Tan Chung is an authority on Chinese history, Sino-Indian relations and cultural exchange. Tan Chung has been a doyen of Chinese cultural studies in India for nearly half a century. He was born on April 18, 1929 in Johor, Malaysia. In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour by the Govt. of India and the China-India Friendship Award by the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the same year. He has been a doyen of Chinese cultural studies in India for over four decades. He has taught at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the University of Delhi (DU) from 1964 till 1994. He has been a Research Professor at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Honorary Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies. Tan Chung is a recipient of the 2010 China-India Friendship Award, Visva-Bharati University's highest honour Deshikhottama in 2013. His works include China and the Brave New World, Triton and Dragon, and an edited volume titled Tagore and China. He was also the driving force and editor of Across the Himalayan Gap series, containing An Indian Quest for Understanding China and A Chinese Quest for Understanding India published both in India and China.