History and Legend of Sino-Bangla Contacts

By Zhang Xianyi

The German geographer Richthofen in 1877 coined the term ‘Silk Road’. But how many of us are aware that “In the long river of history, there were three ‘Silk Roads’ connecting China to the Indian Subcontinent. One is the Northern Silk Road, one is Maritime Silk Road and the other is Southern Silk Road.”
The first is the most famous and famed route which extended from central China into Europe. Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy of China’s Han dynasty, and Marco Polo are two renowned travellers who “took this ancient path of dangers and wonders”. The monk Fa Xian of the Eastern Jin dynasty and Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta are two of many explorers who crossed the seas on the Maritime Silk Road. Admiral Zheng He headed the ‘treasure fleet’ of the Ming dynasty. He visited Bengal -- specifically Chittagong and Sonargaon -- in the first half of the 15th century.
 Ambassador Zhang Xianyi during his posting in Dhaka (from 2009-2012) researched the Southern Silk Road which had extensive connections to Bangladesh and “a history of over 2,400 years, longer than the Northern Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.”
In Chapter V, he explores ‘Atish Dipankar – Symbol of Sino-Bangla cultural exchanges.’ Atisha Dipankar (980-1053), the renowned Buddhist scholar, teacher and philosopher, was born in the present Munshiganj district of Bangladesh. One of the senior most monks at the great Buddhist university of Nalanda in Bihar, which was founded in the 5th Century, Dipankar at the age of 56 set off for Tibet where he “helped revolutionise Tibetan Buddhism, excluded heretic doctrines…wrote over 200 Buddhist books, spread medical science...” He passed away in Tibet. In an extraordinary event in 1978, Atisha Dipankar’s ashes were received at the Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka – more than 900 years later.
Given the paucity of published documentation of the ancient links between our giant northern neighbour and our country, this book offers valuable insight into our long and extensive historical connections. Published by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Dhaka, in 2011, it is translated into Bangla, Chinese and English sections.
The publication, with a foreword by Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, who himself published ‘Rediscovering the Southern Silk Route’ in 2000, is a concise and easy-to-read documentation commemorating 35 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China.
A number of visuals, including the book cover image of ‘qilin’ (a giraffe) transported from East Africa and presented by Saifuddin, the Sultan of Bangla, in 1414 to Zhu Di, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, enhance the book. This particular optic is testimony to both Bangla’s important link in the global maritime connections (the giraffe transported from East Africa) as well as the realisation that a befitting gift had to be presented to the Emperor of China.

The reviewer is the author of ‘China: Contrasting Contours’ and ‘India: Beyond the Taj and the Raj’, published by University Press Limited (UPL) Dhaka.

Photos: Internet

History and Legend of Sino-Bangla Contacts

By Zhang Xianyi

The German geographer Richthofen in 1877 coined the term Silk Road. But how many of us are aware that In the long river of history, there were three Silk Roads connecting China to the Indian Subcontinent. One is the Northern Silk Road, one is Maritime Silk Road and the other is Southern Silk Road. The first is the most famous and famed route which extended from central China into Europe. Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy of Chinas Han dynasty, and Marco Polo are two renowned travellers who took this ancient path of dangers and wonders. The monk Fa Xian of the Eastern Jin dynasty and Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta are two of many explorers who crossed the seas on the Maritime Silk Road. Admiral Zheng He headed the treasure fleet of the Ming dynasty. He visited Bengal -- specifically Chittagong and Sonargaon -- in the first half of the 15th century. Ambassador Zhang Xianyi during his posting in Dhaka (from 2009-2012) researched the Southern Silk Road which had extensive connections to Bangladesh and a history of over 2,400 years, longer than the Northern Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road. In Chapter V, he explores Atish Dipankar Symbol of Sino-Bangla cultural exchanges. Atisha Dipankar (980-1053), the renowned Buddhist scholar, teacher and philosopher, was born in the present Munshiganj district of Bangladesh. One of the senior most monks at the great Buddhist university of Nalanda in Bihar, which was founded in the 5th Century, Dipankar at the age of 56 set off for Tibet where he helped revolutionise Tibetan Buddhism, excluded heretic doctrineswrote over 200 Buddhist books, spread medical science... He passed away in Tibet. In an extraordinary event in 1978, Atisha Dipankars ashes were received at the Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka more than 900 years later. Given the paucity of published documentation of the ancient links between our giant northern neighbour and our country, this book offers valuable insight into our long and extensive historical connections. Published by the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China, Dhaka, in 2011, it is translated into Bangla, Chinese and English sections. The publication, with a foreword by Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, who himself published Rediscovering the Southern Silk Route in 2000, is a concise and easy-to-read documentation commemorating 35 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China. A number of visuals, including the book cover image of qilin (a giraffe) transported from East Africa and presented by Saifuddin, the Sultan of Bangla, in 1414 to Zhu Di, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, enhance the book. This particular optic is testimony to both Banglas important link in the global maritime connections (the giraffe transported from East Africa) as well as the realisation that a befitting gift had to be presented to the Emperor of China. The reviewer is the author of China: Contrasting Contours and India: Beyond the Taj and the Raj, published by University Press Limited (UPL) Dhaka. Photos: Internet