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Text: Zhang Runchen
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introduction
Southeast Asia has been our close relative since ancient times, and it is also our close neighbor. Both historically and contemporarily, Southeast Asian countries have maintained relatively close relations with the mainland for a long time.
However, before the Chinese began to immigrate to Southeast Asia on a large scale, some countries in Southeast Asia were not at all similar to the mainland.
(Southeast Asian Chinese)
On the contrary, it is more similar to India, and this phenomenon is also called the "Indianization" of Southeast Asian countries. So what exactly is the reason for the "Indianization" of Southeast Asian countries?
1. A fateful encounter
The Indian subcontinent in South Asia and the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia are two important food producing areas in Asia today. And this also means that these two regions themselves are very suitable for the development of human civilization. In ancient times, there were indeed a large number of traces of human activity in these two areas. The connection between the Indian subcontinent and Indochina is in fact very close.
(Southeast Asia)
When we open the map, we can see that the Indian subcontinent and Indochina are almost identical in latitude, which also leads to the similarity of the climate between the two countries.
The Indochina Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent are also dominated by plains, which also means that the populations of the two places will be more easily adapted to the local environment after circulating with each other.
(Indochina Peninsula)
The most important point is that although the Indochina Peninsula is closer to the mainland, the location of the northern part of the peninsula connected to the mainland is not very good. The southwest of the continent, as well as the surrounding Indochina Peninsula, is almost entirely tropical rainforest and hilly climate, which also leads to natural inconvenience in communication between the two sides.
The same is true of the Indian subcontinent, where the northern part of the country bordering the mainland is all plateau, making communication even more difficult. And more importantly, in ancient times, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was culturally isolated from the Central Plains cultural circle for a long time, and it maintained a considerable independence. Therefore, the influence of the Central Plains civilization on the Indian subcontinent can be said to be more limited.
(Indochina Peninsula and Indian Subcontinent)
However, the Indian subcontinent is separated from Indochina by only one Bay of Bengal.
Although it was not easy to cross the Bay of Bengal in ancient times, the ancient Indians were able to follow the ocean currents along the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal to Indochina. Whether it is Bangladesh or eastern Myanmar, all of them are relatively suitable for landfall on the plains.
Therefore, from a geographical point of view, the exchange between Indochina and the Indian subcontinent is almost inevitable. India, as a "first-mover civilization", will also inevitably have a long-term impact on the Indochina Peninsula. There are also large numbers of Indians in today's Southeast Asian countries. Some of the ancestors of these Indians came to Southeast Asia in modern times, and some have lived in Southeast Asia for thousands of years...
Exactly when the Indians came to Southeast Asia is debatable, but it is certain that this is a very, very early date.
(Indian)
2. Millennial exchanges between India and Southeast Asia
In the Buddhist fable "Bunsen Sutra", which originated in ancient India, such a place is recorded, and this place is called "Suvarabhumi", which translates to "golden land". In the fable, the Indian monk arrived at this "golden land" by boat. In the eyes of many modern historians, this so-called "golden land" is in fact the Indochina Peninsula.
The Bunsen Sutra was produced around the third century B.C. This means that the ancient Indians had been communicating with Indochina by sea at least 2,200 years ago. Also in some cultural texts of ancient Southeast Asia, there are also accounts of Indian visits.
It's just that these accounts generally appeared in the next few hundred years. Because at this time, the Southeast Asian peoples began to appear in large numbers of their own writings, which made the records suddenly increase. In the "History of the Golden Lantern Country" in northern Thailand, it is recorded that an Indian Brahmin prince established his own Hindu country after coming to northern Thailand.
(Ancient Southeast Asia)
The country is located on the lower Mekong River in Bodhi Sanluang, which was renamed "Intabatan Nakhon" after the Indian princes ruled here, which is a rather Indianized name.
The History of the Golden Lantern Kingdom also mentions a very important piece of information, that is, the Indian prince gained control of the country through marriage to a princess of Southeast Asia.
This means that in early Southeast Asian civilizations, there was intermarriage with Indian nobility. This also means that thousands of years ago, Indians had already begun to influence the ruling class of Southeast Asian countries, and even some nobles were simply Indians. Even in the classics of the mainland, there are similar records.
There are relevant records in the Book of Jin and the Biography of Funan, as well as in the later Book of Southern Qi and the Biography of Funan. Both histories tell the story of a nobleman from India who married a local queen named "Willow Leaf" and became the de facto ruler of the region, or "co-lord".
(Ancient Southeast Asia)
And these two accounts illustrate at least two problems. That is, at least during the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the intermarriage between the East Asian aristocracy and the Indian aristocracy had become a common phenomenon, otherwise it is unlikely that the records would have appeared in large numbers in Chinese history books.
Another problem was that the influence of Indians in Indochina was already very high at this time, otherwise it was unlikely that the Indian aristocracy would have directly intermarried with the rulers of Southeast Asia.
(Southeast Asian Costume)
And in the Book of Nanqi, there is also another story recorded. During the Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, there was once a "Tianzhu monk" Naga Xian, who returned to Funan with the merchant ships sent to China by the king of Funan, Jayavarman. A few years later, on behalf of the king of Funan, this Naga immortal followed the Funan delegation to China to pay tribute.
This also means that at this time, Indians have begun to hold certain practical positions in the courts of Southeast Asian countries, and even began to preside over diplomatic work.
In early Southeast Asian countries, it was a common phenomenon to be influenced by Indian culture and religion. In particular, the introduction of Buddhism has provided spiritual sustenance for the people at the bottom of Southeast Asia.
(Funan)
Since there is no shortage of food in Southeast Asia, and there is almost no large-scale famine, the people's lives are relatively stable and secure. Therefore, the people of Southeast Asia, while satisfying food and clothing, pay more attention to spiritual needs. Due to the popularity of Buddhism and Buddhism, it also led to a real demand for Indians in the courts of Southeast Asia.
Since most of the Buddhist texts are written in Sanskrit, Indian scholars are generally proficient in Sanskrit and are also proficient in Buddhism. As a result, Indian scholars began to hold a large number of positions as shamans, advisors, and even teachers to kings in Southeast Asian countries. This also made it inevitable that the ancient Southeast Asian countries began to be influenced by India from the top down.
And this point also makes the answer to the question before our article come out.
(Funanguo Ruins)
3. Comparison between spirit and matter
The influence of Indian culture on Southeast Asia is actually phased. In the early civilization exchanges, India's influence on Southeast Asia was undoubtedly much higher than that of the mainland.
Although the earliest records of exchanges between the mainland and Southeast Asia may be much earlier than India. However, the exchange between the mainland and Southeast Asia is more out of a practical exchange.
We will sell advanced tools and advanced production methods to Southeast Asia in exchange for various special products from Southeast Asia, which is also a typical trade exchange. What India sells to Southeast Asia, however, is mythology and religion. For the relatively primitive peoples of Southeast Asia, mythology must be easier to enter a person's mind than a tool.
(Vietnamese Ao Dai from China)
Taking Funan, the earliest ancient civilization in Southeast Asia, as an example, the silk imported from China has changed the Xi of the local people who are not clothed. The introduction of literature from China also indirectly helped the local people to develop their own writing. It can be said that China's influence on Southeast Asia has directly changed the spiritual outlook of the local people.
(Funan)
India's influence on Southeast Asia is more reflected in the soul, as well as the culture and art itself. Angkor Wat in today's civilized world is, to some extent, a product of Indianization. In the 7th century AD, Sri Buddha passed away from Nalanda Monastery in India, and became two centers of Buddhism in Asia.
However, while India has provided the peoples of Southeast Asia with an escapist spiritual opium, humanity still lives in the real world.
However, China is the country that provides Southeast Asia with tools and methods to overcome nature, so with the development of time, the influence of Chinese culture on Southeast Asia will inevitably overwhelm Indian culture.
(Buddhism in Southeast Asia)
Moreover, after the end of the classical era, India itself was mired in constant civil strife and strife, and even ruled by foreign tribes for a long time. In this context, Southeast Asia is beginning to have a negative impact on India.
On the coasts of India and Ceylon, there are even "colonies" of Southeast Asian peoples. It was through the "platform" of India that Southeast Asian ethnic groups began to communicate with Muslims in the Middle East, and Muslim culture also began to influence Southeast Asian ethnic groups.
(Muslim)
However, this process of mutual influence was artificially interrupted after the beginning of the Age of Discovery in Europe.
4. Indianization in modern times
In the long history, those Indians who went to Southeast Asia in the classical era have already gradually integrated into the local culture of Southeast Asia under the long-term intermarriage with foreign countries. For example, the Jawi Pekans of Malaya, who are a mixed race of Southeast Asian and Indian peoples.
It stands to reason that there should not be too "pure" Indians in Southeast Asia today. However, in Southeast Asia today, there are still a large number of "pure-blood Indians". And these Indians, their history of immigrating to Southeast Asia is actually not long. Most of this group began to migrate to Southeast Asia in large numbers in the 18th and 19th centuries AD.
These Indians are also generally concentrated in Malaya and Myanmar. And at this point in time, there is a commonality in this residential concentration, that is, it is all related to the British colonists. In fact, this result was indeed caused by the British colonizers.
(British Colonizers)
Because of the violent colonization of India by the British, the local commercial system and production mode of India were artificially destroyed. A large number of Indian craftsmen lost their means of livelihood and were forced to start emigrating overseas in search of new outlets. Malaya and Burma, which are closer to each other and belong to the United Kingdom, have become the first choice for these Indians.
At this time, Indian immigrants were fundamentally different from those of Indians in classical times. Most of the Indians in the classical era were some Buddhists, but most of these new Indian immigrants were Hindus. In the process of developing Southeast Asia by European colonizers, they did encounter the dilemma of labor shortage.
At this time, the Chinese also began to immigrate to Southeast Asia on a large scale. However, the European colonizers did not like the Chinese, because the Chinese themselves were "irresolvable", and most of the Chinese considered themselves to be Chinese, which also caused great variability. However, the European colonizers were also indispensable to the Chinese, because the Chinese were hard-working and also had relatively advanced means of production.
(British Colonizers)
Therefore, in order to counterbalance the Chinese, European colonizers began to encourage Indians to emigrate to Southeast Asia in large numbers. Under the guidance of the European colonizers, the Indians also did not like the Chinese. The local natives of Southeast Asia, especially the indigenous people on the islands in the southern part of Southeast Asia, also dislike the Chinese.
Because these local natives think that the Chinese have robbed them of their land and their jobs. Under these circumstances, the convergence of Indians with the indigenous people of Southeast Asia and European colonizers became almost inevitable. However, unlike the Indians' "brave and ruthless", the performance of the Chinese in Southeast Asia is relatively "weak".
(Southeast Asian Chinese)
In other words, out of a certain "conversion fanaticism", the Chinese began to deliberately weaken their "Chinese identity" in order to integrate into the local cultural environment. This has also led to the fact that the Chinese in Southeast Asia have never been able to truly unite. And this situation has also caused the embarrassing situation of Chinese in Southeast Asia today...
Resources:
SUN Wu. "On the Influence of Foreign Cultures on Ancient Southeast Asian Society: On the So-called "Indianization" and "Indian Colonization". Journal of Xuzhou Normal University 04(1999):99-102.
ZHAO Ziyong. "A Brief Discussion on the Individuization of Ancient Southeast Asia." Journal of South China Normal University:Social Sciences 3(1994):7.
HE Ping. "Indians in Southeast Asia and Their Historical Changes." Southeast Asia and South Asian Studies 2(2011):6.