( Statue of Kumarajiva in China )
Indians in China: From Ancient Times
to the Present
The
presence of Indians in China is not a modern phenomenon linked only to trade
and information technology. It represents a continuous civilisational dialogue
of more than two thousand years. The earliest Sanskrit sources and Chinese
court records together establish that exchanges between the two societies
predate the Common Era. Textual and archaeological evidence demonstrates that
exchanges between China and India date back at least 2,000 years. The
Mahabharata mentions horses and soldiers who came from Cinas. The word Cinas
also appears in the Ramayana. Cina is the name ancient Indians used when
referring to China. It is conjectured that it is a transliteration of the Qin
dynasty of China. This early nomenclature indicates that India conceptualised
China as a distinct political entity well before the transmission of Buddhism.
Buddhism
became the principal vehicle for Indian migration. Buddhism originated in India
and spread to China during the Western and Eastern Han periods. Legend has it
that Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han, after seeing the Buddha in his dream,
sent an envoy to Tianzhu, India, to acquire Buddhist scriptures. Afterwards,
Indian monks brought sutras and Buddhist images to China. In 68 CE, Emperor
Ming built a monastery in Luoyang to accommodate the Indian monks. It was named
the White Horse Temple after the white horses that had carried the sutras to
China. From the Han to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and then
the Sui and Tang dynasties, Indian Buddhism gradually spread and evolved on
Chinese soil, assimilated into Chinese culture over time, and eventually took
hold as Chinese Buddhism.
Routes
of Migration
Three
principal corridors carried Indians into China.
First,
the Central Asian overland Silk Route. Monks and merchants travelled from
Kashmir, Gandhara and Punjab through Bactria and the Tarim Basin oasis states
of Kucha, Khotan, Karashahr and Turfan, then to the Hexi Corridor at Dunhuang,
and onwards to Chang’an and Luoyang. This route explains why many early Indian
names appear in Chinese records alongside toponyms such as Kucha and Dunhuang.
Owing to the geographical location of Dunhuang, a few eminent monks travelling
to and from the West not only left their footprints there but also engaged in
the translation of Buddhist scriptures.
Second,
the southwestern overland route via Assam, Yunnan and Sichuan. This lesser-known corridor carried ideas of astronomy and astrology and is referenced in
Chinese histories as the Shu Shendu Road.
Third,
the maritime route. From the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, Indian traders and
monks sailed to Sri Lanka, then to Sumatra, Java and the Malay Peninsula, and
from there to Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Fuzhou. By the Tang and Song periods,
Quanzhou housed a permanent Tamil merchant guild. Inscriptions in Tamil and
associated Shaivite imagery discovered at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou attest to
this settlement.
Ancient
religious migration was succeeded by a secular diaspora. According to the
Ministry of External Affairs data on the Indian Diaspora Abroad as of January
2026, there are 7,400 Non-Resident Indians, 1,060 Persons of Indian Origin and
8,460 Overseas Indians in China. Hong Kong houses 32,790 NRIs, 11,350 PIOs and
44,140 Overseas Indians. Most Indians in mainland China live in Guangzhou,
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Chongqing and Hangzhou. A majority work for
multinational corporations, Indian companies and banks. There are also several
students pursuing higher studies in China, with medicine being a particularly
popular field of study. Recent concerns include professional visa constraints,
spouse employment restrictions and online misinformation.
Kashmiri
Savants in China: A Distinct Intellectual Lineage
Within
the broader Indian migration, Kashmir occupies a uniquely influential position.
From the first century CE to the fifth century, Kashmir was the intellectual
centre of Sarvastivada Buddhism and later of Madhyamaka philosophy. The
composition of the Vibhasa Shastras in Kashmir indicates that Kashmir grew into
an academic centre attracting distinguished acharyas from other places. Chinese
pilgrim records and Tibetan histories such as those of Taranatha repeatedly
praise Kashmiri monasteries for their intellectual precision and disciplined
ethos. This scholastic prestige made Kashmiri monks highly sought after as
translators and Vinaya masters in China.
The
first Kashmiri monk to go to China was Sanghabhuti. According to Marco
Polo, Kashmiri monks went to China and spread Buddhism in other parts of the
country as well. He mentions the Kashmiri monk Sanghabhuti, who reached
the northern capital of China in 381 CE. His activities can be traced until 384
CE. At the request of Chinese scholars, he is reported to have translated the Vinaya
Pitaka from Sanskrit into Chinese and also written an exhaustive commentary
on it. Modern scholarship confirms this. Sanghabhuti is regarded as one of the
earliest known Buddhist scholars from Kashmir to travel to China. He was
particularly trained in the study of the Abhidharmavibhasa tradition.
Around
381 CE, he arrived in the northern capital of China, where he was received by
prominent members of the Buddhist scholarly community. At their invitation, he
undertook the translation of several Buddhist works into Chinese. By
approximately 384 CE, he had completed the translation of three texts, among
which the most significant was an extensive commentary on the monastic
disciplinary code, namely the Vinaya Pitaka of the Sarvastivada
tradition.
The
next great Kashmiri figure is Kumarajiva, arguably the most famous
Indian in Chinese history. Kumarajiva was among the renowned Kashmiri scholars
who travelled to China. He hailed from a Kashmiri Brahmin family. His father,
Kumarayana, was a Kashmiri Pandit who served as a royal priest in Kucha. He went
to Kashmir to learn Sanskrit and Buddhist scriptures. After receiving his
education in Kashmir, he achieved an international reputation as a great
teacher of Buddhist doctrines. The Chinese emperor Fu Chien requested the king
of Kucha, through an envoy, to send Kumarajiva to China. He was taken as a
captive and became one of the greatest names in Chinese Buddhism. He went to
the capital in 401 CE at the request of the Chinese Emperor. He carried on his
mission there and was later joined by many of his Kashmiri fellows. He died in
413 CE. The members of his missionary group included two celebrated Kashmiri
monks, Yasa and Vimalaksha, who succeeded in giving a real Chinese context
to ideas that had hitherto been nebulous and elusive. In Chang’an, he presided
over a translation bureau of more than eight hundred Chinese scholar monks. His
translations of the Prajnaparamita, Lotus and Vimalakirti Sutras remain
canonical in East Asian Buddhism.
Contemporaneous
Kashmiri collaborators included:
- Sanghabhuti and Gautama
Sanghadeva.
Both
were active around 381 to 398 CE. Gautama Sanghadeva journeyed to China around
the late fourth century CE. He appears to have been present there during the
same period as Sanghabhuti.
- Dharmayasa and Buddhayasa.
Dharmayasa
was another Kashmiri missionary who left for China at the age of thirty. He
travelled extensively in Asia, converting a large number of people to his faith
and writing books. He reached China in 401 CE and remained there until 435 CE.
In collaboration with a large number of Kashmiri scholars, he translated
several important works into Chinese. Likewise, among the celebrated Kashmiri
monks who were adventurous enough to travel across the high mountains into
China, the name of Buddhayasa stands high. Being the only son of a Kashmiri
Brahman, he left for China at the age of twenty-seven. He reached Kashgar,
where he captivated the mind of the chief, who became his devout follower. Here
he came into contact with Kumarajiva. Between 410 and 413 CE, he translated
four works into Chinese, among them the Dirghagama and Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.
- Punyatara.
Punyatara
joined Kumarajiva in Chang’an and contributed to the translation of the
Sarvastivada Vinaya, which was rendered into Chinese in multiple sections.
Another figure associated with this intellectual milieu was Buddhabhadra, who
travelled to China via the southern route and collaborated with Kumarajiva for
a period in Chang’an, producing several translations.
- Gunavarman.
Perhaps
the most romantic figure, he was a prince from the royal family of Kashmir. His
father, Sanghananda, and grandfather, Haribhadra, were banished
from the kingdom. Gunavarman left home at the age of twenty and became a monk,
even though he had been offered the opportunity to head his paternal kingdom.
He mastered the Buddhist canon in all its sections and the agamas. He first
went to Ceylon and then to Java, where he converted the royal family to
Buddhism. His name and fame attracted the attention of the Chinese emperor, who
personally invited him. Gunavarman reached Nanking, China, in 431 CE. During
his short stay of one year at the Jetavana monastery, he was able to translate
eleven works into Chinese. Records indicate that the Kashmiri translated at
least ten major Buddhist texts in eighteen volumes while he lived in China.
These texts ranged from basic teachings to important sutras. He also helped
translate incomplete texts that found their way to China through the Silk Road.
Another Kashmiri scholar, Dharmamitra, helped Gunavarman translate some
of the texts. Gunavarman also played a decisive role in establishing Bhiksuni
ordination in China. He was approached by the Ying Fu nunnery to confirm dual
higher ordination for a group of eight nuns from Sri Lanka. The ordination took
place in 433 CE, two years after Gunavarman died, making Ying Fu the first
Chinese nunnery to ordain foreign nuns.
- Dharmamitra.
Dharmamitra
arrived after Gunavarman and continued the collaboration. He translated
meditation treatises and helped systematise dhyana practice in southern China.
Collectively,
these Kashmiri savants gave China three enduring legacies. First, Vinaya
orthodoxy. Kashmir was the headquarters of Sarvastivada Vinaya, and it was Sanghabhuti,
Punyatara, Vimalaksa and Buddhajiva who established monastic discipline in
China. Second, Abhidharma scholasticism. The Vibhasa commentaries composed in
Kashmir formed the backbone of Chinese Buddhist debate. Exegetes such as
Sanghabhuti, Dharmatrata and Buddhavarman enriched this tradition through the
Abhidharmavibhasa and related commentaries, rendering complex metaphysical
ideas accessible to foreign monastics. Third, Mahayana synthesis. Kumarajiva,
trained in Kashmir, linked Kashmir Sarvastivada learning with the Nagarjuna
Madhyamaka tradition learned in Kashmir, creating a complete curriculum.
Why
Kashmiris were preferred is clear. Kashmir offered Sanskrit linguistic purity,
royal patronage and high-altitude monastic training similar to Chinese
conditions. Chinese biographies repeatedly note Kashmiri monks’ knowledge of
both Hinayana and Mahayana, their mastery of recitation, and their skill in
astronomy and medicine.
A Comprehensive List of Indians by Name
Recorded in China
Beyond
Kashmiris, Chinese Buddhist historiography preserves the names of several
hundred Indians. The most significant are:
- Kashyapa Matanga and
Dharmaratna.
The
first Indians officially invited in 67 CE under Emperor Ming. They introduced
the earliest sutras on white horses, leading to the foundation of the White
Horse Temple.
- Lokaksema.
A
Yuezhi monk of Indian descent from Gandhara. Active in Luoyang around 147 to
189 CE, he was the first major translator of Mahayana texts.
- An Shigao.
A
Parthian prince with Indian Buddhist training. Active from 148 CE, he
introduced Abhidharma.
- Kang Senghui.
Of
Indian Sogdian parentage. He died in 280 CE and translated early Mahayana works
in Jianye.
- Dharmaraksa.
Known
as the Dunhuang Bodhisattva. Born near Dunhuang to a Yuezhi family of Indian
origin, he was active from 265 to 313 CE. He translated an early form of the
Lotus Sutra and more than one hundred and fifty texts.
- Kumarajiva.
Already
discussed above.
- Buddhabhadra.
A
Kashmiri meditation master who transmitted Gandharan art to Yungang.
- Buddhayasas, Dharmayasas and
Dharmagupta.
Contemporaries
of Kumarajiva in the Chang’an translation bureau.
- Gunabhadra.
A
Central Indian monk from Magadha. He arrived in 435 CE and was a translator of
the Lankavatara Sutra.
- Bodhidharma.
A
prince said to be the third son of Pallava King Simhavarman II of South India.
He brought Chan Buddhism to Shaolin.
- Paramartha.
A
monk from Ujjain. He arrived in 546 CE and translated the Abhidharmakosa in
Guangzhou.
- Gautama Prajnaruchi, Upasunya,
Vinitaruci and Atigupta.
Translators
active in the sixth and seventh centuries.
- Prabhakaramitra,
Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
Esoteric
masters from eastern and southern India who introduced Mantrayana to Tang China
between 716 and 774 CE.
- Bodhisena.
A
South Indian Brahmin from Madurai who travelled via China to Japan in 736 CE
and became central to Kegon Buddhism at Todaiji.
Temples
and Sacred Geography
Indian
presence is embedded in Chinese sacred architecture. The White Horse Temple at
Luoyang, founded in 68 CE, remains symbolic as the first temple. The Yungang
Grottoes near Datong, with their 252 caves and 51,000 statues, reflect Indian
Gandharan influence mediated by Indian monks such as Buddhabhadra. Inside the
Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, murals illustrate Jataka tales and Indian cosmological
concepts rendered in Chinese style. In Mogao Cave 249, dating from the Western
Wei period, 534 to 556 CE, the ceiling has a truncated pyramidal design. All
images were painted according to the contemporary artistic standard. Around the
central ceiling, on the four slopes, are Buddhist images accompanied by
immortals and gods from Hindu and Chinese mythology.
( Vishnu , Mahesha and other Hindu gods in Mogao caves )
On
the western slope, the four-eyed and four-armed giant at the centre is the King
of Asura, who belongs to one of the six categories of sentient beings in
Samsara. He is holding the sun and moon and standing on the ocean. Beside him
are the gods of Wind, holding a billowing bag; Rain, Thunder, playing a circle
of drums; and Lightning, holding a drill or vajra. These gods are all animal-headed, with forms directly taken from the Vedic lokapalas Vayu, Varuna and
Indra. Other caves show Ganesha as Vinayaka, protector against obstacles, in
Tang period tantric mandalas. Brahma appears as Fantian and Indra as Di Shi
Tian, as twin guardians flanking Buddha in almost every major cave, including
Cave 158, the Sutra of Brahma painting. Shiva appears as Maheshvara with a third
eye on Nandi, Vishnu as Narayana with a chakra, Saraswati as Biancaitian with a
pipa, and Surya and Chandra as sun and moon discs.
This
inclusion was theological. Early Buddhism absorbed Vedic gods as Dharmapalas,
protectors of the Dharma. When Kashmiri translators brought Sarvastivada Vinaya
and Abhidharma texts to Dunhuang, they brought this inclusive pantheon. As cave
construction continued, Dunhuang artists began to develop their own unique
style, which made greater use of traditional Chinese imagery while retaining
Indian iconography. The result is that Dunhuang is not only Buddhist art but
also the largest surviving gallery of Hindu iconography outside India,
preserved in Chinese style.
The
statue of Kumarajiva at Kizil Caves, Kucha, Xinjiang, illustrates the Indian
origin of the translation centre. Kings of Kucha bore Indian names such as
Haripuspa, Suvarnapuspa, Haradeva and Suvarnadeva. Sanskrit was methodically
taught in monasteries of Kucha. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda at Chang’an was built
to house scriptures brought by Xuanzang from India. Shaolin Monastery at
Songshan was associated with Bodhidharma’s meditation for nine years while
facing a wall. Kaiyuan Temple at Quanzhou contains South Indian style pillars
with Tamil inscriptions and images of Shiva.
Cultural
Continuity and Festivals
Buddhism
introduced Indian concepts that remain culturally active. The Lantern Festival
on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month derives in part from Magha Puja
introduced by Indian monks. The Ullambana Festival, known as the Ghost
Festival, originates from the Indian legend of Maudgalyayana rescuing his
mother from hell. The use of incense, circumambulation, prostration and
recitation of mantras transliterated from Sanskrit preserves Indian liturgical
forms. Mantras such as Om Mani Padme Hum remain in daily use. The Chinese
monastic curriculum from the Sui period onwards adopted Indian logical forms
such as pramana and categories of consciousness such as vijnana. Faxian,
Xuanzang and other Buddhist monks made pilgrimages to India and beyond in
search of Buddhist scriptures and doctrines. Their translations significantly
facilitated the spread of Buddhism and shaped the doctrines of Chinese
Buddhism.
India
introduced sugar refining, astronomical calculation, trigonometry and medical
texts to China. In return, China transmitted papermaking and porcelain
westwards. The modern Indian community has added new festivals. Diwali
gatherings are now held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Holi is celebrated
in Yiwu and Shenzhen. Indian associations coordinate with municipal authorities
to host International Yoga Day on 21 June each year.
Conclusion
From
Cinas in Sanskrit epic literature to contemporary students in Zhejiang
laboratories, Indians in China illustrate an unusually long and resilient
transnational presence. Kashmiri savants form the intellectual spine of this
story. Sanghabhuti introduced Vinaya, Kumarajiva gave China its philosophical
vocabulary, Buddhayasa and Dharmayasa institutionalised the canon, while
Gunavarman and Dharmamitra contributed to meditation and the ordination of
nuns. Kashmiri scholars played a major role in transforming Buddhist texts into
a living scholastic and monastic tradition in China. Temples such as the White
Horse Temple and Mogao remain living proof of the multidirectional nature of
dissemination. Understanding this continuity allows contemporary exchange to
move beyond transactional frameworks towards civilisational dialogue rooted in
shared learning.
( Avtar Mota )
