INDIANS IN CHINA : FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO PRESENT

                                                                           

                                                            ( 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. An Shigao.

A Parthian prince with Indian Buddhist training. Active from 148 CE, he introduced Abhidharma.

4. Kang Senghui.

Of Indian Sogdian parentage. He died in 280 CE and translated early Mahayana works in Jianye.

5. 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.

6. Kumarajiva.

Already discussed above.

7. Buddhabhadra.

A Kashmiri meditation master who transmitted Gandharan art to Yungang.

8. Buddhayasas, Dharmayasas and Dharmagupta.

Contemporaries of Kumarajiva in the Chang’an translation bureau.

9. Gunabhadra.

A Central Indian monk from Magadha. He arrived in 435 CE and was a translator of the Lankavatara Sutra.

10. Bodhidharma.

A prince said to be the third son of Pallava King Simhavarman II of South India. He brought Chan Buddhism to Shaolin.

11. Paramartha.

A monk from Ujjain. He arrived in 546 CE and translated the Abhidharmakosa in Guangzhou.

12. Gautama Prajnaruchi, Upasunya, Vinitaruci and Atigupta.

Translators active in the sixth and seventh centuries.

13. Prabhakaramitra, Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.

Esoteric masters from eastern and southern India who introduced Mantrayana to Tang China between 716 and 774 CE.

14. 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 )

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
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