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Serendipitous Connections: The Chinese Engagements with Sri Lanka

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Connectivity in Motion

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ((IOWS))

Abstract

This essay examines Chinese sources, Buddhist as well as court documents, on Sri Lanka during the precolonial period. By outlining Chinese encounters with the island since the fifth century through Buddhist monks, traders, and eventually court officials, it explains how commercial, religious, and political interests in Sri Lanka converged for the Chinese in the early fifteenth century. It also argues that from the example of Chinese engagement with Sri Lanka, it becomes evident that islands, as geographical entities, did not draw special attention from Chinese authors writing about the Indian Ocean world.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Global Asia, NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, PR, China

    Tansen Sen

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  1. Tansen Sen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

    Burkhard Schnepel

  2. Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Edward A. Alpers

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Sen, T. (2018). Serendipitous Connections: The Chinese Engagements with Sri Lanka. In: Schnepel, B., Alpers, E.A. (eds) Connectivity in Motion. Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59725-6_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59725-6_15

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59724-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59725-6

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