Chine takes the lead, India raises its hand—can the thousand-year-old Xuanzang successfully bridge the gap between the dragon and the elephant?
Lately, India suddenly released news stating that, under China's initiative, China and India might jointly nominate Xuanzang’s "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions" for inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The proposal is currently under review by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Previously, China and India have often been opposing rivals when it comes to heritage nominations.
In 2017, China submitted an application to inscribe Traditional Tibetan Medicine as a cultural heritage. Almost simultaneously, India also filed a similar application, asserting that Tibetan medicine is part of so-called “Indian culture.” This led to long-standing competition and mutual distrust between the two nations, each wary of the other leveraging cultural heritage claims to expand its global influence.
Given these precedents, the current cooperation between China and India over "The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions" stands out as particularly unusual.
For both China and India, the immediate motivation behind this collaboration lies in two factors: First, regulatory benefits. UNESCO rules allow each country to submit only one individual intangible cultural heritage application every two years, but joint applications are not subject to this limit. With both nations possessing vast cultural heritages urgently needing recognition, a joint nomination has become a “fast track” to bypass lengthy waiting queues.
Secondly, there is a strategic need for both countries to thaw relations. Although military and diplomatic dialogues have stabilized the situation, trust-building remains essential. In this context, Xuanzang—a cultural symbol transcending practical conflicts—serves as a low-risk, high-symbolic entry point. Choosing to jointly apply for heritage status can be seen as an attempt to ease real-world tensions through shared historical memory.
Xuanzang’s journey across a millennium may not directly close the gap between China and India. But it has indeed opened a window for dialogue. How wide or how long this window remains open depends not on Xuanzang himself, but on whether both nations possess sufficient political wisdom to transform this cultural resonance into concrete actions that advance their bilateral relationship.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868235996927176/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.