Indian Music and Dance: Their Dissemination and Influence in China

　　ABSTRACT: This article, focusing on the period from 1949, the founding year of the People’s Republic of China, to 2009, tries to retrace China-India cultural exchanges in the field of music and dance. This author has recorded all the significant events in the area, including the impressive visits to and performance in China by such masters as Ravi Shankar, Leela Samson and L.Suabramaniam. Since early 1980s, quite a few Chinese students and scholars have learned and pursued studies of Indian music and dance in India. Upon returning to the motherland, they have devoted themselves to the teaching of the unique art genres at various music or dance schools. This author holds that Indian music and dance culture has exerted positive influence on the Chinese people.