India, China release first encyclopedia of cultural contacts

India and China on Monday released the first encyclopedia on their age-old cultural contacts, tracing back their history to over 2,000 years, starting from the visit of Chinese scholar Huen Tsang to India in the 7th century to bring Buddhist scriptures to China.

The two volumes of the encyclopedia jointly compiled by scholars of India and China was released by Vice President M H Ansari and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao during their bilateral meeting in Beijing.

Ansari is on a five-day visit to China which ends today. The idea of encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts, which also covers the trade and diplomatic ties, was mooted during the visit of former Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao to India in December 2010.

The book traces back the centuries old civilisation links that started with the visit of Huen Tsang to India in the 7th century to bring Buddhist scriptures to China.

India-China relations have expanded significantly in both scope and intensity over the past decade, according to an official statement.

Both sides have attached great importance to cooperation on a wide range of issues with people-to-people exchanges forming an important aspect of our bilateral relations.

The two sides recognise the importance of expanding such contacts, thereby contributing towards enhanced mutual understanding.

With this shared understanding, during the visit of Wen to India in 2010, the leaders of India and China agreed on a project involving compilation of an encyclopedia of India-China cultural contacts, it said.

The work of compilation of the encyclopedia was undertaken by a joint compilation committee comprising of officials and scholars from both India and China.

The encyclopedia was released in both English and Chinese versions. It features over 700 entries, encapsulating the rich history of contacts and exchanges between the two countries in the trade, economic, literary, cultural and philosophical spheres.

Image: Vice President, Hamid Ansari with wife Salma Ansari at a reception for the Indian community, hosted by the Ambassador of India to China, Ashok K. Kantha in Beijing, China  Photograph: PTI Photo