Abstrakt
In the first centuries, Chinese colony in Northern Vietnam was one of the centers of economic and cultural exchange in the region of Southeast Asia. Traders and travelers often stopped here on their way to India or China.
Vivid maritime roads, which run through the area, are often described as part of intercontinental Silk Road, serving as a mean of exchange of goods and ideas. The paper will focus on three figures, whose life and work may serve as an example of cultural communication within the region that might be surprisingly intense.
The first one, Mozi was a Chinese scholar, who came to Vietnam and there, confronted with Buddhism, wrote one of the first books introducing this religion to Chinese cultural world. The second one, Khuong Tang Hoi was a Vietnamese monk of Central Asia origin who wrote several studies and moved to north.
And finally Kalaruci, an Indian who traveled to China, spend some time in Vietnam and left remarkable cultural imprint. The three characters were more or less contemporaries and were outstanding figures in history of new religion, which deeply influenced the culture of whole region.
Their life stories also suggest interesting facts about ancient migration within and outside Southeast Asia.