An exhibition featuring exquisite sculptures from fourth and seventh centuries of Indian and Chinese civilisations opened here today, highlighting the flourishing trade and cultural ties between the two countries through ancient Silk Road over 2,000 years ago.
A total of 56 rare sculptures from India connected to the Gupta period along with 109 carvings from China's Tang dynasty whichsimultaneously ushered in a golden era in both the countries during fourth to seventh centuries were on display at the exhibition which was inaugurated here at the prestigious Palace Museum.
This exhibition showcases the collective contribution of India and China during a major era in mankind's history, Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale, who inaugurated the event, said.
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Referred as "Common Era",the fourth and seventh centurieswere regarded as the most productive period in the history of both the countries.
"In India the Gupta Empire brought two centuries of political unity and prosperity; China under the Tang dynasty reached unparalleled level of economic and cultural prosperity. The creative impulses of the Indian and Chinese people were given full play," Gokhale said.
That was the time both the countries had an outpouring of creative works in literature, music, arts and sciences which enriched their people and the world, he said.
The exhibition also has a modern strategic connotation as it highlights the ancient Silk Road, which China now seeks to recreate with billions of dollars of investments to revive its sagging economy.
Unlike the present one named as 'One Belt and One Road', which is China's own initiative, the ancient Silk Road was a two way street with goods moving out of China and the knowledge flowing out of India though theDharmaratna Marg.
"China's Silk Road was creating opportunities for merchandise trade across Asia including with the Gupta Empire," Gokhale said.
He said India's Dharmaratna Marg (Spiritual Road) simultaneously forged by earlier generations of Indian scholar-monks became the channel for the flow of cultural and intellectual ideas between India, China and Central Asia.
Officials say the exhibition at the Palace Museum, located at China's iconic Forbidden City, the seat of power of successive Chinese emperors highlights the two way India-China engagement during the golden age of the two countries.
The message of peace and new techniques in mathematics, medicine, arts and sculpture travelled northwards, to be translated into new artistic and scientific discoveries by China under the Tang dynasty, Gokhale said.
Chinese Buddhist scholars Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled
from Chang An to Nalanda along the Dharmaratna Marg to collect the great Buddhist works, Gokhale said.
"For a long period until the mid-20th century contacts of India and China had withered away. Through the collective efforts of our leaderships, and with the support of the two peoples, Indians and Chinese are beginning to re-connect. We should value this," he said.
Building a better understanding about India-China historical exchanges will enhance efforts to build the 21st century as the Asian Century, he said.
Director of the Palace Museum Shan Jixiang said that the classical style of Gupta Art had not only influenced all of South Asia but reached Central and East Asia and China.
Sculptures of that era were "twin lotuses from the same stalk".
Bringing these sculptures together at the Forbidden City is a grand occasion for India-China cultural exchange, he said.
The Gupta era sculptures which include Ganesha, Buddha statues, besides the ones depicting India's mythological epics like Ramayana have been collected from nine museums across India.
The exhibition will continue in Beijing till 28th December and later be shifted to Fujian,Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces.
