Gobineau argued Chinese civilization had been created by a group of Aryan conquerors from India who had brought the indigenous Malay people living there under their heel.[158] Though he had read almost everything written in French about China, he believed the origins of Chinese civilization were in southern China. He posited the Aryans from India had first arrived there rather than the Yellow River valley which all Chinese sources regard as the "cradle" of Chinese civilization.[159]