"India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border."

The relationship of China and India seems to be the topic du jour again for The Economist. Earlier this week I blogged about the historical presence of China and India in the global economy. Now The Economist has not one but two articles on the relationship (or perhaps lack thereof) between China and India.

For some reason though, what comes to my mind after reading both of these is the humility expressed in this quote by Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA: "India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border."

For all of the two countries’ posturing over the last five decades, Hu Shih’s quote makes me feel like there is a begrudging mutual respect based on over 2,000 years of history that is not going to go away in light of or in spite of current events.