Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t1.10

v2.c10.s2.t1.10

However, Chen Duxiu soon became a Marxist and a revolutionist and began with vehement criticism of traditional Chinese culture, stopped the probe into the “millennium-old learning” and “Siddham’s heavenly language”, and his attitude towards Tagore also underwent a drastic change. When Tagore visited China in 1924, Chen Duxiu became a violent critic and attacker, and repulsed by Tagore’s appreciation of Chinese culture and his ideas such as non-violence and universal love, he successively published more than 20 articles, for example, ‘*Tagore and Oriental Culture*, *On Tagore’s Speeches in Hangzhou and Shanghai*, *What a Fraternal and Peace-loving Poet-Philosopher, Tagore and Money Worship, Is Tagore Something*’, to constantly track and criticise the poet’s lectures in China and even accuse him as 'a lobbyist for imperialism', and 'a politician rather than a poet'. Most of these articles are radical, unfounded and unscholarly. Besides, he also asked Mao Dun and others to write critical papers and even took actions to besiege and harass Tagore. When Tagore was making a speech, there would be someone to humiliate and harass him by shouting, throwing leaflets and rapid assembly. Tagore had to cancel some public lectures. In fact, Chen Duxiu may not know, Tagore was also a sure-footed social reformer. Tagore once aspired to socialism and expressed certain sympathy and hope with respect to the October Revolution in Russia. Tagore was a firm opponent of imperialism, colonialism and fascism, and he never changed and was a lasting friend of the Chinese, as well as people across the world. But Chen Duxiu changed his attitude and took his friend for his foe and seriously hurt Tagore. However, apart from oral explanation, Tagore never reacted to the misunderstanding and attack he encountered in China. Ironically, his reputation in China rose rather than fell, and he is popular in one generation after another, while, now few would like to read those articles by Chen Duxiu.