Hinduism in China

The "Om" symbol in Chinese[a]
Hindu relief, Quanzhou Museum. The image depicts Narasimha legend for the festival of Holika and Holi.

Hinduism (specifically the yogic school) is currently practiced by a minority of residents of China. The religion itself has a very limited presence in modern mainland China, but archaeological evidence suggests a significant presence of Hinduism in different provinces of medieval China.[1] Hindu influences were also absorbed in to Buddhism and got mixed with Chinese mythology over its history.[2] Practices originating in the Vedic tradition of ancient India such as yoga and meditation are also popular in China.

Hindu communities, particularly through Tamil merchant guilds of Ayyavole and Manigramam, once thrived in medieval south China.[3][4] Evidence of Tamil Shiva motifs and temples, such as in the Kaiyuan temple, continue to be discovered in Quanzhou, Fujian, a province of southeast China.[5] A small community of Tamil immigrant workers currently exists in Hong Kong.


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  1. ^ Huang Xinchuan (1986), Hinduism and China, in Freedom, Progress, and Society (Editors: Balasubramanian et al.), ISBN 81-208-0262-4, pp. 125-138
  2. ^ John Kieschnick and Meir Shahar (2013), India in the Chinese Imagination - Myth, Religion and Thought, ISBN 978-0812245608, University of Pennsylvania Press
  3. ^ W.W. Rockhill (1914), Notes on the relations and trade of China with the Eastern Archipelago and the coasts of Indian Ocean during the 14th century", T'oung-Pao, 16:2
  4. ^ T.N. Subramaniam (1978), A Tamil Colony in Medieval China, South Indian Studies, Society for Archaeological, Historical and Epigraphical Research, pp 5-9
  5. ^ John Guy (2001), The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou 1000-1400 (Editor: Angela Schottenhammer), ISBN 978-9004117730, Brill Academic, pp. 294-308

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