Chinese Culture
the long-term Sino-Indian contact in China
ChapalaS.N.
SNChapala@index-china.com
1999/12/18 07:53:52

it is not hard for an curious Indian tourist to find evidence of the long-term Sino-Indian contact in China. In many temples and historical sites, one can find gold-plating Sanskrit and Indian lang uages that have evolved from Sanskrit.

I visited Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. There were many people there, most of them were tourists. But the temple also has many worshipers. Around the temple are green mountains and trees with springs slowly flowing over pebbles that are as white as pearls. Around the Feilai Peak, stand statues of Sakyamuni and his 300 disciples.

One of a plump Buddha laughs happily and leans back comfortably. He is the \"laughing Buddha,\" but he looks like a laymen. In India, people always link Buddhism with asceticism, so all Buddhist statues are thin. Chinese and Indians hold different concepts about Buddhism.

Marco Polo once was in Hangzhou. In his travelogue he says that Hangzhou is the greatest city he has found in his travels, and it is so lovable that people seem to be in paradise.

Hangzhou is indeed a paradise where there are no beggars. As a famous scenic spot it is not simply a favorite of a handful of admirers. Instead, the city is visited by numerous people from China and elsewhere. The visitors include workers, farmers, soldiers, officials, and ordinary people. They are all intoxicated by the natural beauty of the scenery.