Imagining India in Modern China: Literary Decolonization and the Imperial Unconscious, 1895–1962

Imagining India in Modern China: Literary Decolonization and the Imperial Unconscious, 1895–1962, based on primary and secondary sources, is a thought-provoking, meticulously researched, and serious academic work that delves into an extremely complex relationship between China and India during a crucial period in their respective histories. Author Gal Gvili explores the literary and cultural representations of India in Chinese cultural artifacts from the late nineteenth century to the early 1960s, shedding light on the dynamics of decolonization and the lingering imperial consciousness in Chinese literary and cultural discourse. He also highlights how literature played a vital role in facilitating cross-cultural understanding and influencing perceptions of the other country.The book begins by setting the historical context, emphasizing the impact of colonialism and imperialism on both China and India, which became instrumental in forging solidarity among the Indian and Chinese intellectuals and nationalists in Japan. It then moves through the late 1950s, when the motto “India and China Are Brothers” became pervasive, and explores decolonization of literature by raising the notion of Third World solidarity. At the same time, the author highlights the pivotal role played by Anglo-American missionaries in forging epistemological links between the two cultures; it also argues that these evangelists viewed India and China as half-civilized, “heathen” cultures, and that their diffusive force enlightened China, as it had in “some parts of India”—namely, the colonial capital of Calcutta, where intellectuals had been “awakened out of their slumber” (34).However, the diffusive benevolence of the imperial project nonetheless stands exposed in the works of Chinese scholars like Su Manshu, Zhang Taiyan, Liu Shipei, Ji Xianlin, Jin Kemu, Kang Youwei, and Liang Qichao. A comprehensive analysis of their works demonstrates how they shaped the Chinese perception of India. The author argues that a discourse on India's subjugation and Indian culture began to emerge among late Qing intellectuals in response to an Asia-wide Buddhist revival (39). Besides Buddhist revival, I believe it was also Qing China's apprehensions of the threat from British India that resulted in dispatching officials like Huang Maocai, Ma Jianzhong, and Wu Guangpei to study the reasons behind the demise of the Indian civilization.Nonetheless, since scholars such as Su Manshu were interested in Buddhism, they revealed a growing interest in Sanskrit language and its study (44). The author argues that Su was one of the first translators of Indian classics such as Śakuntalā and the Ring of Recollection and the long poem Cloud Messenger by the fifth-century poet Kālidāsa. However, since the translated text has been lost, there are varied views about its translation. Ji Xianlin posits that “in modern China, the first person to have taken note of the Śakuntalā was Su Manshu. He had talked about wanting to translate the play; however, it cannot be ascertained as to whether he had actually translated it.”1 Liu Zhaohua, on the other hand, in her study concludes that Su indeed translated the text.2 Gvili effectively demonstrates how Chinese intellectuals grappled with the notions of imperialism and decolonization as they related to India. Even though the search for commonalities between China and India was inherently mediated by the English language and its representatives (59), the interpretation and the construct was essentially Chinese based on extensive textual research.The mediation of English is true to the translation of Tagore's works in China. The author has discussed it and offered insights while evaluating Tagore's China visit in 1924. Here again, even though Tagore was promoted by the Anglo-Americans in the post-Nobel excitement and was introduced to Chinese readers in 1915, he inspired many May Fourth poets, such as Bing Xin and Xu Zhimo, to cultivate an interpersonal poetic form. Guo Moruo could have been added to the list, for Guo Moruo's poetic style and thought was also deeply influenced by Tagore. For example, his first vernacular poem, The Temptation of Death, bears a strong resemblance to Tagore's eighty-one poems in The Gardener. In fact, Guo Moruo believed that he was the first person in China who came into contact with Tagore's works and has named the early stage of his literary creation as “Tagore style.”3One of the central themes of the book is the cultural exchange between China and India. Zheng Zhenduo, though not trained in Sanskrit, was one of the most vocal exponents of this exchange. Right from the translation of Tagore's poems to his works on Kālidāsa, Zheng used literature to find interconnectedness between Indian and Chinese literature. In his Illustrated History of Chinese Literature, Zheng reiterated Xu Dishan's argument that drama developed in China through contact with India (139). Gvili posits that Zheng was categorically more outspoken than Xu Dishan about India being the major source of world literature and a major influence on China's theatrical culture. Su Manshu's compilation of Sanskrit Classics, as well as Ji Xianlin's translation of Śakuntala in 1956 and its stage performance the following year, marked the new development in modern Chinese translation of classical Indian literature. Obviously, it would not have been possible without the India-China brotherhood propagated by both the sides, and Ji Xianlin's translation of Śakuntalā represented the culmination of that diplomatic bonhomie between the two. Scholars such as Xu Dishan, Ji Xianlin, Jin Kemu, and Xu Fancheng, who were trained in Sanskrit, undoubtedly played a pivotal role.The book ends with an epilogue titled “After 1962: The Ongoing Literary Work of Mourning,” which demonstrates how the facade of India-China brotherhood of the 1950s suddenly vanished into thin air and how collective memories of the Chinese about the “bearded soldier” as “an enslaved executor of imperial greed and violence—traitor to his own people, and collaborator in the imperialization of Asia at large”—are interplayed in various works produced during and after the 1962 war (160). The author cites from Songs of Salutation: In Dedication to the Hero Frontier Guards, composed by a soldier named Li Wei upon his return to home from the border war (158). Li depicts Indian troops in China as “bearded soldiers,” resurrecting a colonial-era trope (160). Similar instances have been cited by the Chinese in other post–Sino-Indian War works. For example, in Snow of the Himalayas, a book on the Sino-Indian War, the authors reproduce Mao Zedong's instructions to Zhang Guohua and other generals to annihilate the Jat Regiment of the Indian Army after hearing Zhou Enlai say that “the Jat Regiment participated in two opium wars, suppressed the Taiping Rebellion, and in 1860, marched together with the British and French forces to invade Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace. In 1904, the regiment also participated in the invasion of Lhasa.” Mao was furious and said to Zhou, “If this could be tolerated what cannot be?”4The book uses the lens of literature to examine how Chinese intellectuals navigated the issues of identity and nationalism during a tumultuous period in China's history. The book's strength lies in its thorough examination of primary sources, including literature, essays, and travelogues of Chinese intellectuals. It offers a nuanced analysis of the evolving Chinese attitude toward India, from fascination and admiration to skepticism and, at times, a sense of superiority. The author skillfully connects various literary representations to the broader political and social developments in China and India during the period under discussion. Moreover, the book sheds light on the concept of the “imperial unconscious,” which refers to the deep-seated, often subconscious attitudes and biases inherited from the colonial era. This concept is central to understanding how Chinese writers engaged with India and how their portrayals were influenced by historical baggage.Imagining India in Modern China is a significant contribution to the fields of Asian studies, China studies, literary studies, oriental studies, cultural history of India and China, and postcolonial studies. It offers a unique perspective on the complexities of cross-cultural perceptions and the enduring influence of imperialism on literary representations. The book is a must-read for scholars and students interested in the history, literature, and cultural interactions between India and China, as well as anyone interested in the broader themes of decolonization and identity. While it may be a dense read and primarily targeted at academic audiences, its insights into the intersection of literature, history, and politics make it a valuable resource for those interested in the above disciplines. Overall, Gal Gvili has crafted a compelling and insightful narrative that deepens our understanding of China's engagement with India during a transformative period in both countries’ histories.