Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.26

v2.c13.26

**The route through the western region:** During the 1ˢᵗ century CE, the Han dynasty general Ban Chao (32-102 CE) controlled the Western Regions and played an active role in maintaining the communication lines through the western route. During this period, the Chinese peoples' understanding of India progressed further than what it had been in the centuries before the Common Era. Mutual contacts also developed and flourished. The *Hou Hanshu*, *Xiyuzhuan* while talking about the kingdom of Tianzhu (India), not only referred to the folk customs, local products, Buddhism and historical changes, but in addition described its geographical position as well as its relations with China. While describing the Dayuezhi, the abovementioned source also referred to the establishment of the Guishuang (Kusana) empire as well as its distance from Luoyang. The Yuezhi people made a large contribution towards the development of cultural exchanges between China and the West as well as between India and China. For instance, the eastward transmission of Roman culture from Greece and the dissemination of Buddhism into the heartland of China succeeded to a very large degree due to the role played by the Yuezhi people.