Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t30.6

v2.c15.s2.t30.6

When it comes to Indian studies, he once made comparative studies of the graphic text in the ancient Indus Valley and Chinese inscription on pottery and oracle bone inscriptions, and discovered many similarities and exposed the cultural exchanges between China and India in ancient times. Moreover, he discovered the widespread phenomenon of ‘questioning literature’ in different cultural contexts through comparing Qu Yuan’s ‘*Questions for Heaven*’ (Tian Wen) and Indian and Islamic ancient documents. He thus, put forward the new topics of text anthropology and literary anthropology. During his stay in India, he made comparative studies on Chinese and Indian literatures and cultures and believed that ‘Siddam’ had profound influence on Chinese phonology and literature. Han Yu was deeply influenced by the ‘*Buddhacarita*’ of Aśvaghoṣa. Beyond that, he also translated some of the most ancient collections of Indian poems ‘*Rigveda*’.