Tamils and Tamizhakam in Chinese eyes

The history of Tamil-Chinese interactions dates back two thousand years ago. From the renowned Buddhist monk XuanZang to nameless explorers, numerous Chinese travellers and historians have left notes on Tamil people and the Tamil land. The earliest historical document that recorded the mutual contact was Hanshu (The History of Han Dynasty) in 111CE. Till the last feudal dynasty the Qing Dynasty (1636- 1912), records of Tamil-Chinese exchanges can be traced abundantly in both official and folk historical documents.

India-China interactions

The Tamils recorded by China’s historians in ancient times are almost exclusively geographically from Southern India. So, we have to look briefly into the early and medieval India-China interactions first, especially two essential elements in the contact: Buddhism and trade.

From AD 1600, transmission of Buddhism from India to China paralleled an active trade between the two countries. Buddhism was the main factor promoting mutual interactions. According to Chinese scholar Liu Xinru, India was considered by many as a holy land due to religious reasons. Buddhism ritual and religious activities promoted the production and distribution of commercial goods.

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