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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11: Section VIII Visual and Performing Arts

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11

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Section VIII Visual and Performing Arts

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A rock cut grotto of a Buddhist image at Bingling monastery at Yongjing county in Gansu Province, dating from the northern Zhou Period (557-581 CE).

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India and China are two great powers of art, which have both created various types of colourful art forms and formed long-lasting and profound traditions. They are also ancient civilisations of the world whose cultural traditions have not been broken since antiquity. Due to the adjacency of geographical location, similarity of psychological feelings and constant human communication, the art exchange between the two countries can be traced back to the beginning of the Christian era. In ancient times, Buddhism was the main medium of exchange, with India having exported more while China imported in vast measure. As D D Kosambi, a famous historian in India, said in chapter V of *Ancient Indian Culture and History of Civilization* that things related to Buddhism, such as art and architecture in Burma, Thailand, Korea, Japan and Tibet of China, and even world art, will be inferior without the theme of Buddha influenced by India. This is true. In modern times, due to government support, such exchanges are more extensive, frequent and regularised. Art exchange between India and China is brilliant in mutual influence that can be substantiated by records and documents; it is the only one of its kind in the history of human cultural exchanges.

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In history, there are four main channels of Art exchange between India and China ie, Xiyu (Western Regions) channel, Yunnan-Burma channel, South China Sea channel and Tang Dynasty-Tubo (Tibetan regime in ancient China) channel. Xiyu (Western Regions) channel starts from the ancient city – Chang’an (present day Xi’an). With Yangguan and Yumenguan passing westward, along the north and south road of Tarim Basin, via Khotan, Yarkand, Yanqi and Qiuci, over the Pamirs, it enters northwestern India, or connects with Europe. This channel is also called the Silk Road. Xiyu (Western Regions) channel is not only a trade route, but also the main channel of cultural and artistic exchange between India and China. Yunnan-Burma channel starts from Sichuan and Yunnan areas in southwest China, via Burma, leads to Assam and Bangladesh [Figure: (Left) *The torso of a dancing male in limestone, dating back to 3000 BCE, now preserved in the National Museum of India, New Delhi.* (Right) *A dancing female in bronze, dating back to 3000 BCE, now preserved in the National Museum of India, New Delhi.*]

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Indian goddess Saraswati holding the musical instrument Veena

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in northeast India. Yunnan-Burma channel has been opened before Zhang Qian's diplomatic mission to the Western Regions and it is a very important channel with superior natural conditions and relative safety. South China Sea channel is also called Marine Silk Road. It starts from Guangzhou and Quanzhou in the southeast coast of China, via Strait of Malacca, Malaysia, leads to Tamil Nadu in southern India. This channel has been opened in Western Han Dynasty, making up for the deficiency of the India-China land traffic. Tang Dynasty-Tubo (Tibetan regime in ancient China) channel starts from Chang’an, via Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and across the Himalayas and leads to Nepal and India. These four channels have even made lasting and significant contributions to India-China traffic and art exchange in history. These are still playing an important role today.

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Indian Music

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Since the period of Indus Valley Civilisation, there have been carvings showing dancing with music, on which there are musical instruments such as flutes with seven holes. Since Vedic Age, Indian music at least has more than 3,000 years of history. Ode in *Rigveda* appearing around 1500 BCE can be regarded as the earliest lyrics. *Samaveda* is a song book of ancient times and is used by priests singing during sacrifices. Indian music probably originated from religious sacrificial ceremonies.

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Music is sacred in Indian people's lives and minds. Ancient books show that India has had professional singers and accompanists since the ancient times, and their image can be found in some carvings around the Christian era. During Vedic Age, string instruments such as Veena and wind instruments such as flute have been made and they are the origin of some Indian national musical instruments commonly used now. Probably in the late Vedic Age, Indian musicians changed the tetrachord into heptachord, and the description of heptachord can be found in *Atharvaveda*. In the epic period, music received rapid development under the support of the royal family. Around the Christian era, music changed from the elements of religious ceremonies into a highly secular art. In terms of music theory, in addition to the heptachord, seven musical modes also appeared in India. *Natyasastra* not only summarised the drama theory, but also was the earliest Indian literature of music theory. Up to now, many Indian musicians still follow the music rules formulated by Bharata.

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*Raga* is a unique feature of Indian music. It refers, specifically, to the tune framework with musical mode in Indian classical music. Each *Raga* has five *Ragini*, and a total of 36 combinations of tunes. The specific *Raga* and *Ragini* can only be sung in specific season or at a certain time of the day to express the special emotion or mood ie, to show nine "tastes" of traditional Indian aesthetics. Therefore, Indian music has the distinct characteristics such as beautiful melody, being delicate and exquisite, and changing. Initially, Indian classical music was a system, but has gradually been divided into two major schools in the process of development, namely the Hindustani music and Karnataka music.

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Dance

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Among the Indus civilisation relics unearthed in Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, there are bronze statues of female dancers and stone statues of male dancers. According to legends, Shiva, who is one of the three gods of Hinduism, is the earliest ancestor of Indian dance and is capable of 108 kinds of dance. The universe is in the periodical destruction and renewal under his dance. His *Nataraja* is quite famous. Indian dance also probably originated from religious sacrificial ceremony. The early professional dancers would please the gods by dancing during the sacrifice. But dance as an art has at least 3,000 years of history in India. Before Bharata wrote *Natyasastra*, Indian dance had prospered and matured. According to *Natyasastra*, dance is the indispensable content of all important celebration. *Natyasastra* set rules for Indian classical dance and is still the theoretical source of all Indian classical dance forms.

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*A hunting scene in rock painting at Bhimbetka in India*

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(Left) A mural painting depicting the return of the Buddha back home, on the rear wall on the left hand side of the main prayer hall of Cave number 17, at Ajanta caves in India. (Right) A painting from the Mughal period in India. Badshah Akbar listening to administrative affairs, now preserved at the Victoria State Art Gallery of the International Centre at Melbourne in Australia.

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Indian classical dance is divided into north and south systems, and seven schools. Due to historical and social change. Each kind of dance form has its unique skills after evolution, but they still have some common aesthetic principles and technique characteristics, and all originated from Hindu mythology. Among those Indian classical dance schools, the largest and most widespread dances include *Bharatanatyam*, *Kathakali*, *Manipuri*, *Kathak* etc.

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Indian Painting

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Art of painting in India originated from the original line drawing. These line drawings exist in caves, therefore it is also called rock paintings. Rock paintings of India lasted from the middle period of the sixth millennium to the early centuries of the Christian Era. These rock paintings mainly portray hunting scenes and all kinds of wild animals, as well as human dance or funeral scene. In late period, rock paintings showed more of the contents about human life such as horse riding, riding elephants and war and also have symbols about witchcraft and reproduction worship.

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Ajanta frescoes are the mature and model masterpieces of Indian classical painting. Their subjects were mainly Buddha Jataka story and Buddha's story. Early frescoes were created around mid-2^nd or 1^st century BCE and the most late frescoes were created after 475 CE. These frescoes abided by the rules of six elements of Indian traditional paintings They belong to the fine quality works of Indian traditional painting, and pay attention to expressing emotion. Two dominant aesthetic emotional keynotes were used to express 'love' for worldly emotional life and 'sympathy' for religious emotion. In these caves, painting spread around the cave walls, pillars and patios. Ajanta frescoes have had a significant impact upon the local art of painting in India, and grottoes frescoes in Dunhuang and Yungang in China.

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During the reign of Mughal Dynasty, Indian art of painting witnessed a boom again. There were numerous miniature works, reaching the climax of art renaissance. Such painting type, which is called the Mughal miniature, was mainly popular in the palaces of Mughal Dynasty. All emperors of the Mughal Dynasty were fond of warm colours and meticulous brushwork. So Mughal miniature has many similarities with Chinese traditional realistic and heavy-colour paintings. During the reign of Aurangzeb, Mughal miniature began to fade in popularity.

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Since the 19^th century, due to the introduction of western learning to the east, Indian painting also received influence from western painting theory and works, and had many slow and significant changes in aspects such as types, skills and style. The basic skills and scientific processing in the effects of light, body proportion and perspective of western paintings attracted the attention of Indian painters. From the middle of the 19^th century to India's independence in 1947, Indo-European academism had been in the dominant position in the Indian art circle. At the same time, under the cultural background of the Renaissance in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Painting School with its leader, Rabindranath Tagore, emerged in the early 20th century. It called for resisting the art education of colonialism, and advocated the inheritance of Indian artistic traditions represented by Ajanta frescoes and Mughal miniature. Nandalal Bose was the representative painter of Bangladesh Painting School. And the poet Rabindranath Tagore was another important painter in modern India. He started painting after the age of 60, with more than 1,500 works. He has repeatedly held personal exhibitions in western countries, winning high praise. Because his paintings and art theory played the pioneering role and exerted great influence upon Indian modern art, he was honoured as one of the pioneers of Indian modern art.

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A painting of a woman preparing food by Nandalal Bose

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Since India’s independence, many Indian painting schools blossomed, including many prominent art schools such as expressionism painting, surrealism painting, Neo-Tantra Art and others. Under each school, there were a number of important painters. They had wide horizons and increasingly mature painting techniques. New works paid attention to show the real life and personal feelings in the modern society. Indian painting not only inherited the tradition, but also began to innovate and show a thriving vitality.

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**Indian Carving** Maurya Dynasty, founded in 4th century BCE, was an unprecedented huge Empire in the history of India. Indian carving obtained great development during this period. In Mathura and other centres of ancient civilisations, people successively discovered more than 20 huge stone Yaksha statues. Yaksha was one of the gods in Hindu mythology, and under the worship of folk religion. Carving during the Maurya Dynasty held a special important position in Indian art history. During this period, stones were widely used in building and carving in India. In 3rd century BCE,

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*Engravings on the main northern gate of the Sanchi Stupa in India*

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carving flourished the most in India. And in this period, the monumental monolithic pillar built by Ashoka was the model of stone carving works. They were carved from the monolithic sandstones, with the height of 12-15 mt and weight of about 50 tons. The art essence of Ashoka stone pillar was embodied in its head. The Lion Capital of Ashoka discovered in Sarnath was the most important and famous. The stone pillar was originally built by Ashoka in Sarnath in memory of Sakyamuni’s very first teaching at Sarnath, standing for the pillar of the universe, and its head was selected as the national emblem of the Republic of India in 1950. Huabiao, the ornamental column used in traditional Chinese architecture, was obviously influenced by the Ashoka pillar.

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The railing and gate of Buddhist architecture in Buddhist holy land such as Bharhut, Gaya and Sanchi were very important carvings after Maurya Dynasty. Sanchi Piller Relief was the most representative one, and these works were created in the early Andhra Dynasty from 1ˢᵗ century BCE to early 1ˢᵗ century CE, being surrounded by stone railings and stone gate in four directions. Piller relief was to show Buddha’s *Jataka* story and Buddha biography story. But at that time, there was no Buddhist statute, so wheels, footprint and Bodhi leaves were used to represent the Buddha in the technique of symbolism. The carvings of the Great Stupa at Sanchi had large scale, fine skill, exquisite cutting technique and mature modeling and was a rare masterpiece.

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In the middle and later periods of 1st century CE, Indian Buddhist carving art changed rapidly under the influence and interactions of foreign cultures such as from Persia, Greece and Rome. Figure modeling gradually replaced the symbolic expression of the Buddha. Sakyamuni was against idolatry during his lifetime, but in late 1st century CE, the carving and building of Buddha statue have become very important for Buddhist worship. Two carving schools – Matula and Gandhara have even carved Buddha. During the early period (1st-3rd centuries CE), Gandhara Buddha was greatly influenced by Greek carving. They were mainly schist stone carving, and Buddha image was like the Greek sun-god – Apollo; therefore, they were called the Hellenization Buddha statue. Two Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban regime in early 2001 CE were the most magnificent Gandhara Buddha statues. Later, Gandhara Buddha statues were gradually localised, with Indian style and was built by clay. Gandhara Buddha statues were introduced in China, Korea and Japan via Central Asia, and provided the model for art of Buddhist statues in East Asia, exerting profound and great influence.

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During the Gupta Dynasty, with the revival of Hinduism, the carving of Hindu gods has grown into a general trend. In India’s famous Ellora Caves, 17 of the 34 caves were Hindu carving. A large number of beautiful statues of Hindu gods such as Vishnu and Shiva and their emanation body constituted the rock encyclopaedia of Hindu statues. The Elephanta Caves dug at the same time were pure Hinduism carves. In central and southern India, plenty of Hindu temples hold great artistic value. Unlike Buddhist carving, Hindu carving featured its exaggerated modelling, strong movement and various changes.

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Tamil Nadu in ancient southern India was very good at the art of copper carving. Bronze statues during Chola Dynasty were the most famous in India. The bronze *Nataraja* Shiva Statue created in 11ᵗʰ century CE and preserved in the National Museum, New Delhi was a rare art treasure, with highly dynamic beauty. The copper carving symbolised the creation, protection and destruction of the universe with the mysterious dance of Shiva, thus, expressing the ancient Indian philosophy understanding of the evolution of the universe.

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Indian Architecture

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Indian architecture art started from Maurya Dynasty actually. Ashoka Pillar was thought to be the earliest stone architecture in India and once widely distributed in many places. From the perspective of architecture, Ashoka Pillar was clearly symbolic, and was the combination of carving and architecture art. During the Ashoka era, there were many grottoes architecture emerging, such as Sudama Grottoes dug in Balaber Mountains of Bihar and Lomas Rishi Grottoes dug in Longshu Mountain near Gaya. They were the pioneer of grottoes architecture such as *Chaitya* and *Vihara* grottoes of later Indian Buddhism. Stupa was another important building during Ashoka era. The Great Stupa at Sanchi near Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, was the model of early Indian stupa architecture, with a hemispherical bowl in the centre and was founded in 3ʳᵈ century

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*Mahābodhi Temple at Bodhgaya in Bihar, India*

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*Cave number 12 from India's Bajia/Bagu grottoes, dating 2ⁿᵈ century BCE*

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BCE. During the Andhra Dynasty, four stone pillars were built around the railing of the stupa. The Great Stupa at Sanchi had a profound influence upon stupa architecture later.

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Bodhagaya Mahabodhi Temple, more than 10 km away from the south of Gaya in Bihar was also a famous Buddhist architecture. According to legend, Sakyamuni has even sat in meditation under the banyan here. This temple was built in the same period with the Great Stupa at Sanchi. Xuanzang said in *Great Tang Records on the Western Regions* that "it is 160 ft high, 20 paces wide, being built with blue bricks and coated with lime. Each floor has a Buddha statue, with beautiful carving". Later, the Buddhist architectures were mainly temples and grotto temples, spread across India. The most famous one was in Nalanda in southeast of Patna, Bihar. It was built in the period of Gupta Dynasty, the first half of 5ᵗʰ century CE, and was the academic centre of Indian Buddhism. After repeated expansion, it has a grand and magnificent palace, and is well-known overseas. However, these temples were destroyed during Tujue Muslim invasion in 12ᵗʰ century CE.

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The oldest Hindu architectures were some grottoes in the Gupta Dynasty. With the decline of Buddhism, Hinduism began to flourish. In medieval times, many dynasties in northern and southern India believed more in Hinduism, which promoted the development of architecture art of Hindu temples. Around 10ᵗʰ century CE, Hindu architecture entered into its heyday. Buddhism emphasised peace, while Hinduism advocated dynamic change, so the Hindu architecture art also presented a completely different style and features. From the time span, architectural scale and artistic style, southern Indian temple architecture was of typical significance in India. The Brihadeeswarar Temple built in the early 11ᵗʰ century CE in Tanjore during Chola Dynasty was the biggest temple in India, commonly known as Great Stupa of Tanjore. Many frescoes, sculptures and all sorts of adornments made the majestic temple gorgeous. Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai was built in the 17ᵗʰ century CE, and was also a famous temple in southern India. Ellora Caves mentioned above regarding Indian carving had 17 Hindu grotto temples, while Elephanta Caves are Hindu grotto temple. Compared with the Buddhist temple, Hindu temples had not only difficulty in engineering but also more abundant artistic connotation.

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After invading India and establishing the regime, Muslims also brought various architectural forms with Islamic style into India which made India’s architectural culture diversify into various forms and styles. Since 13^th^ century CE, Muslim architecture gradually emerged in many cities in northern India and it mainly included castles, palaces, tombs and mosques. Building materials were more red sandstone and white marble, simple and pristine or fresh and elegant. Indian Muslim architecture gradually absorbed some artistic forms of India’s traditional architectures during its development, forming a unique style. In the period of Mughal Dynasty, a large number of masterpieces of architectural art emerged which was the most brilliant chapter in the architectural history of India and even the world.

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The Brihadisvara (Shivala) temple in India which was established in 1025 CE, during the reign of King Rajasimhavarman of the Chola Dynasty.

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Xivala Temple at India’s Bulihadi, during the Chola Dynasty.

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Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi, India

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Taj Mahal in Agra, India

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Agra Fort in India

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From Akbar to Shah Jahan, generations of Mughal emperors indulged in architecture. The wealth and power of the empire and interest and aesthetic taste of rulers jointly contributed to the prosperity of Mughal architecture art. Humayun Tomb in east Delhi was the most important master work of early Mughal architecture. Persian architect Milak Mirza Gyasi was responsible for the design of the tomb, giving it a Persian style. The stately and primitive tomb was located in the centre of a quiet and secluded square garden and it was the first Indian garden tomb, laying the foundation for the building of Taj Mahal. In 1565, Akbar, son of Humayun, started to build Agra Fort. It was not only a grand palace but also an invulnerable military stronghold. It was built using red sandstone, and is commonly known as Agra Red Fort. Outside the wall, there is the tower, horn tower, turret, battlement, with moat 10 mt wide surrounding it, and inside the castle, there were hundreds of pavilions built with red sandstone.

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*Red Fort in New Delhi, India*

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*Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India*

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During the reign of Shah Jahan - the fifth emperor of Mughal Dynasty, Mughal architecture art reached its summit. Shah Jahan had a passion for architecture art. He used a large quantity of white marble which changed Mughal architecture art from magnificent to elegant. In 1639 CE, Shah Jahan decided to move the capital to Delhi, and built the Red Fort here. This fort was similar to Agra Fort. He wanted to build an earthly paradise, and Delhi Red Fort basically met his desire. Jama Masjid, diagonally across the street from Delhi Red Fort was another huge building built by Shah Jahan. It was India's largest mosque, and can accommodate more than 20,000 believers.

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Taj Mahal, the masterpiece of Mughal architecture art, was the most brilliant building built by Shah Jahan, and also the milestone in the history of world architecture. In 1631 CE, Shah Jahan's beautiful wife Arjumand Banu Begum died after she gave birth to the 14ᵗʰ child. Shah Jahan decide to build in her memory, an unprecedented tomb beside Yamuna River by southeast of Agra Fort to bury his wife. The construction of the tomb started in 1632 CE, and completed in 1643 CE. During the construction period, more than 20,000 artisans worked in a day. The whole architectural complex was a rectangular plane, 580 mt long from north to south, and 305 mt wide from east to west. There was a square Persian-style garden in the middle of the tomb, and the white marble pool in the centre of the garden reflected the beautiful shadow of Taj Mahal. White marble-domed tomb was in the middle of the north of the garden, with 57 mt high. The tomb was octagonal, with stone coffin – cenotaph of the queen Mumtaz Mahal (another name) being placed in the centre, and the simulate coffin of Shah Jahan in the west side. The stone coffin was surrounded by marble screen inlaid with gems. Taj Mahal was regarded as one of the architectural marvels in the world. After Aurangzeb's death, Mughal architecture art began to fall with the fall of the empire.

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After European colonists invaded India and gained a foothold, the European modern architectural concept was gradually applied to this ancient civilisation. Portuguese colonists built many magnificent Christian churches with European Baroco style in Goa. By the late Victorian era, the influence of British colonists upon Indian public architecture emerged. However, most British architects respected and were willing to reflect the Indian traditional architectural style. In 1911, King George V officially announced that British India government moved from Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) to Delhi. Policymakers decided to build another new capital in the south of Old Delhi. In January 1931, a ceremony was held in New Delhi. Modern architectures such as the Rashtrapati Bhavan, were elegant, vibrant as well as stately, primitive and grand. Red sandstone and white marble constituted the key colour of these architectures. India Gate in New Delhi was a symbolic and memorial architecture. This arch architecture was in memory of the unknown soldiers killed in World War I. Victoria Memorial in Calcutta and India Gate in Mumbai, all have a European style. Lotus Temple of Bahai Faith (namely Bahaism) built in New Delhi in 1986, was a very striking modern religious architecture, with the main building materials of white marble, shape of the typical style of Bahaism temple, and looked like a gigantic white lotus blossoming. Therefore, this famous modern architecture was also known as Lotus Temple. Nine doors were opened on nine walls under the dome, meaning that all roads could lead people to the temple of god. Lotus Temple was surrounded by nine pools which were the symbol of lotus leaves. Lotus Temple covered an area of 10.5 hectare, with lush flowers and trees around. Lotus Temple honoured as the modern architectural marvel was one of the most spectacular architectures and was also one of the symbolic architectures in New Delhi.

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The influence from India's ancient art upon China

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Ancient Indian music, dance, carving, painting and other forms of art have had a huge impact upon China.

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A mural painting of Gandharvas in the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra, depicted in cave number 18, in the cave of a thousand Buddhas in the Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

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The southern mural painting in cave number 112 among the Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. It depicts the Chinese harp being played by a gandharva in the Amitāyuś Sūtra.

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Mural painting in cave number 112, depicting the musical craft of playing a double-ended skin drum with a narrow waist.

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**(I) Music:** Music exchange between India and China has had 2,000 years of history. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Indian music was introduced into China with the spread of Buddhism. In the third century CE, Buddhist music began to be popular in China. In Dunhuang frescoes and Yungang stone carving, we could see many Indian musical instruments such as Xiao, flute, Qin, konghou (stringed instrument), pipa, and brass cymbal. During the era of Emperor Wu of Han, China could copy the konghou. By the late Tang Dynasty, the musician Li Ping was well-know because of being good at playing the konghou. Li He (a poet in Tang Dynasty) has even made the vivid description in his verse, “Jade shatters on Kunlun Mountains, and phoenixes shriek” that Li Ping’s playing skill has reached the acme of perfection.

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**Theory of Qiuci (an ancient state)** Musical modes contained Indian musical elements, and had a significant impact on the development of ancient Chinese music. Indian music was introduced into Former Liang (a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during Jin dynasty) in 4th century CE, and then into the east. In the Northern and Southern Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan brought Buddhist music into the court. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou – Yu Wenyong (561 - 578 CE), Sujiva introduced seven musical scales of Qiuci music to the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Because Qiuci was close to India geographically, it was greatly influenced by Indian culture, so the theory of seven musical scales undoubtedly originated from Indian music. Seven musical scales exerted a great impact on Chinese music in medieval times. In the Sui Dynasty, heptachord was introduced into China. Indian song *Shashijiang* and dance music *Tianqu* were very popular. Indian musical instruments such as Konghou, Bili (wind instrument), and Jiegu (drum) were also used by Chinese musicians. In Sui and Tang Dynasties, Indian music was the court music.

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**(II) Dance:** In ancient China, dance was a kind of popular art. In the Han Wei Dynasty, China began to absorb foreign dancing. By Sui and Tang Dynasties, Indian dance and music became popular among the whole country. The lithe and graceful dancing postures from Northern Wei Dynasty in 4th century CE to Sui and Tang Dynasties could be seen on Dunhuang frescoes. With the fall of Song Dynasty, dance and Buddhism also declined at the same time. Some dancing skills were introduced from China into Korea and Japan.

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In Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian made the expedition to the Western Regions, and brought back *Mahaturya*. Based on this, the musician Li Yannian created 28 new pieces of music. From Eastern Han Dynasty to Northern Dynasty, Indian dance and music quickly took the position of Chinese ancient dance. According to *Book of Tang, Music Recodes*, in Northern Dynasty, some dance music such as Daimian, Botou and Tayaoniang were introduced from the northwest region. Warrior Lanling from Northern Qi Dynasty often wore the mask to defeat the enemy, so people of Qi Dynasty created the Daimian dancing music to show his courage, called *Warrior Lanling Battlefield Music*. According to textual research of modern scholars, these dance music all was related with India. The pictures showing these dances were introduced in Japan in Tang Dynasty, and have been kept up to now.

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The famous *Warriors Triumphal Dance* in Tang Dynasty was created with the absorption of external elements such as Qiuci music, with 120 musicians wearing armours and holding halberds. It was once introduced to India, receiving king Siladitya’s attention. *Five-Direction Lion Dance* was also well known in the Tang Dynasty. Lion was an auspicious beast, and was close to Indian Buddhism. Lion dance has been popular in China in the Three Kingdoms period. General Lü Guang from the Former Qin Dynasty (352 - 394 CE) led the troops to capture Qiuci, and brought tens of thousands of artists back to Liangzhou (present day Wuwei in Gansu province). With the local influence, lion dance was developed into Chinese five-direction lion dance. When dancing, dozens of drums sounded together and five-coloured lions stood in the east, west, south, north and middle respectively. Two people were dressed up as warriors to hold the ball for teasing, and the dance-band with 140 people would play Qiuci dance, which was spectacular, fascinating, and reflected the phenomena of the flourishing Tang Dynasty. Besides in the court, lion dance was also widely popular among military and civilians, and is still prevalent up to now.

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**(III) Art:** In Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Indian Gandhara art and Gupta art were introduced in the Western Regions, and the mainland of China with Buddhism. With the spread of Buddhism, believers needed idol worship, so Chinese and Indian Buddhists began to build temples, or took back scriptures, progressing steadily. Beginning from 3rd century CE, Buddhist paintings were introduced constantly through Indian Buddhists visiting China or Buddhists returning from India. In 247 CE, Kangseng Hui, who was an indigenous Indian, began to preach in the capital of Wu State – Jianye (present day Nanjing), Emperor Sun Quan built Jianchu Temple (present day Porcelain Tower) for him. Chinese painter Cao Buxing saw the Buddha paintings and depicted them, which spread all over the world. Buddha paintings brought by Kangseng Hui might be in Gandhara style or Mathura style. In 399 CE, Buddhist Faxian of Eastern Jin Dynasty set out for learning the *sutras* from Chang’an. He travelled across many countries including India, where Gupta Art grew up. When copying scriptures, Faxian also imitated and painted Gupta Buddha. In 412 CE, Faxian returned to China by sea, and brought back many Buddhas, thus, Buddha in Indian Gupta Era was introduced in China. During the reign of Yixi of Jin Dynasty (405-418 CE), Simhala (present day Sri Lanka) in the south of India presented the jade Buddha, about 1.4 m high, with jade green colour, special shape and of excellent workmanship. This Buddha was preserved in Waguan Temple, and together with five Buddhas hand-made by Dai Kui *Five Buddha* and Gu Kaizhi’s painting *Vimalakirti*, they were called the three wonders. During the reign of Donghunhou of Qi State of Southern Dynasty, Buddha was destroyed and was used to make ornaments for the imperial concubines. The jade Buddha was probably introduced from southern India to Sri Lanka with Amaravati style.

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In the middle period of 5th century CE, Buddhist Haribhadra from Jinbin (present day Kashmir in India) came to the capital of Northern Wei Dynasty – Pingcheng (present day Datong, Shanxi) to build the Buddha. In the autumn of the first year of Xingguang reign of Northern Wei Dynasty (454 CE), he was ordered to build five Sakyamuni statues for five emperors following Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei (Tuoba Gui, reign from 404-408 CE). Each was 16 chi long, and used 250,000 jin of red cooper. In the early Taian reign of Northern Wei Dynasty (455 - 459 CE), the Buddhists Yashajit and Buddhanandi of Simhala came to China to present Buddha. It was the mature Gupta Buddha, which was of exquisite workmanship, received the highest praise in the western regions, and became the model.

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A seated image of the Buddha dating from the Kuśāna times, excavated from Uttar Pradesh, India.

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Mural painting depicting an image of the Tathagata from Yutian (Khotan), excavated from the ruins of a Buddhist temple number 62, from Kaladun at Yutian (Khotan) in Xinjiang Province. It is preserved in the archaeological research institute of cultural relics in Xinjiang.

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An image of Śākyamuni in the Guyang cave in the ancient grottoes of Longmen in Luoyang, Henan Province, China.

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Engraved wooden columns of an ancient monastery amidst the ruins of Loulan in Xinjiang Province of China.

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In 518 CE, the envoy Song Yun and the Buddhist Hui Sheng of Northern Wei Dynasty were ordered to travel to the west for Buddhist scriptures. When they saw the stupa Queli Futu in the southeast of Peshawar, also called Kaniska Stupa, Hui Sheng hired the local artisan to copy the Buddha and reliefs with Buddha Jataka story enshrined. In 522 CE, Hui Sheng took these Buddhist scriptures and Gandhara art copy back to China. Tang Buddhist Xuanzang not only recorded the Buddha, stupa, temples and grottoes of Gandhara and Gupta art, but also brought the gold, silver and rosewood Buddha back to China. And Buddhists like Yi Jing followed them to the west for seeking or painting Buddha, and took them back to Chang'an.

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Gandhara art was first introduced into Xinjiang area, which brought the prosperity of western Chinese Buddhist art. The Buddhist art in Shanshan (Loulan in ancient times) and Khotan areas in the south of Silk Road were the products under the influence of Gandhara art, and late Khotan Buddhist art also absorbed the element of Gupta art. Loulan and Khotan had accepted Buddhism in 2nd or 3rd centuries, for instance, both monks and laity shall "try to preach Indian Buddhism," and ascetics shall "read Indian books and learn Indian." At the beginning of 20th century, 14 Buddhist temple ruins were unearthed in Milan, Ruoqiang County, with the remaining building components, statues, frescoes, which showed the influence of Gandhara art. The remaining frescoes in Loulan had the similar style with that of Milan.

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Khotan (now Hotan, Xinjiang) was the most important Buddhist cultural centre in the south of Silk Road. Around the Christian era, Khotan was the place of residence of Indian immigrants, and Buddhism was popular. The Buddhist Faxian of Jin Dynasty has even seen numerous temples and towers when he sought for scriptures. Buddha in Khotan Gomati Vihar might come from Kashmir. In early 20th century, all kinds of Buddhas and reliefs excavated in Khotan might be of Gandhara style or Gupta style. Figures in some frescoes were exactly like those in Ajanta Caves in Gupta era or after Gupta era, which was direct transplant. Some fresco pieces were of mixed style of India, Persia and China factors.

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Shule, Qiuci, Gaochang and other ancient kingdoms in the north of Silk Road all were the place of residence of Indian immigrants and greatly influenced by Indian Buddhism and Buddhist art. In Shule, Buddha discovered in early 20th century was of Gandhara style, or featured the Guptastyle Buddha shape. In Qiuci, there were more than 10 Buddhist grottoes like Kizil Grottoes. Kizil Grottoes played an important role in the eastward introduction of Buddhist grotto art. It had many remaining frescoes, and early works were deeply influenced by Gandhara art and traditional Indian painting. Character shape, clothes and painting techniques in some works had the similar style with that of Ajanta fresco. In Gaochang (present day Turpan), remaining carving and frescoes in grottoes temple were also influenced by the Gandhara art and Gupta art. The world famous Dunhuang Grottoes was the product blended by Gandhara art, Gupta art and Chinese local art. In addition, the early Chinese grottoes art works such as Tianti Mountain Grottoes in Wuwei, Gansu and Bingling Temple Grottoes in Yongjing originated from Qiuci grottoes, and they were influenced by Gandhara art and Gupta art, with obvious Indian style.

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Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE) was the thriving period of Buddhist grotto art of northern China. From 460-465 CE, five grottoes were excavated in Yungang, Datong, Shanxi, and five Buddhas were built, with the highest one of nearly 17 m, the second highest one of 15.5 m, grand carving and majestic style macro thick. Though they were influenced by Gandhara art and Gupta art, modelling, temperament and clothes of Buddha still showed the dignity of national emperors of northern China. As for the numerous reliefs with Buddha Jataka story and Buddha biography story in Yungang Grottoes, obviously, they were the copy of reliefs in Gandhara area, and might have been made by the rubbings of Gandhara relief. Later, Buddha modelling of Yungang Grottoes had the localisation tendency, and Chinese artistic characteristic was increasingly significant. Buddhist grotto art works such as Dunhuang Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes basically went through a similar process. These grottoes were important materials of knowing the development history of Chinese ancient Buddhism, carving, architecture and music and conducting research on India-China art exchange history.

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In 1955, the Indian Cultural Delegation led by the Deputy Minister of External Affairs, A. K. Chandar arrives in Beijing.

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The eastward introduction of Buddhism brought the popularity and prosperity of Buddhist painting. In Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasty, Gu Kaizhi, Dai Kui, Liu Tanwei, Zhang Sengyao and Cao Zhongda all absorbed the influence from India, and were good at Buddha paintings. The painter Shakyabuddha from India personally conducted the painting demonstration or communicated painting skills with Chinese painters. The so-called painting skills like Caoyichushui and concave-convex brushwork were more influenced by Gupta Mathura-style Buddha, or could be traced back to Ajanta Grottoes frescoes.

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Modern Art Exchange between India and China

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In 8th and 9th centuries CE, Buddhism declined in India. Islamic forces began to invade India, and constantly brought hard hit to Buddhism. Many magnificent temples were destroyed, and innumerable monks vanished without a trace. By early 13th century, Buddhism almost died out in India. Subsequently, India-China art exchange basically interrupted.

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(I) Music and Dance: Since the second half of 20th century, India-China exchanges in music and dance has been frequent and active. Indian music and dance groups constantly come to China for performance.

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In June 1955, a cultural delegation with 51 people led by A K Chandar, who was the vice-minister of External Affairs Ministry, Government of India, brought Chinese audience rich Indian music and dance show, including *Bharatnatyam*, *Kathakali*, *Kathak* and folk dance of Naga etc. The solo of the performer Ram Narain from Sarangi and solo of Sitar, Sarod and Tabla were refreshing. A few singers sang many Indian songs including works of the musician Surdas from northern India 300 years ago and the musician Tyagaraj from southern India 200 years ago and songs created by Rabindranath Tagore who was a modern poet and musician. In December of the same year, Chinese cultural delegation paid a return visit to India, participated in the celebration activities of Indian National Day in New Delhi and enjoyed the folk song and dance performances in the suburbs. The famous Chinese flute performer

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*On June 30, 1955, Chairman Mao meets the head of the Indian delegation and the Deputy Minister of External Affairs, A. K. Chandar.*

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Wang Tiechui played Chinese music *Small Liangzhou* and *Wedding Song* and dancer Yu Ying performed *Sword Dance* and *Hand-Drum Dance*. Finally, Wang Tiechui and Indian musician played the folk boat song of Indian Bengal, receiving a warm welcome.

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*The programme schedule depicting the dance performance during the visit of Uday Shankar and his dance troupe to China.*

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In 1957, Uday Shankar, the father of modern Indian dance, led a delegation to China for playing the musical *The Life of the Buddha*, with seven musicians using Indian musical instruments for accompaniment. In the same year, Indian dancer and film actor Kamala Lakshman and her sister Radha Lakshman visited China together with Indian cultural delegation. Their *Bharatnatyam* performance was highly praised by Chinese audience. The famous writer Bing Xin wrote the article *Impressions of Watching the Dance* to present the Lakshman sisters. On April 5, Lakshman sisters did a farewell performance in Beijing and at the farewell party, Mei Lanfang, the performing artist of Peking Opera, praised highly for their superb performances. These performances were highly successful, and they were the beginning of Chinese musicians and dancers knowing modern Indian performing arts.

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An Indian dance performance in Beijing in April 2008, organised by a classical Indian dance troupe comprising six genres of dance forms, choreographed by Leela Samson, an Indian dancer.

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In November 1978, Mrinalini Sarabhai, a famous Indian dancer, led the delegation for visiting China. During the visit to China, she advised that China shall send students to study in her school. Later, Zhang Jun and Liu Youlan were sent by the government to study in that school. In August 1983, Ravi Shankar, the Indian musician and performer of Sitar visited China at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Musicians Association. He made many performances in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, and also held a

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Indian Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Mahārāja during a performance.

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lecture about Indian classical music in the Central Conservatory of Music. In 1984, Rukmini Devi, the pioneer of revival movement of Indian Bharatnatyam led the performers from Kalakshetra Dance Academy to China, with Leela Samson. In October 1986, an Indian instrumentals group performed in Beijing, Jinan, Wuxi and Hangzhou, playing Karnatic and Hindustani classical music. The southern group was led by S Balachander who was the master of Veena, and northern team was led by Ustad Imrat Khan who was the master of Sitar. This might be the first time for the Chinese to listen to classical music of southern India at the scene. The group also held the exhibition of Indian musical instruments in Music Research Institute of Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing. And when they learned that professor Chen Ziming had been teaching Indian music in the Central Conservatory of Music, they presented 20 pieces of Indian musical instruments for exhibitions to the Central Conservatory of Music.

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In 1990 CE, professor Debu Chaudhuri, the dean of the School of Music and Arts in the University of Delhi and famous performer of Sitar, together with his wife Manjusree (singer), son Prateek (Sitarist), and Somnath Mukherjee (Tabla player), performed together with *Gandharva Veda* as the theme in Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

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In August 1991 CE, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Embassy of India in Beijing held the 50th anniversary commemoration of Tagore's death. Indian dance troupe from Calcutta (present day Kolkata) performed Tagore's dance-drama *The Kingdom of Cards* in Beijing, Fuzhou, Xiamen and other places. In May 1994, the first Indian Cultural Festival was held in Beijing. Nearly 72 people from Sangam band, an Indian song and dance troupe and an Indian folk art troupe, performed in 13 cities of China including Beijing, Shanghai and others, producing great influence. In October 1997, 20 troupe members came to China to attend the Fifth Festival of Asian Arts.

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In January 2000, Birju Maharaj who was the master of Indian Kathak led the delegation to Beijing for participating in the Second Festival of Asian Arts held by China. Maharaj was not only a dancer, but also a singer, performer of the drum and design master of dance. He has given performances in Europe, the United States and Asian countries, and his students are spread all over the world including China. His performance caused a sensation in the dance circle of Beijing.

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In May 2000 CE, Brova Barama, who was the most renowned violinist and composer in India, visited China to perform in Beijing, together with the Indian President. He was a violinist, proficient in Karnataka music style. His *Vedic Poetry Fantasia*, *Violin Duet - Travel*, *Global Symphony* and *Interstellar Symphony* were an interaction of Indian music, oriental music and western music, which was unique in the world music circle, and enjoyed great popularity. Together with Beijing Symphony Orchestra, he played his violin concerto *Love Peace* and selections of *Global Symphony*, and was welcomed among the Beijing audience. In October 2002, Leela Samson, an Indian famous Bharatnatyam dancer, led Spanda dance troupe to Beijing to attend the Festival of Asian Arts. They also performed in Hohhot, Baotou, Shanghai and Hangzhou etc.

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On September 22, 2007, Ustad Sabri Khan, a contemporary master of Sarangi in India, together with his son Kamal Sabri and Tabla drummer Salit Das et al, and six other artistes, performed in the Third Annual Conference of World Folk Music. The concert was an unprecedented grand occasion. The beautiful timbre of Sarangi resembling the human voice and the performer’s excellent skill, luxuriant musical adornment phrases and impromptu performance surprised all.

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*Kamal Sabri, son of famous Sarangi player Sabri Khan performing in China.*

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In April 2008, Leela Samson visited China again, and performed for the opening ceremony of Indian Tourism Culture Year. As the chief director, she brought a wonderful party composed of six schools of classical dance in India – Manipuri, Kathakali, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Kathak. These different styles of dance had distinctive characteristics, complementing each other. Such a grand scene of Indian dance was first seen in China. These distinctive dances showed the extraordinary artistic imagination and creativity of the Indian people, that was both dizzying and beautiful.

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On January 15, 2012, Kiran Segal, an Indian Odissi dancer, came to Guangzhou to perform. In March, Rama Vaidyanathan, a famous contemporary Bharatanatyam dancer in India, performed in the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Central Conservatory of Music respectively, receiving warm response. In summer of the same year, Sonal Mansingh, a senior Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer, also performed in Beijing.

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In early 1950s, Shen Zhibai who was the famous musicologist in China began to study Indian music. In late 1950s, he guided the postgraduates in the collection, sorting and translation of information and writings about Indian music. In early 1960s, he began to teach Indian classical music theories in Chinese Conservatory of Music.

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In late 1980s, China sent visiting scholars specialising in Indian music to India for the first time, and they became Chinese experts in this field. Once back in China, they made outstanding contributions to research, popularisation and education of Indian music. In late 1980s and early 1990s, the Central Conservatory of Music and Shanghai Conservatory of Music opened the courses of Indian music culture respectively. Since 1991, Shanghai Conservatory of Music successively recruited the master degree and doctoral candidates with Indian music as the research direction. Now, Indian music has become one of the important teaching contents in Chinese music colleges and universities at all levels.

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Chen Ziming, the expert of Indian music from the Central Conservatory of Music began to learn and research Indian music in 1980s. After attending a lecture of Ravi Shankar in the Central Conservatory of Music, he became interested in Indian music, and began to incorporate Indian music into his course *World Folk Music*. In 1986, he sent his students An Ping to study in India, and Zhao Jiazi from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music also travelled together. In 1989, Chen Ziming, a visiting scholar went to India to study Indian music. He communicated with his Indian counterparts at Ravi Shankar’s home, and played Chinese music such as *The Butterfly Lovers*, *The Moon Over a Fountain*, *Dance of the Yao People*, *Spring of Sinkiang* and others.

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Zhang Yuzhen, who was an associate professor of Capital Normal University, as a visiting scholar, learned Sitar in Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi from 2000-2002. On December 2, 2001, she used the Chinese national musical instrument – pipa, together with Indian musicians playing the Sitar, Indian flute and Tabla in the concert hall in

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*Chen Ziming during performance*

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the heart of New Delhi, which was the first attempt in blending Indian and Chinese musical instruments together. Liu Huiyuan, who was a teacher from Tianjin Chinese Theatre Arts School (Tianjin Art School), learned to play the Sitar in the School of Music of University of Delhi from 2003-2006. In 2005, she used a Chinese dulcimer, together with Indian musician using Sitar and Tabla played Indian raga and the Chinese song, *Jasmine*.

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