Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 250

220
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(NOVEMBER, 1931
in cultural development. He briefly sketches the south and, crossing the Yang-tse, made the present etory, from the fifth century B.O., of internal strifo
Nanking their capital. After 304 A.D. the north and successive invasions from the north and north
remained in the hands of the 'barbarians,' and West; how great kingdoms rose and fell in the
played the greater part in China's history. The central, oastern and southern parts of the peninsula,
settled agricultural and social life of the Chinese, while Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians (Šakas), and
however, had the power of attracting and abeorbYue-chi Kuşadas in succession overran the Panjab
ing the warlike nomads who so often overran And NW. India as far as Maharetra. Through
their country. "China," it has been said, "iB & all these changes in temporal power Indian ideals
Bes that salts all the rivers that flow into it"; and continued to penetrate beyond her borders spread by the indefatigable zeal of the missionaries of
Bo it was that China conquered ite conquerors. that "great international religion of India"
Even the great Khaqan of the Mongols, Qubilai, who Buddhism--through the success of which Indian ruled the whole of China as well as Central Asia, merchants became pioneers of commerce and and the Manchus, in their turn, preserved con. civilization. They spread north across the mountaintinuity by leaving the Chinese family economic passes into Central Asia and on to the Far East, system intact and adopting much of their adminiand south and south-east they travelled to Ceylon, strative system. China's stronghold lay in its class the islands of the Eastern Archipelago and parte of literati, who formed a bureaucracy educated s he adioining mainland. The history of those in the social and ethical discipline of Confucianlatter areas begins for us with their indianization.
ism that permeated the masses. Confucius, their The very names 'Further India,' 'Indonesia,' not
great teacher, had built out of his people's ancient to mention numberless place names, form a record
wisdom & constitution based upon the ideal of family of this influence. In Burma, Siam, Indo-China,
life in different grades of development, using the great islands of Sumatra and Java and little
an agrarian cultus for & race whose genius for Bali we find the deep impress of Buddhism as
agricultural colonization still persists, as shown in well as of Hinduism in the religion, literature and
Mongolia during the current century. With the arts of the people. Here, again, Jelam followed
barbarian' rulers came foreign influenose in art in the wake of the Arab traders, and supplanted
and religion, and, though singular liberality was these influences in some of the coastal regions.
shown towards other teachings, Buddhism was The influence of the two great countries that have
specially favoured. Tradition places the official given it its name swept through Indo-China, that
advent of Buddhism into China in 64 A.D. Bud. of China being strongest in Annam and Tonquin,
dhism in no way superseded Confucianism, which where the earliest invaders were Chinese tribesmen.
was not openly antagonistic to it, until the inPorhaps the most striking effect of a condensed
croase of monasteries and monks became a menace survey such as M. Grousset givee, is to make us
to family and social life, whereas in Taoism it realize how restlese movements of race and tribe,
had an opponent from the first. The influence of invasion from without and strife within were almost
Buddhism increased under the domination of the continuous throughout Asia. We see how re.
barbarians. It was a Tartar king ruling in percussions of events in China and Mongolia were
Shansi who, early in the fourth century, first perfelt as far away as India, and even in Europe.
mitted his Chinese subjects to enter monasteries ; China, which seemed at one time to have stood apart
and it was the To-pa, who took the dynastic title from the convulsions of Asia, had, like India, few
of Wei, that made it the state religion in the if any peaceful centuries. Her northern and western
middle of the fifth century. borders were exposed to constant inroads from the turbulent nomade of Central Asia and Mongolia,
M. Grousset devotes a liberal share of space to and later from Tibetans and Manchurians. Chinese the development of the arts. He pointe to the imperialism began when the great warrior ruler Wei period as one of those rare epochs that are of the Ta'in subdued the feudal chiefs and pro. signalized by the development of a great religious claimed himself emperor in 221 B.C. It was heart. His appreciation of China's original artistic who carried out systematically the building of the genius and of the foreign influences that she abGront Wall, parts of which had already been raised, sorbod holpe wu to realize the extent to which the as a protection against the Huns and other Turco history of a people finds expression in ite art. We Mongol tribes. From this dynastic name, according How the storm and stress of conflict in China's to M. Pelliot, may have originated the name early bronzes, while the philosophic teaching of the China. During the long period of the Han dynasty peaceful message of Buddhism produced the sorene the Turco-Mongols were fairly quiet, but their
Buddhas and pitying Bodhisatvas of the cave successore, the Tsin, after two of their emperore groups. had been murdered in their pillaged capitals, moved
M. F. H: