The Indian Consulate in Hong Kong arranged a three part series named Prajna meaning wisdom on Sanskrit and Buddhist Studies in China and Hong Kong.  Presided by the Consul General Ms. Satwant Kanalia, the third seminar was held on 15 March, 2024 on ‘Indological Studies in Hong Kong & China - Past and Present' with introductory remarks by Special Guest Speaker Prof. C.F. Lee followed by a talk by Dr. Bill M. Mak before the audience of learned scholars from different Universities.


Prof. Lee is the Director of Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole and former Vice Pro-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong.  He spoke on Buddhist and Indian Studies in Hong Kong. Dr. Mak is the Director of the Chinese Research Center of The ISF Academy. His speech on Indological Studies in Hong Kong and China - Past and Present gave the audience an insight into Chinese scholars who did research on Buddhism with the help of their knowledge in Sanskrit Language.  


During the session, there was a mention of Soondaram Pillai, a Tamilian who lived in Hong Kong and about British Scholar Diplomat Charles Eliot (1862-1931) who considered Hinduism an indigenous Dravidian religion stimulated by outside influence and Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who had visited China, is supposed to have crossed through Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

The presentations made during the three sessions are expected to be released as a compendium helping future research in this area.

During the question and answer session, when study on South India was raised, both the members and the scholars present showed interest to start that study as China and South India had strong trade relations during the Chola period and before that period.

- Our Overseas Reporter Dr. Chitra