The Thousand year contact between India and China constitute one of the central facts of Asian history. Buddhism, introduced into China and the further east during the early centuries of the Christan era, bound the Vedic and Confucian ideals in a single web and brought about the unification of Asia. But Islam interposed a barrier between China and India greatest the Himalayas. In spite of many differences, the two civilizations have many things in common. The appendices on Tibet, on Chinese pilgrims in India and on interactions of India and China on art, make the book by the great diplomat and scholar an essential reading.