Book Review: How China sees India and the World

China is a state that has not been completely colonised by any western country. Its political culture is continuously influenced by its history of imperialism, which has carried the concept of a central authoritarian political structure undisturbed for centuries. Even in the modern era, unlike India, China openly acknowledges the existing social-political hierarchies. ‘The Zhou rewrote the history of their violent overthrow of the Shang and began the tradition of dynastic history-writing. This occurred with every dynastic change. There was always the fear of the power of the past to discredit the future. This has continued to be the case into modern times in China.’ (34) While such attempts to rewrite history take place in every country, including, as we are currently witnessing, in India itself, the Chinese effort is much more deliberative and even dramatic.(39) All these claims are vetted by Shyam Saran in his book, ‘How China sees India and the World.’