<p>I am not a history, but I am really interested in cultural influence, wars, and relations. </p>
<p>As of last semester I was studying Asian cultures and I was extremely upset with how much credit China was getting over its southern neighbors in India. Dont get me wrong China has had a massive influence on the modern world and India has as well; however when I looked into it myself I was never taught about Indian influence on China. </p>
<p>India was only mentioned to me in the time periods revolving around:
-Alexander and the war with Porous
-Mughal reign
-British control</p>
<p>What was left out was:
-They Mauryan empire…which was the first major Asian “global power” being spread over 17+ countries. Chandragupta beat Greece in a war and his successors would conquer much of Asia; however no respect was given to Ashoka. He spread Buddhism into china and much of eastern Asia.</p>
<p>-Martial Arts influence- China is known for “Kung-Fu”; however that is a part of “WuShu” and one of the most legendary figures of “WuShu” is Bodhidharma who, even Chinese scholars of the time stated that he was a Buddhist of South Indian decent.</p>
<p>-The various empires of India ranging from:
- Mauryan, First major indian empires
-Pala: first major empire to have university. At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Turkey, Greece, and Persia. it is also the empire where many chinese scholars such as Xuanzang studied.<br>
-Maratha: empire that took down the Mughal
-Sikhs: regarded as one of the strongest war machines whose armies (dal khlasa 1717-1849) help take down the Maratha and then took down the Afghan Durrani empire </p>
<p>I am not trying to start a debate between which country is more influential, but I am asking why is it that Indian influence is not revered as Chinese influence. </p>