Asian Encounters: Exploring Connected Histories

262 Pages·2014·26.365 MB·English

by  Upinder Singh (editor), Parul Pandya Dhar (editor)

GONTRIBUiaPSs
Osmund Bopearachchi 'The essays in this volume cover
a vast geographical area as also
Parul Pandya Dhar
many centuries of dialogue and
Suchandra Ghosh interaction amongst the countries
of Asia.... Altogether, here is rich
Sou mya James
material, diverse in perceptions,
Yumiko Kamada urging us to re-examine and re-visit
the ancient encounters.'
yjHermann Kulk^
Sunil Kunfiar —Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson,
IIC-Asia Project, in her Foreword
Jansen Sen ,
to this book
Upinder Singh
Geoff Wade
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ISBN 0-19-809980-0
O X F O R D
UNIVERSITY PRESS
www.oup.com
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asían encounters
exploring connected histories
EDITED BY
UPINOER SINOH
PARUL PANOYA OKAR
Foreword by KAPILA VATSYAYAN
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY TRESS
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boellemphasizes the enormous *
historical importance of the varied cultural
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pre-modeirn ^d early modern periods/ It
i * discusses the long-standing engagement ^ ^
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and the Soutiieast and Central
regPons, examining the historicafoQi
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the avenues, agents, and manifitatfons of
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cultural transmission. It a^ressesissues,', I
ranging from war and diplonT,a^^trade
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_ coueted carpets and'SWj
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and forms.
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Underi Jiing the intersection of politics, ^
' trade, religion,.-an^nteNectual and
artistic exchange, t[iese essays by leading 'l- j
scholars show howi certain ideas and.
forms in religion, airt, and literature ^ 1'
selected, assimilatied, and transforitfed ^-A‘
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need for sustainea collaliaf;ativirok|id .
■ - disciplinary research in the field of Asian ’
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asian encounters

Acknowledgements
At the outset, we would like to thank Dr Kapila Research, and the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre
Vatsyayan, who visualized the initiative of bringing (Singapore) for funding the conference and
together a number of institutions for a meaningful making this dialogue possible. We thank
dialogue on Asian interactions and brought the all the participating scholars who not only
idea to successful fruition in an international raised the level of discussion and debate with
conference out of which this book has emerged. their erudite papers but were also extremely
We thank the four institutions that participated cooperative throughout the making of
in the organization of the conference, namely the this book.
India International Centre, the Archaeological Our colleagues in the Department of
Survey of India, the Indira Gandhi National History, University of Delhi, were a great
Centre for the Arts, and the University of Delhi. source of encouragement and our students
Thanks are also due to Dr Gautam Sengupta, lent enthusiastic and valuable help. We truly
former Director General of the Archaeological appreciate all the hard work put in by the team
Survey of India, and to Dr Senarath Dissanayaka, at Oxford University Press in the production
Director General, Department of Archaeology, Sri of this book.We hope that the book will
Lanka, who participated in the venture. generate further ideas, debate, and momentum
We are also grateful to the University for a concerted scholarly engagement with
of Delhi, the Indian Council of Historical Asian interactions.
Upinder Singh
Parul Pandya L^har
Foreword
I am so pleased that the painstaking efforts of my Connectivities and Conflicts’, a brief com­
colleagues in the University of Delhi, Professor ment is perhaps pertinent in regard to the
Upinder Singh and Dr Parul Pandya Dhar, have papers in the section ‘Religion, Rituals, and
come to fruition. The essays in this volume cover Monuments*. What becomes explicit through
a vast geographical area as also many centuries of these papers is a natural tendency of symbiosis
dialogue and interaction amongst the countries and interpenetration of different streams in
of Asia. They pointedly draw attention to the creation of art. Here, no rigid lines can be
valuable new data which calls for a revision of drawn between what may be called Hindu,
earlier critical evaluations. Buddhist, and other streams. This is evident
I was particularly happy to read Professor in Parul Pandya Dhars paper and of course
Hermann Kulkes lead article which reflects his in the long history of discourse on Angkor
introspection on positions taken earlier. I have Wat and Borobudur, to mention only a few
followed Professor Kulkes work over many instances. Altogether, here is rich material,
decades. He represents an earlier generation, but diverse in perceptions, urging us to re-examine
he also represents the present generation which is and re-visit the ancient encounters. I shall say
now looking afresh at the dynamics of political no more because the editors have identified the
and cultural dialogues within Asia, particularly issues in greater detail in their Introduction.
South and Southeast Asia. Other papers relating The conference entitled ‘Asian Encounters:
to new evidence in regard to relations between Networks of Cultural Interactions’, held from
different parts of Asia make it clear that today 31 October to 4 November 2011, on which
it is necessary to look again at the nature of this volume is based, was accompanied by a very
the dialogue which was mutual, as is evident educative exhibition held at the University of
in Upinder Singhs paper which discusses royal Delhi, which drew attention to the valuable work
endowments made by Southeast Asian rulers done by the Archaeological Survey of India in the
in India. The articles relating to China are at a conservation of Asian monuments in Cambodia
different level, focusing attention on military and Laos. This provided an appropriate backdrop
intervention and state violence. to the conference. Now, it remains for me as the
Without commenting further on the conceiver of the conceptual plan of the confer­
other essays in the section on ‘Political ence to situate it within the broader framework
X Foreword
of the IIC-Asia Project and to give a brief account by the University of Delhi has already been dis­
of the planning of its ocher components. cussed. The second one related to the discovery
First, very briefly, an account about the IIC- of new inscriptions which called for revision of
Asia Project and its trajectory over the last decade data and much else. The Archaeological Survey
and a half: The IIC-Asia Project first looked at of India organized an exhibition on the recent
nation-state formation and focused attention on inscriptions discovered in India and neighbour­
political and social histories. This was followed ing countries and also organized a seminar on
by adopting a rather unconventional methodol­ epigraphic connections’ between India, Inner
ogy of viewing the Asian dialogue. It identified Asia, and West Asia, and between India and
modes of expression, be it poetry or literature. Southeast Asia. In che seminar, many important
This included the hard task of putting together papers were presented, including on ‘Khmer
an anthology of womens writings in Asia. Film Epigraphy: Issue of Asian Linkages* (Sachchi-
is another potent medium. For a decade, the danand Sahai), ‘Epigraphical Probing in Central
IIC-Asia Project has been identifying, collecting, Asia’ (Maheswari Prasad), and ‘Indo-Tokharian
and showing films made by Asians at a non­ Interactions: Epigraphical Evidence* (B.R. Mani).
commercial level. Even more unconventional Judging from the discussions at this seminar, it
was looking at the role of the humble needle was clear that greater attention has to be given
and thread in stitching cultures together or to the discipline of epigraphy and a younger
being indicators of an Asian dialogue through generation must be trained in palaeography.
embroidery from Afghanistan to Vietnam, Another section of the conference, organized
China, and Japan. Most intriguing at the outset, by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for
but otherwise commonplace, was to trace the the Arts, New Delhi, considered aesthetic
journey of the well-known and humble plant, theories and art forms. It had several important
Indigo, the dye that has played an important role presentations. These included: ‘From Sida to
in the Asian continent. It has also penetrated and Madsi: An Ideal Role of Women from Thai
conditioned the political discourse, especially Ramayana and Vessantara Jataka* (Suchitra
during the colonial period. Surviving the Chongstitvatana from Thailand); ‘Javanisation
imposition of the chemical indigo, it has today of the Goddess Durga in Java from the 8th-16th
received a new lease of life in the cross-cultural Century* (Hariani Santiko, Indonesia); ‘Western
efifervescence of the natural dye. The dimensions Aesthetic Theory and Ancient West Asian Aes­
which surfaced in the dialogue on Indigo were thetic Experience* (Irene Winter, Harvard); and
from many points of view—botany, trade, social ‘Abhinavagupta*s Theory of Arts and Aesthetic
structures, and of course, artistic manifestations. Experience’ (Kamlesh Dutt Tripathi). A fourth
Without dwelling on other such unconven­ section of the conference was on representations
tional projects, it was now considered necessary of Asian art in Asian museums.
to bring together new evidence in the domains of The above narration is illustrative of the many
archaeology, political and economic history, and disciplines through which the trajectories of
religion and artistic expressions. The conference Asian communication can be traced. The papers
on Asian encounters, on which this book is based, presented at the conference drew attention to
consisted of four parts. The first section organized new evidence as also the implications of this