Nalanda Professorship in India-China Studies: Events

India-China in the Long 1950s: Archives, Ideas, and Cultural Worlds
January 5-6, 2026

This conference is jointly organised by the Asia Research Institute, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. This event is funded by the Nalanda Professorship in India-China Studies, with support from the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Center for Global Asia at NYU Shanghai.

This international conference revisits the 1950s as a formative decade in the history of India–China relations—a period marked by diplomatic optimism, ideological experimentation, and evolving visions of Asia’s postcolonial futures. Drawing on newly accessible archival materials and reexamining key moments of exchange and tension, the conference seeks to illuminate how political, cultural, and intellectual interactions between India and China during this decade shaped regional dynamics and global imaginaries. Bringing together scholars from diplomatic history, intellectual history, international relations, and cultural studies, the conference highlights the roles of both state and non-state actors in shaping India–China engagements in the first decade after Indian independence and the liberation of China. Topics include emerging sources and methodological approaches for studying the 1950s; India–China interactions within shifting geopolitical imaginaries of the early Cold War; influential individuals and institutions; evolving mutual perceptions; and cinematic and performative representations that framed the bilateral relationship.

This convening inaugurates a new scholarly initiative under the Nalanda Professorship in India–China Studies at the Asia Research Institute, and forms part of a broader knowledge-building effort, including the development of print and digital encyclopedias. The 1950s serve as the starting point for rethinking India–China studies from a transregional and multi-archival perspective.

ARI-ACM LECTURE – Xuanzang in History, Imagination, and Art
August 6, 2025

This event was jointly organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) and the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and held in conjunction with the Nalanda Professorship in India-China Studies.

The Chinese monk Xuanzang (602?–664) is a towering figure in the history of Buddhist interactions between ancient China and India. His journey to India between 629 and 645, recorded in the Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang, remains a vital source for understanding the state of Buddhist doctrine and practice across Central and South Asia in the seventh century. Upon returning to Tang China, Xuanzang’s extensive translation work played a critical role in shaping Chinese Buddhist traditions. More than a historical figure, he has come to symbolise the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural aspirations that have long animated exchanges between India and China. 

This event explores Xuanzang’s legacy through historical records, images he brought from India, and evolving representations of Xuanzang as the archetypal pilgrim. It invites us to reflect on the many ways this legendary monk has shaped – and continues to shape – ideas about inter-Asian connectivity.

ARI ASIA TRENDS 2025 – Why India and China? Historical Significance and Contemporary Relevance
April 22, 2022

This Asia Trends lecture is held in conjunction with the Nalanda Professorship in India-China Studies.

ABSTRACT

The past two decades have witnessed a surge in publications employing a China-India framework to examine Asia and the world. These studies emphasize the role of China and India in facilitating the circulations of religious, artistic, and scientific ideas during the first millennium, the significance of commercial goods and markets in these regions in shaping European colonial expansion, and their enduring influence on global politics and economies since the 1950s. This presentation explores some of these historical contributions and the continuing impact of China and India in the contemporary global arena. It argues that framing these two ancient civilizations—now modern nation-states—together offers a valuable lens for understanding a wide range of topics, from premodern intra-Asian interactions to contemporary global challenges.