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To complicate this even further, China has its own assumptions about “East” and “West”. Chinese texts often refer to anything west of China as the “West”. The famous novel, Journey to the West, recounts the story of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang and his travels to India with his mythical companions, Pig and the Monkey King. Their mission is to collect Buddhist texts and bring them back to China. In this case, the “West” is India. Similarly, the Daoist classic, the Dao de Jing, ends with the seminal sage, Laozi departing China for the ”West”. Laozi was believed to have travelled to India. Funnily enough, when Buddhist teachings were introduced to China, many Chinese considered the Buddha to be Laozi and early translations of Buddhist texts framed the teachings in Daoist terms.

In addition to this, Chinese culture also has its own romantic notions of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. The idea of the Dalai lamas as “god-kings” comes from China. Likewise, the perjorative term “lamaism” used to describe Tibetan devotionalism originates in China. Both terms show up in “Western” writings in the early part of the twentieth century and “Western” romanticism about Tibet has been influenced by precedents from Chinese culture. The whole thing is very yin-yang.

In present-day China, this romanticism continues in terms of presenting Tibet as a highly desirable tourist destination and the strong draw Tibetan Buddhism seems to hold for people in China and the Chinese diaspora. If European and American art and literature reflect “Western” desire for the “East” in the kinds of fantasies it produces (think Dr. Strange, Kill Bill’s Uma Thurman, and Karate Kid’s Ralph Machio pursuing alluring “Eastern” disciplines in exotic locales), China harbours a similar desire for Tibet. I met many people in Chengdu who had visited or wanted to visit the Tibetan plateau and spoke in awe of its beautiful landscapes. Similarly, I was struck by how the Dalai Lama’s palace, the Potala, adorns the 50 Yuan note. This would be a little like Victorian England placing the Taj Mahal on a pound note.