Indians in China
Encyclopedia
Indians in China consist of migrants from India
to the People's Republic of China
and their descendants. A large majority of them live in Hong Kong
while there are smaller populations living in other parts of China.
Indians have been migrating to China since the Middle Ages and Indian culture had a great impact on Chinese culture and history.
, Zhang Qian
(d. 113 BC) and Sima Qian
(145-90 BC) make references to "Shendu", which may have been referring to the Indus Valley
(the Sindh
province in modern Pakistan
), originally known as "Sindhu" in Sanskrit
. When Yunnan
was annexed by the Han Dynasty
in the first century, Chinese authorities reported an Indian "Shendu" community living there. After the transmission of Buddhism from India to China from the first century onwards, many Indian scholars and monks travelled to China, such as Batuo (fl.
464-495 AD)—founder of the Shaolin Monastery—and Bodhidharma
—founder of Chan/Zen
Buddhism.
beginning in the sixteenth century. For example, Galeote Pereira
, one of the Portuguese smugglers captured off the Fujian
coast in 1549 and exiled to Guangxi
, mentions Gujarati
servants among his companions.
In the same century Indians from former Portuguese Indian Colonies
(notably Goa
) settled in Macau
in small numbers.
The history of the Indians in Hong Kong could be drawn back since the day of British occupation. When the Union flag of the United Kingdom
was hoisted on 26 January 1841, there were around 2,700 Indian troops participated. They had played an important role for the development of Hong Kong in early days. The most mentionable were the contributions of the set up of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Also, the Star Ferry
was founded by Indians in 1888. In 1952, business leaders of the Indian community have founded The Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong (ICCHK). It aimed at promoting and improving the image of India trade in Hong Kong and southern China.
s, travel agents, medical, media
and insurance
sector. The banking and financial sector had the strongest presence of Indian professionals. Information technology
and telecommunications have also interested highly qualified Indians. In the 1950s, tailoring had become an industry that was popular with Indians and around 200 tailoring shops were owned by them at that time.
recorded 15,051 Indian nationals living in mainland China as of 2010. Other sources had previously reported an upward trend in the number of Indians living in mainland China, with estimates of around 25,000 in numbers. Many Indians in China are students, traders and professionals employed with MNCs, Indian companies and banks. There are three Indian community associations in the country. In 1992, India-China Bilateral trade was only 338.5 m USD.
In 2002, it had increased by 15 times and become 4945.9 m USD. More than 50 Indian Companies have entered China and come together to lunch an 'India Club' in Shanghai. Indian State Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda - these four Banks have started functioning in China. The number of Indians in Mainland China is growing rapidly. Today, there are about 2,000 in the Beijing
alone. Indian officials feel that as the number of Indians in China grows their impact on China's perceptions of India will increase.
The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida
and in Gandhinagar, to build an Akshardham temple. A huge piece of land has been earmarked in the Guangdong
province, which will not only house the temple but also an Indian cultural centre which will include a traditional Indian music learning centre and also various Indian language teaching centres on this temple premises.
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and their descendants. A large majority of them live in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
while there are smaller populations living in other parts of China.
Indians have been migrating to China since the Middle Ages and Indian culture had a great impact on Chinese culture and history.
Middle Ages
In the Records of the Grand HistorianRecords of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
, Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian was an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of the Han Dynasty...
(d. 113 BC) and Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
(145-90 BC) make references to "Shendu", which may have been referring to the Indus Valley
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
(the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province in modern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
), originally known as "Sindhu" in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. When Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
was annexed by the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
in the first century, Chinese authorities reported an Indian "Shendu" community living there. After the transmission of Buddhism from India to China from the first century onwards, many Indian scholars and monks travelled to China, such as Batuo (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
464-495 AD)—founder of the Shaolin Monastery—and Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
—founder of Chan/Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhism.
Colonial Era
Indians (as well as people from elsewhere in the Portuguese colonial empire) were among the crew of the Portuguese ships trading on the Chinese coastbeginning in the sixteenth century. For example, Galeote Pereira
Galeote Pereira
Galeote Pereira was a 16th century Portuguese soldier of fortune who has left us one of the earliest accounts by a westerner of life in China's Ming Dynasty, indeed the first detailed observation of that civilisation by a non-cleric since that of Marco Polo....
, one of the Portuguese smugglers captured off the Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
coast in 1549 and exiled to Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
, mentions Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
servants among his companions.
In the same century Indians from former Portuguese Indian Colonies
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
(notably Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
) settled in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
in small numbers.
The history of the Indians in Hong Kong could be drawn back since the day of British occupation. When the Union flag of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was hoisted on 26 January 1841, there were around 2,700 Indian troops participated. They had played an important role for the development of Hong Kong in early days. The most mentionable were the contributions of the set up of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Also, the Star Ferry
Star Ferry
The Star Ferry, or The "Star" Ferry Company, is a passenger ferry service operator in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon...
was founded by Indians in 1888. In 1952, business leaders of the Indian community have founded The Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong (ICCHK). It aimed at promoting and improving the image of India trade in Hong Kong and southern China.
Hong Kong
Most Indians stepped into the fields like international companies, banking, airlineAirline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s, travel agents, medical, media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
sector. The banking and financial sector had the strongest presence of Indian professionals. Information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and telecommunications have also interested highly qualified Indians. In the 1950s, tailoring had become an industry that was popular with Indians and around 200 tailoring shops were owned by them at that time.
Mainland China
The Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of ChinaSixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
The Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, also referred to as the 2010 Chinese Census, was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China with a zero hour of November 1, 2010....
recorded 15,051 Indian nationals living in mainland China as of 2010. Other sources had previously reported an upward trend in the number of Indians living in mainland China, with estimates of around 25,000 in numbers. Many Indians in China are students, traders and professionals employed with MNCs, Indian companies and banks. There are three Indian community associations in the country. In 1992, India-China Bilateral trade was only 338.5 m USD.
In 2002, it had increased by 15 times and become 4945.9 m USD. More than 50 Indian Companies have entered China and come together to lunch an 'India Club' in Shanghai. Indian State Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda - these four Banks have started functioning in China. The number of Indians in Mainland China is growing rapidly. Today, there are about 2,000 in the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
alone. Indian officials feel that as the number of Indians in China grows their impact on China's perceptions of India will increase.
Indian culture
The Indian Embassy has been organising the Festival of India in China over the years. An important component of it has been the food festivals held in Indian restaurants, spread over nearly 45 Chinese cities. Indian fashion is also very popular among Chinese youths. There is a growing awareness about India's ancient civilisation, its religions, languages and culture in Chinese universities.The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida
Noida
Noida , short for the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, is an area in India under the management of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority . Noida came into administrative existence on 17 April 1976 and celebrates 17 April as "Noida Day". It was set up as part of an urbanization...
and in Gandhinagar, to build an Akshardham temple. A huge piece of land has been earmarked in the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, which will not only house the temple but also an Indian cultural centre which will include a traditional Indian music learning centre and also various Indian language teaching centres on this temple premises.
Medical students
In 2003, Chinese medical schools began admitting large numbers of international students, mostly from India, for medical education in English. The numbers of students has grown to about 8000 with about 5000 of the students from Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
Notable Chinese people of Indian descent
- AmoghavajraAmoghavajraAmoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...
- One of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history - BodhidharmaBodhidharmaBodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
- Buddhist monk credited as the transmitter of Zen to China. - BodhiruciBodhiruciBodhiruci was a Buddhist monk and esoteric master from North India . He became very active as a teacher following his arrival in Loyang, China in 508 ....
- Buddhist monk and esoteric master from North IndiaNorth IndiaNorth India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage... - Batuo - First abbot of Shaolin Monastery
- Chen GexinChen Gexin-Biography:Chen was born into an elite family and had a grandfather from India. He was jailed during the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese forces during Second Sino-Japanese War for his patriotic songs....
- Chinese popular music songwriter - Dwarkanath KotnisDwarkanath KotnisDwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis was one of five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938...
- One of five Indian physicians dispatched to China during the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States... - Gautama SiddhaGautama SiddhaGautama Siddha, astronomer, astrologer and compiler of Indian descent, known for leading the compilation of the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era during the Tang Dynasty. He was born in Chang'an, and his family was originally from India, according to a tomb stele uncovered in 1977 in Xi'an...
- Chinese translator, astronomer, astrologer and compiler - Hui LiHui LiHui Li was an Indian Buddhist monk who visited China in the 4th c. He is the founder of the Lingyin temple . The name is also written Huili....
- Indian Buddhist monk and founder of the Lingyin temple - KumārajīvaKumarajivaKumārajīva; was a Kuchean Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator. He first studied teachings of the Sarvastivada schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became a Mahāyāna adherent, studying the Madhyamaka doctrine of Nagarjuna. Kumārajīva settled in Chang'an, which was the imperial...
- KucheanKuchaKuchaor Kuche Uyghur , Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po ; Sanskrit: Kueina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom...
Buddhist monk
See also
- ChindianChindian"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....
- Chinese community in India
- Hinduism in ChinaHinduism in ChinaHinduism is a minor religion in The People's Republic of China, with roughly about 130,000 followers and composing only of 0.01% of China's total population.-Early Hindu influence:...
- Pakistanis in ChinaPakistanis in ChinaPakistanis in China consist largely of temporary residents, including international students and cross-border traders. They are concentrated in the Xinjiang autonomous region of northwest China.-Students:...
- Sino-Indian relationsSino-Indian relationsSino-Indian relations, also called Indo-China relations, refers to the bilateral relationship between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India. China and India are the world's most populous states and also fastest growing major economies...