Chapter 20 2. Over the Himalayas

India and China have many similarities. In a sense, China and India are also "Mesopotamia", that is, "between two rivers".The two rivers in China are the Yellow River and the Yangtze River; the two rivers in India are the Indus and the Ganges.However, the Mesopotamia in West Asia is a battleground for military strategists extending in all directions, while China and India are isolated from the world.In the era of cold weapons, these two places were actually beyond the reach of the belligerent Western barbarians.There is seldom a force so powerful that it can completely destroy us.Thus, two equally ancient civilizations developed independently at the eastern and southern ends of the Eurasian continent, and they persevered into modern times.

I never tire of looking at each other, only Jingting Mountain. But separated by a mountain in the Himalayas, there are many differences between China and India.The civilization of the Indians had already been updated when Pan Geng, king of Shang in China, moved his capital to Yin.The first generation is said to have been created by the Dravidians, called the "Indus Civilization", also known as the "Haraba Civilization".The second generation is called "Indian civilization", which was created in the Indus and Ganges valleys after the Aryans invaded.There is still a gap of hundreds of years between the Indus Valley Civilization and Indian Civilization.

Our civilization has no dynasties, only expansion.Of course, merchants and Zhou people could only build dotted cultural islands in these remote areas at first.The barbarians do their own thing, such as the "Sanxingdui Civilization" in Sichuan.But later, all small cultural circles, including Bashu, Fujian and Guangdong, also became part of Chinese civilization. The way of the country is also different.Yes, India is also from tribe to country.Their tribe is called "Gana" or "Vish", and the chief is called "Rojak".They were also the first to establish city-states, and there was even an "age of nations", similar to our "Spring and Autumn and Warring States".However, the countries of India do not have a "co-owner of the world".Moreover, there are both monarchies (mainly in the Ganges plain) and republics (mainly in the Punjab and the foothills of the Himalayas).Unlike us, from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, they were all monarchies.

Subsequent voyages will be even more different.Since Qin and Han Dynasties, China has been united rather than divided.The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which had the longest period of chaos, were only in a semi-split state.India, on the contrary, is a short-term unity and a long-term division.Even from the Ganpo Dynasty to the Gupta Dynasty, there were more than 300 years of unclear historical facts.In the end, it became a Muslim dynasty and a British colony. But division and invasion failed to interrupt and eliminate Indian civilization. What is the reason? The power of culture.

Historically, India was actually repeatedly invaded by foreigners.Beginning in 518 BC, Persians, Macedonians, Tiaozhi people, Bactrians, Parthians, Serbians, Guishan people, Huns, White Huns, Arabs, and Turks invaded India successively. , Turks, Mongols and finally the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British.The strangest thing is that the Aryans' own "Mauryan Dynasty" and "Gupta Dynasty" are only two hundred years old; Three hundred years. This is surprising!The continuous stretch of Indian civilization, what is it to maintain and achieve? religion.

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