special bond between India and China that went beyond their traditional relations, based on Buddhism.
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(*Madhavi Thampi*)