Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t6.6

v2.c10.s2.t6.6

Lin Yutang was highly impressed by Indian literature, by the country's ideological and social thought and the cultural essence and ideas which he believed had shaped the entire Indian nation. He tried to study and analyse the spirit and essence of Indian thought and culture, and to realise the experience of Indian values and the richness of Indian thought. In one of his famous works, *The Wisdom of China and India* (1942), he interpreted Indian classical writings. The book focussed on the essence of Indian and Chinese culture. It explored these two ancient civilisations and their people, and analysed their national psychology, literary imagination and everyday lives. It includes excerpts and passages from Indian texts such as *Rigveda*, *Upanishads*, *Ramayana*, *Panchatantra*, *Dharmapadas* while at the same time explaining the teachings of the Chinese masters to foreign readers.