Sikhism in China

Guru Nanak is traditionally locally referred to as Baba Foosa in China proper and as Nanak Lama in Tibet.^[1][2] In popular Sikh tradition, Guru Nanak is believed to have visited Tibet during his distant travels.^{[3]: 345–369} Nanak's travel itinerary through Tibet would have started by departing from Manikaran, onward to the Tibetan plateau, reaching Lahaul and Spiti (northeast of Kulu).^[4] Nanak would have travelled through both the Rohtang Pass and Chandan Kala Pass to reach Spiti.^[4] From there, Nanak went through the Sprang (Prang) Pass to reach Tibet through an old trade route between India and Tibet.^[4] Nanak would have then passed through both Chomurti and Boling to reach the sacred lake of Mansarovar, and finally Mount Kailash.^[4] Nanak would have encountered many members of the Siddha tradition on this route through Tibet.^[4] According to Sikh lore, in the area of lake Mansarovar and mount Kailash, a dialogue is said to have taken place between Siddhas residing in the location and Guru Nanak's retinue.^[5] They wanted to know how Guru Nanak had successfully traversed the mountainous landscape and terrain to reach the sacred area, with Guru Nanak replying that it was through faith in the divine.^[5] The Siddhas are then said to have posed questions to the guru about the state of affairs in the Indian subcontinent and the status of the commonfolk, in-which Guru Nanak responded that India was in-turmoil and suffering due to oppressive rulers.^[5] Guru Nanak then stated that true spirituality and religion was in-decline in India due to hypocrisy, prudishness, bribe-taking, and evil.^[5] In response to one of the questions posed by the Siddhas, Guru Nanak is said to have reprimanded them for escaping to this distant site away from the happenings of the subcontinent, leaving the masses behind without a spiritual guide.^[5]

Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh makes mention of China, Tibet, and Manchuria in the Dasam Granth, stating:^[6]

"Gorkhas sing thy praises, the residents of China and Manchuria bow their heads before thee and the Tibetans destroy their own sufferings by remembering thee. Those who meditate on thee obtain perfect glory, and prosper greatly. One cannot know thy limit, O Infinitely Glorious Lord! Thou art the Giver of all, therefore thou are Boundless."

— Guru Gobind Singh, Dasam Granth

Sikh Confederacy

In the 18th century during the reign of the Sikh Misls in Amritsar, increased stability led to the development of an import and export-based economy.^[7] Many goods were exported to Yarkand, Turfan, and Chinese Turkestan.^[7] The goods exported from Amritsar consisted of shawls, silks and woolen cloth, metalware, and agricultural products.^[7] The imported goods were gold, raw silk, horses, and weapons.^[7] Caravans took the goods back and forth along the Sikh Road, from Amritsar to Kabul, and then to Bukhara, where they were further distributed.^[7]

Sikh Empire

In March 1831, Victor Jacquemon, a French botanist and geologist, paid a visit to Lahore during the reign of Ranjit Singh and met with the ruler.^[8] During a discussion between the Frenchman and the Sikh ruler, the latter inquired about Tibet and wanted to know details about the region.^[8] Jacquemon responded that Tibet was a land "high altitude, cold weather, barren land" and a "poor country".^[8] After hearing this description, Ranjit Singh is said to replied that "he will not bother to conquer a poor country."^[8]

In 1834, after Zorawar Singh's success against Ladakh, Ranjit Singh forbade him from taking further action to avoid any conflicts with the Chinese.^[9]

According to Sohan Lal Suri's Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, Zorawar Singh, a Dogra general of the Sikh Empire, expressed interest in expanding into western Tibet for territorial gains during a meeting with Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the village of Jandiala Sher Khan in March 1836.^[8] However, Ranjit Singh did not grant permission for the proposed Tibetan military expedition.^[8] Ranjit Singh remarked that the Chinese emperor possesses an army consisting of 1.2 million soldiers so a war against them would not favour him.^[10]

According to Giani Gian Singh's Raj Khalsa, after the triumph of Zorawar Singh over the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh, Zorawar Singh was rewarded with a siropa (robe of honour) and other gifts.^[8] Zorawar Singh then petitioned Ranjit Singh again for a campaign against the Tibetans for the purpose of annexing it into the Sikh Empire but the idea was again turned down as the time was not "opportune" as per Ranjit Singh.^[8] According to Inderjeet Singh, the Sikh monarch may have declined the proposition to invade Tibet because the terrain was difficult and the region was poor in natural resources.^[8]

After the Chinese did not respond to the Sikh hostilities against Ladakh,

Maqpon dynasty of Baltistan.^[9] Eventually, a later Sikh ruler, Sher Singh, agreed to Zorawar Singh's proposed campaign against Tibet.^[8]

Zorawar Singh led an invasion force into Tibet in May 1841.^[11][12] The invasion force consisted of three divisions and reached lake Mansarovar in September of the same year, where an encampment was established.^[11] Whilst initially successful against the local Tibetan forces, the Tibetan winter set-in and the invading forces were defeated and routed on 12 December 1841 by the Qing-Tibetan forces, with Zorawar Singh being beheaded.^[11][12] The Qing-Tibetan forces then attempted to invade Ladakh but were repelled.^[12] The war ended with the Treaty of Chushul between the Sikh Empire and Qing Dynasty.^[12]

The Tibetan word for a Punjabi Sikh is Singpa.^[13][14] When the Tibetans captured prisoners-of-war during the Dogra-Sikh invasion, the POWs were initially taken to central Tibet.^[15] Instead of executing the POWs, the Tibetans decided to show mercy and disperse them to localities across Tibet.^[16]

In March 1856, a treaty between Tibet and the Kingdom of Nepal, known as the Treaty of Thapathali, was signed. Clause 4 of the treaty freed the remaining Sikh/Dogra prisoners-of-war still held in Tibetan captivity whom were captured in 1841.^[17][18] This clause was included in the treaty at the behest of Gulab Singh of Kashmir to free the remaining prisoners, possibly for political capital.^[19][20] Of the original soldiers whom were taken as prisoners by the Tibetans, 34 could not be located but 106 were successfully assembled in Kathmandu at the British residence.^[20][8] However, only 56 of these mustered 106 original soldiers wished to return to India and the rest opted to remain in Tibet, as many had since settled in southern Tibet since the war, had married local women and thus now had a family, and were running businesses.^[20][8] The 56 former POWs who opted to return were each awarded with silver medals bearing a bust of Maharaja Surendra Bikram Shah of Nepal and a robe of honour.^[20]

According to Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa, more than 200 of these POWs preferred to remain in Tibet rather than be repatriated back to their homeland.^[15] These Dogra-Sikh POWs settled in Lhasa, Yarlung, Chongye, and other parts of southern Tibet.^[15] Eventually, the former POWs married local Tibetan women, adopted Tibetan customs, and took up professions as butchers, fruit-tree cultivators, amid other jobs.^[15] The former POWs introduced the cultivation of apricots, apples, grapes, and peaches to Tibet.^[8] Since they were outsiders, they were stigmatized by the local Tibetans and thus formed relations with other marginalized groups within Tibetan society, such as Muslims, which led to former POWs slowly adopting Islam themselves.^[15] The former POWs came to be known as Singpa Khache by the local Tibetans, which blends the Tibetan word for a Sikh and Muslim together.^[15] The Singpa Khache came to become an important group within Lhasa's Muslim community and they had the honour of serving meat dishes to the Dalai Lama.^[15] However, David G. Atwill argues that the Singpa Khache descend instead from Muslim soldiers that were in Zorawar Singh's invading army.^[18] Of the nearly 200 Barkor Khache families that resided in Lhasa in the early 1950's, approximately 20% were of Singpa Khache background.^[18] Many descendants reside in the Lhokha region.^[8]

Colonial period

In the colonial-era, Sikhs in China were most prominent in Hong Kong, with Shanghai following next.^[21]: 212

Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State visited China, Japan and Java (Indonesia) between 18 October 1903 to 1 February 1904, afterwards publishing a memoir recounting his journey through these lands.^{[21]: 213–214} In his memoir, he recounts about his experience in Shanghai and surrounding parts of China, including him making a donation to the local Shanghai Sikh cause for constructing a Sikh temple.^{[21]: 213–214}

Sikhs in China had been observing the Chinese migrating to Canada, seeing as it was an attractive destination for settlement, and emulated the Chinese by attempting to migrate to Canada themselves whilst alerting their friends and family back home in India on the prospect.^[21]: 212 Many Sikhs who were aboard the ill-fated Komagata Maru en-route to Canada hailed from Shanghai.^{[21]: 212 [22]: 132}

According to Cao Yin, Shanghai played a pivotal role in the establishment of a Sikh diaspora throughout the world as Shanghai was often the first-stop in the global migration of Sikhs throughout the globe.^[23]

By 1907, there were 850 Sikhs in Shanghai.^[24]

The Old Sikh Gurdwara at 326 Dong Baoxing Road was opened in 1908.^[25] Rabindra Nath Tagore visited Shanghai Gurdwara during his 1924 visit.^{[citation needed]}

The Sikh community in Shanghai was divided along regional lines from back in Punjab: the Majhais and the Malwais.^[26]

By 1930s and 1940s the exodus of Sikhs began after World War I during 1911–14, when some Sikhs openly supported Japanese and joined INA of Subhash Chander Bose.^{[citation needed]} Many Sikh policemen in Shanghai started returning to India in the late 1930's after the Japanese success in the Battle of Shanghai.^[26]

• 
  Photograph of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State and his wife visiting Beijing, China in 1903
• 
  Rabinder Nath Tagore with Sikhs in Shanghai, 1924

Sikh professions in colonial China

Traders and explorers in Western China

Punjabi Khatri Sikh traders worked along the Silk Road, from Ladakh to Central Asia (including Chinese areas).^[27][28] At one point, the Khatri trade network consisted of around 200 gaddis in the Chinese part of Central Asia.^[27][28] Punjabi Khatris played an important role in the trade between Leh and Yarkund in Xinjiang.^[27][28]

Robert Shaw recounts in Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar that a Sikh merchant by the name of Tara Singh accompanied him to Yarkund in modern-day Xinjiang in 1867.^[29]

Rai Bahadur Lal Singh (1860–1930), a Sikh cartographer, was a companion of Aurel Stein, who journeyed with him across the Silk Road.^[30]: 190 Lal Singh was with Stein when the latter is credited with mapping the Taklamakan Mountains and discovering the Cave of Thousand Buddhas in Duanhuang.^[30]: 190

Soldiers

Sikhs soldiers in the British Indian Army arrived in China soon after the annexation of the Sikh Empire, with Sikh soldiers taking part in the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), Second Opium War (1856–60), Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901), and World War I in China.^{[31][21]: 214–216}

The British utilized the Sikh Regiment during the Taiping Rebellion.^{[31][21]: 214–216}

In the Second Opium War, the Sikhs participated as part of the 15th Punjab Pioneers.^{[21]: 214–216} The Sikh soldiers who participated in the action of the Second Opium War almost entirely drew from the Mazhabi caste and were 1,000 men in-total.^{[21]: 214–216} They departed from Lucknow on 11 February 1860 and arrived in Hong Kong via the Calcutta to Singapore route.^{[21]: 214–216} On June 1st, the Mazhabi Sikh troops sailed for Northern China.^{[21]: 214–216} Peh-tang surrendered by the end of July, the capture of Taku Fort followed, and the next site of action would be Tientsin, with the city being surrounded by the allied coalition by September 5th.^{[21]: 214–216} Next, they marched toward Peking, which fell to the allies and a treaty was signed on 13 October 1860 by Lord Elgin and the Chinese.^{[21]: 214–216} Following the capture of Peking, the Mazhabi Sikh soldiers participated in the looting of the Old Summer Palace, bringing treasures back to India afterwards as a result.^{[21]: 214–216} The Sikh soldiers in the Pioneers left Peking on November 9th, embarking from Tientsin, for Hong Kong, and then onward returning to India.^{[21]: 214–216} After the war, the Sikh soldiers of the Pioneers who saw action were awarded the China Medal with two clasps: 'Taku Forts, 1860', and 'Peking, 1860'.^{[21]: 214–216}

During the Boxer Rebellion, the 24th Punjab Regiment saw action during the Battle of Yang Tsun alongside the 14th American Regiment, with the battle ending by a joint American-Sikh bayonet charge.^{[31][21]: 214–216} A relief force of 3,000 soldiers from Sikh Regiments helped lift the siege on Beijing by the Boxers.^{[31][21]: 214–216}

During World War I, Sikh soldiers were stationed as part of the

• 
  Officers of the Sikh Regiment, Tianjin, 1900

Policemen

During the 1800s and 1900s, many Sikh

A contingent of Sikh policemen arrived in Hong Kong in 1867.[32]^: 107

Recruitment of Sikhs in the Shanghai police-force began in 1884 and the recruitment of Sikhs in the Tianjin police-force began in 1886.^{[21]: 216–218} Initially, recruitment for these police roles in China were done directly in India but as time went on and more Sikhs settled in the Far East looking for work, more recruits came from local Sikhs who resided in China already.^{[21]: 216–218} 'The Shanghai International Police' was founded in 1854, responsible for policing the International Settlement of Shanghai (until 1943), and it was deployed by the British at ports important to British commercial interests in the early 20th century.^{[21]: 216–218} A Sikh branch of the Shanghai International Police was established in 1884, being founded by Sikh ex-military men who had been stationed in China.^{[21]: 216–218} This Sikh-specific police branch reached a size of 800 policemen, almost all of whom were Sikh.^{[21]: 216–218} These Sikh policemen wore khakis in the summertime and heavy, dark coats during the wintertime.^[24] Indian Sikhs were also employed by the British to work as policemen in Tientsin (Tianjin), Amoy (Xiamen), and Hankow (Hankou, Wuhan).^[33]

By 1920 there were 573 policemen in Sikh branch.^{[citation needed]} By 1936, out of the total 4,739 policemen of the Shanghai Municipal Police, 558 of them were Sikhs belonging to the Sikh contingent.^[26] The Indian police unit of the SMP was disbanded in 1945.^[26]

Two prominent Sikh policemen of Shanghai remembered in infamy are Bawa Singh and Atma Singh.^[26] On a late night in 1936, Bawa visited the home of Atma, where Atma's wife was sleeping.^[26] Atma's wife demanded that Bawa leave the premises, an order which he obliged.^[26] When Atma came to learn that Bawa visited his wife late into the night, he searched for him while wielding a meat cleaver, finding Bawa at a quarry at the Pootoo Road Police Station on Gordon Road.^[26] Atma then assaulted Bawa, nearly dismembering both of the victim's forearms and causing a deep wound on his forehead.^[26] Bawa died later in hospital and the incident caused a big stir in Shanghai at the time.^[26] Bawa was sentenced to death by hanging but on the day of the hanging, the rope broke and Bawa survived the attempted execution.^[26] Thereafter, Bawa's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he served his sentence in India.^[26] Some members of the local Sikh community at the time considered the failed execution as a miracle of divine intervention.^[26]

• 
  Sikh policeman directing traffic inside Shanghai's International Settlement, ca.1935

Guards and watchmen

Outside of policing professions, Shanghai-based Sikhs at the time also worked as watchmen or guards at banks, nightclubs, and hotels.^[24][33] Many Sikhs were employed as prison guards.^[21]: 219 Between 1925–1930, the Ward Road Gaol (now Tilanqao Prison) became a prison, it mainly housed inmates of a Chinese background and the staff were mostly British and Sikhs.^[21]: 219 The majority of the warders were Sikhs.^[21]: 219 The prison had a very bad reputation for poor conditions.^[21]: 219

Money-lenders

Most Sikhs also had a side-job of money-lending, as per Ralph Shaw's Sin City.^[24] Sikh money-lenders had a reputation of being "ruthless" and charging highly excessive rates to their debtors.^[24] Many of the Chinese debtors of the Sikh money-lenders defaulted on their debts, which meant they would become indebted for the rest of their lives.^[24]

Relationship between local Chinese and Sikhs in colonial China

Many of the local Shanghainese are said to have disliked the Sikh policemen of Shanghai, viewing them as abusers of the local population (specifically rickshaw drivers and hawkers) with little or no provocation, subjecting victims to shoe and baton beatings.^{[21]: 216–218} The Shanghainese derided the Sikh policemen as being "dogs" of their British overlords and called them "annoying red-hat flies".^{[21]: 216–218} Many Sikhs refused to eat food prepared by Chinese people based on caste-based beliefs.^[24] Due to this, interactions between the local Chinese and Sikh communities were limited and unintegrated with one another.^[24]

However, Claude Markovits remarked that these harsh actions by the Sikh policemen were necessary for keeping the locals in-check and obedient to the law. He specifically remarks that local rickshaw drivers tended to drive dangerously, posing risks to the surrounding traffic, and that the Chinese held little regard for laws and rules of the administration, often urinating and spitting in public areas.^{[21]: 216–218} Furthermore, Sikh policemen dispersed gangs of local Chinese engaging in gambling and fights.^{[21]: 216–218}

During the

According to Cao Yin, the animosity that local Chinese people held against the Sikhs at the time was fueled by their internalized racial hierarchical categorization: the Chinese considered themselves temporarily "inferior" to the White race by the current circumstances (whilst believing that they had the potential to become equals to the White race) but as "superior" to the Indian race, thus Sikhs being in a position of power as policemen over "superior" Chinese people fueled their hatred toward them.[23] Colourism also played a role, since Sikhs tended to be darker-skinned than the Chinese.^[23]

According to Claude Markovitz, since most Sikh men in China were bachelors or had left their wives back in India, many of them had to turn to local prostitutes to satisfy their sexual and emotional needs.^{[21]: 219–220} Most Sikh men visiting prostitutes were clients of ethnic Chinese prostitutes, as their rates were affordable for them.^{[21]: 219–220} However, a minority of the Sikh men in China found deeper connections and actual romance with local Chinese women, with some even going as far as marrying a local Chinese woman in many cases.^{[21]: 219–220} The mixed-race children of such couples were very stigmatized as both the Indian and Chinese community at the time looked down upon interracial marriages.^{[21]: 219–220} Markovitz further claims that Sikh men in China tended to do well with local women due to their attractive physiques.^{[21]: 219–220}

Sikh women in colonial China

In the 1940's, Princess Sumair, who claimed to be a familial relative of maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala State, she also claimed to be the cousin of famous Sikh painter Amrita Shergil, resided in Shanghai during the period of Japanese-occupation and lived a scandalous lifestyle focused on money, fashion and men.^{[note 1][24][35][36][37]} She was described as a "nymphomaniac" and "worshipper of lesbian cult" by Bernard Wasserstein in Secret War in Shanghai.^[24] She arrived in Shanghai in July 1940 after being disowned by her family due to her reportedly "loose morals" and her real name was Rajkumari Sumair Apjit Singh.^[38] She became entangled with the Axis during her time in Shanghai.^[38] She was bisexual and bigamous, as she married a Japanese-American man without divorcing her Indian husband.^[24][39] It is rumoured she eloped with an American soldier and disappeared from Shanghai.^[24] However, later events of her life in Europe and America are on historical record, where she worked as a fashion designer.^[38]

Sikh women also resided with their Sikh husbands during the colonial-era of Shanghai.^[24] Most Sikh soldiers in Shanghai arrived as bachelors, however some were already married and would bring their wives with them to Shanghai at a later date.^[24] The lives of Sikh women in Shanghai during the colonial period was centred on the gurdwara for their socialization and communal needs.^[24] The Indian clothing (such as the shalwar kameez and dupatta) worn by Sikh women in Shanghai are said to have aroused the curiosity of local Chinese onlookers.^[24] However, since their husbands were "symbols of oppression" in Shanghai, there were barriers between the local Chinese and Sikh women.^[24]

Sikh revolutionary activities in colonial China

Many Shanghai-based Sikhs were pro-Indian revolutionaries, being supporters of the Ghadar Party and also of the Indian National Army.^[33][23] During the 1920's and 1930's, Shanghai-based Sikhs also helped the Chinese nationalist movement by trying to overthrow British hegemony in Shanghai and shutting down British activities in the city.^[23]

According to Yin Cao, the role that Shanghai-based Sikhs played in both the Indian independence movement and Chinese nationalist movement has been disregarded by both the national histories of modern India and China.^[23] According to him, the Chinese national history focuses on the contributions made by the Chinese themselves, ignoring non-Chinese who assisted with their nationalist movement.^[23] Meanwhile, the Indian national history focuses on the efforts of the Indian National Congress, and ignores the efforts of the Sikh diaspora in the independence movement.^[23]

• 
  Photograph of a Jatha (band) of Shanghai-based Sikhs who came to Punjab to participate in the Jaito Morcha of February 1924.

Present

After the advent of Communist rule in 1949, many Sikhs who had been employed as watchmen in China left the mainland and departed for resettlement in Hong Kong, immigrated to the West, or returned to India.^{[21]: 212 [33]} Dozens of copies of the central Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, were brought from China to India by these returning Sikhs rather than being left behind in China.^[24] Many Sikh men had settled permanently in China by this time and had married local Chinese women, bearing mixed offspring.^[26] After 1949, the Chinese increasingly began to view Sikhs as an "undisciplined community" and "hated enemy".^[26] Most of the remaining Sikhs left Shanghai in 1973 after the Sino-Indian War in 1962, these fleeing Shanghai Sikhs shifted to Hong Kong.^[40][26][24] However, it is said that around 260 Sikhs (most of them married to Chinese women) still remained in Shanghai afterwards.^[24]

The Sikh presence in Shanghai is a shell of its historical self but is slowly rebuilding due to business enterprises.^[21]: 212 Most Sikhs in Shanghai today are working in technology-related sectors.^[24] Apart from mainland China, many Sikh businessmen and Indians also reside in Hong Kong.^{[citation needed]}

Gurdwara

There are a small number of gurdwara (Sikh temples) in China:^[41]

• Gurdwara Shanghai, Shanghai^[42] – construction starting in 1907 on Dong Baoxing Road on land allotted by the Shanghai Municipal Council.^[26] It is now a residential complex and clinic.^{[21]: 212 [26]}
• Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple, Hong Kong^[43]
• Presently there are nearly 100 Sikh families in mainland China.^{[citation needed]} They are running a private Gurdwara in house of some Sikh follower.^{[citation needed]}

• 
  Inauguration in 1908 of Sikh Gurdwara in Shanghai
• 
  Picture of Old Sikh Gurdwara in Shanghai which is used for residential purpose now
• 
  Bauxing Road Gurdwara Monument for Sikhism heritage in China

Tibetans and Sikhism

Trilochan Singh claims that, for centuries, Tibetans have been making pilgrimages to the Golden Temple shrine in Amritsar to pay homage to Guru Nanak's memory.^[3]: 338 However, Tibetans seem to have confused Nanak with the visit of Padmasambhava centuries earlier, and have superimposed details of Padmasambhava onto Nanak out of reverence (believing the essence of both figures is one and the same) or mistaken chronology.^{[note 2][4]} According to Tibetan scholar Tarthang Tulku, many Tibetans believe Guru Nanak was an incarnation of Padmasambhava.^[5] Both Buddhist and Bon Tibetans made pilgramages to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, however they revered the site for different reasons.^[44]

Between 1930–1935, the Tibetan spiritual leader, Khyungtrül Rinpoche (Khyung-sprul Rinpoche), travelled to India for a second time, visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar during this visit.^{[45]: 78 [44]} Whilst visiting Amritsar in 1930 or 1931, Khyung-sprul and his Tibetan entourage walked around the Golden Temple while making offerings.^[45]: 78 Khyung-sprul referred to the Golden Temple as "Guru Nanak's Palace" (Tibetan: Guru Na-nig-gi pho-brang).^[45]: 78 Khyung-sprul returned to the Golden Temple in Amritsar for another time during his third and final visit to India in 1948.^[45]: 80

Several years later after the 1930–31 visit of Khyung-sprul, a Tibetan Bonpo monk by the name of Kyangtsün Sherab Namgyel (rKyang-btsun Shes-rab-rnam rgyal) visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar and offered the following description:^[45]: 78

"Their principal gshen is the Subduing gshen with the 'bird-horns'. His secret name is Guru Nanak. His teachings were the Bon of Relative and Absolute Truth. He holds in his hand the Sword of Wisdom . . . At this holy place the oceanic assembly of the tutelary gods and buddhas . . . gather like clouds"

— Kyangtsün Sherab Namgyel

Kyangtsün Sherab Namgyel conflated the essence of Sikhism with the "the sphere of the supreme Bon" and believed the Golden Temple in Amritsar was a "a citadel for the life-force of the eternal [Bon] tantras".^[44] He referred to Amritsar as "Gyakhar Bachö" (rGya mkhar ba chod) due to the similarities of Sikhs (beards and turbans) to descriptions of ancient Bonpos.^[44] He refers to the Sikh turbans as “bird horns” (bya ru), which is believed to be a unique feature of the eighteen kings of Zhangzhung and early Bonpo priests.^[44]

Another Tibetan, Dzamyag, identifies the Golden Temple as the most sacred shrine of Sikhism but believed it held sacred objects connected to Padmasambhava and his consort Mandāravā:^[44]

We visited some ornaments [kept] in a shrine [and] said to be, according to the tradition, the body ornaments of princess Mandāravā, and, in [another] shrine [we saw] the ritual objects said to be those of Guru Rinpoche.

— translated by Lucia Galli, Kha stag ʼDzam yag (1997), page 146

According to some Tibetans, the sarovar of the Golden Temple in Amritsar was linked to the lake of Padmasambhava.^[44]

Popular culture

The Adventures of Tintin contains many depictions and references to Sikhs of Shanghai during the colonial-period.^[23] In The Blue Lotus of the fifth volume of 'The Adventures of Tintin', Shanghai-based Sikh policemen play a role in the story.^[23]

According to Cao Yin, Sikhs feature as voiceless backdrops in many films and novels on colonial-era Shanghai, being delegated to the sidelines as part of an orientalist view of the city.^[23] They do not feature as main characters but only part of the background setting, merely as objects to exoticize the historical setting of the Shanghai International Settlement, standing silently wearing red-turbans, comparable to trees on the side of the road.^[23] This manner of portrayal ignores the efforts that the Sikh community made to modernize the city of Shanghai.^[23]

Sikhs are commonly featured in the Shanghai City Museum's exhibitions.^[22]: 153

See also

• Sikhism in Hong Kong
• Sikhism in South Korea
• Sikhism in Japan

Notes

References