Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t20: Rabindranath Tagore
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t20
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Rabindranath Tagore
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Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 – August 7, 1941) is regarded as an iconic figure in many respects – as a creative genius, spiritual thinker, social reformer, and a multilingual author in Bengali and English who had not only reshaped literature of the language he knew best (Bengali or Bangla) but had also suitably reoriented the music of his region (undivided Bengal then, now split into West Bengal in India and Bangladesh) and experimented with both theatrical and dance performances. Tagore had left behind a legacy that is expected to continue across times and cultures. He was not only an extraordinarily prolific writer in the history of Indian literature, but occupied a significant place in the history of world literature. With time, his works continued to tread on the path of excellence with brighter ideas, showing the art of timeless charm. His works have been translated into many languages and is widely popular around the world. Many of his works was also incorporated into the textbooks to be taught in schools and universities all over the world, which had a great impact on people of so many countries. In India, Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi are known as the two most prominent figures of the 20^th century. In 60 years of his writing career, Tagore remained an author with
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Rabindranath Tagore
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extraordinary interest in exploration of newer vistas, and with a unique creative energy in numerous fields - poetry, fiction, drama, essays, travelogue and belle letters who had made outstanding achievements in each of these domains, leaving an amazing number and variety of artistic treasures for the future generations. Creative remnants of his life include 50 books of poems, a dozen novels, over 90 short stories, dozens of plays, besides a significant number of prose works and other miscellaneous texts. These works were mainly compiled in a multivolume “Collected Works of Tagore”. He also wrote above 2,000 songs. He was the first non-European to have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for the collection of poems titled *Gitanjali*. His works and the award had a significant impact on the Chinese youth, intellectuals and poets, as did his efforts to revive civilisational affinity between India and China. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915 but in the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British police in 1919, he returned the honour as a mark of strong protest.
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Rabindranath Tagore during his student days in England, 1880s
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Tagore with his wife, 1880s
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Young Tagore in the role of Valmiki while performing his play Valmiki Pratibha
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Life and Times
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Tagore was born in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in the state of West Bengal, India on May 7, 1861. Calcutta was then the capital of British India, and was also India's cultural centre. At that time, India was in the midst of a surging tide of the socio-religious reform movement, literary reform movement and the nationalist movement with Calcutta as the centre. These three major movements ushered in a major reform movement, which came to be known as the Bengal Renaissance. It was a period of gradual awakening of India's national sentiments under the rule of the British colonialists, and was thus an important historical turning point from a traditional society to a modern society. Tagore's grandfather - Prince Dwarakanath Tagore (1794-1846), a friend and staunch supporter of Raja Rammohan Roy, not only gave his wealth generously and wisely, but also supported important social reform and progressive movements of the day. His father Debendranath Tagore was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a new religious sect in 19th century CE Bengal that believed in the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the *Upanishads*.
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Tagore's family was one of the distinguished families in West Bengal, owning large tracts of land in the countryside, and had a luxurious hall in the city. Although his family belonged to the highest social strata - the Brahmin caste in India, Tagore's grandfather, was not a believer of the the hierarchical caste system. The religious philosophy of Tagore's father and the philosophy of mysticism had a subtle influence on Tagore.
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Rabindranath Tagore was the 14th child in the family. He had 13 elder brothers and sisters. Most of them had very versatile personalities with extraordinary literary talent and rich artistic skills. They all had a significant impact on Tagore. The poet in his old age, recalling his childhood exclaimed that, his "mind is growing up in the atmosphere of freedom."
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A famous drop-out who briefly enrolled in different schools in Calcutta, and a champion of the concept of de-schooling, Tagore was primarily educated at home during his early years. Although he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not complete any prescribed curriculum. He started writing poetry at the age of eight and at the age of 17, he published his first collection of poems titled '*Kavi-kahini*' (1878), followed by a series of books of poems in the next five years, including *Banaphul* (1880), *Bhagnahriday* (1881), *Sandhyasangit* (1882) and *Prabhatsangit* (1883), until he brought out an absolutely mesmerising collection of songs composed in the medieval style under the pseudonym Bhanusingha in 1884. By 1881, he had composed a dance-drama – *Balmiki-Pratibha* as well as a verse-play – *Rudrachanda*. Though Tagore created all genres of literature including novels and essays, his creative genius is largely enshrined in poetry, short stories and music. While he rejected rigid classical forms and linguistic strictures, he enriched the Bengali language by introducing new prose and verse forms and by use of colloquial language. His works are acclaimed for their lyricism, universalism and naturalism; *Gitanjali* (*Song Offerings*), and the novels *Gora* (*Fair-Faced*) and *Ghare-Baire* (*The Home and The World*) are some of his best-known works. Two of his compositions have been chosen as national anthems of two nations, namely, Bangladesh and India. He has also left behind a very large body of paintings, sketches and doodles created quite late in life.
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Translation of Tagore’s works and its impact on China’s new literary movement. In China, Tagore and his writings has been subject of immense interest and inquiry since the time he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian to be awarded so. Soon after he was awarded the Nobel Prize, Tagore’s works were translated into Chinese. Chen Duxiu, one of the founders of the Communist Party of China was his first translator; in 1915 Chen had published translations of four poems from *Gitanjali* in the second issue of the influential journal *Xin Qingnian* (New Youth). Subsequently, other poets and scholars such as Zheng Zhenduo, Zhao Jingshen, Wang Duqing, Xu Dishan, Bai Xiang, Qu Shiying, Shen Yanbing (Mao Dun) etc, translated Tagore’s works extensively, while Xie Bingxin translated the English *Gitanjali*. Many of the translators, such as Guo Moruo, Hu Shi and Xu Zhimo, who read Tagore in English when they were abroad, and many others at home who could read English, were deeply influenced by *Crescent Moon* and *Gitanjali*.
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Tagore’s popularity throughout the world had a tremendous impact on the Chinese new literary movement. Guo Moruo read Tagore ‘s poems during his travel to Japan, and this ignited in him a strong desire to become a poet. At first, he imitated Tagore and wrote several blank verses. In his first collection of poems, *Goddess*, one can easily see the traces of the profound impact that Tagore’s poems left on him. *Crescent Moon* has been the title for his poetry more than once. In his poem, he greeted Tagore good morning, and wished him a long life. Guo Moruo accepted Tagore as his idol; he wrote a poem in which he incorporated a few lines taken from a poem in *Gitanjali*. He said that in his literary carrier, the poems he wrote during this period were in Tagore ‘s style. Later, he became the first poet in the history of modern Chinese literature and was inseparable from Tagore’s influence and image. Other than Tagore, Guo Moruo also drew enlightenment from other foreign poets like Whitman and Goethe. However, as his first literary mentor, Tagore played a great role for his road to success.
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Famous female writer Xie Bingxin is another important literary figure who was deeply influenced by Tagore during the New Culture Movement. In 1920, when she was still a student, she wrote an essay *Farewell to the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore*, which meant sending a tribute to the poet. In fact, this essay expressed the emotion which was the general feeling of the Chinese literary youth towards Tagore. Many years later, she wrote the preface to Chinese translated volume of *Selected Poems of Tagore*, and said that Tagore was by far the most admired foreign poets of her youth. In 1961 on the occasion of the birth centenary of Tagore, she wrote a memorial article in English, which was published in New Delhi that year in the volume titled, *Tagore Centenary Collection*. In that article she wrote about her childhood, when she discovered Tagore’s *Gitanjali*, *Crescent Moon* and other poetry collections in the school library shelves, and felt that his poetry was fresh and smooth, and full of oriental charm. She enjoyed it to her heart’s content, as if strolling along a mountain road and discovering a cluster of orchids. She also read Tagore’s short stories and other prose works. As a poet, she had deep sympathy and love for children and women. Like Guo Moruo, Xie Bingxin also led a new genre of poetry having been inspired by Tagore. Her two collection of poems, *A*
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Tagore with his eldest daughter and son, 1889
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[Figure: Tagore as president of the first meeting of Bengali Literary Academy, 1890s]
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[Figure: Tagore and Puyi at the Four Shrines, Imperial Garden, 1924]
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Group photo at the house of Sir Reginald F Johnston, Jingshan, Beijing. Front row from left: Rabindranath Tagore and Yan Huiqing. Second row from left: Isabel Ingram and Lin Huiyin. Middle row from left: Xu Zhimo, Kalidas Nag, Leonard Elmhirst, Kshiti Mohan Sen, Runqi and Nandalal Bose. Back row: Reginald F Johnston.
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*Cluster of Stars* and *Spring Waters*, included many small poems with a philosophical significance, and bore quite a lot of similarities with Tagore’s *Stray Birds*. However, Xie Bingxin is known primarily for her prose. Her artistic style, delicate and lyrical strokes and fresh flowing language featured as her poetic speciality, which was intensely influenced by Tagore. Xie Bingxin bore in her heart a lifelong love for Rabindranath Tagore, and she made a great contribution towards the translation and interpretation of Tagore’s works. Her translation of the *Gitanjali* and other works have become Chinese translation treasure trove of classic literature.
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Tagore’s influence on modern Chinese poets and writers was not limited to the two above. Zheng Zhenduo, Liu Bannong, Xu Zhimo and Lin Huiyin, have also translated Tagore’s works, or have served as interpreters at the time when Tagore visited China, and later all of them became famous writers or poets. On July 6, 1923, in an article titled *Tagore’s China visit*, Xu Zhimo mentioned that, in Chinese poetry community, “Among the first 10 works of poetry at least eight or nine were directly or indirectly influenced by Tagore.” Since then, appreciation of Tagore’s literary works had reached a new height in China. To the extent that the Chinese scholars, young and old, have built up a substantial body of original research and translation work on Tagore through the 20^th century CE and especially in the last few decades.
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The influence of Tagore on the Chinese intellectuals resulted into the rise of a new school within the New Cultural Movement, namely the *Xinyuepai* (*Crescent Moon School*). *Crescent Moon School* was actually a stream of literary trend that was represented by a group of young Chinese poets who had imbibed some definite influence of Tagore, and came to be known by the name of a Tagore’s anthology. The driving force of the *Crescent Moon School*, was Xu Zhimo who acted as a host and interpreter to Tagore during the latter’s visit to China in 1924. Xu’s career as a great poetic talent was cut short by a tragic accident. It is said that if Xu Zhimo had lived longer Tagore’s influence on China’s new poetry would have been more pronounced than has been documented so far.
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Visit to China
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In 1924, on the invitation of Liang Qichao, Tagore visited China. In the entourage there were also other people like Kshiti Mohan Sen, Professor of Sanskrit at Visva-Bharati University, Nandalal Bose, the Principal of Kala Bhavana, Leonard K. Elmhirst – the Director of the Institute for Rural Reconstruction at Sriniketan, and Dr Kalidasa Nag from Calcutta University. Tagore and this group of five left Calcutta for China on March 21, 1924. Having heard about their visit, Sun Yat-sen came in advance to meet Tagore at Guangzhou. However, due to political instability in the south at that time, and also because Tagore was reluctant to postpone his Beijing visit, they did not proceed to Guangzhou. However, Tagore and his entourage stayed in Hong Kong for a while. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen sent a personal representative to see the poet, wished Tagore and his group a very meaningful trip in China starting from Beijing. He himself wanted to go to Beijing for a day and meet the poet. It was regretful that Sun Yat-sen died of liver cancer in the following year, thus the two great people from China and India did not get an opportunity to meet up.
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It is well-known that Tagore’s visit to China in 1924 was accorded a mixed response by the Chinese intellectuals. From 1923-1924, in order to welcome Tagore in China, Zheng Zhenduo with some well-known writers collectively brought out a volume on *Novel Monthly* with a special issue on Tagore. It published a few translated volumes of his short stories, plays and poetry, it also included some review articles on his ideas and artistry. All major newspapers in China rallied to follow this example, because of which translation and research on Tagore kept on being unfolded. The Tagore fever swept across the country very soon, as the poet’s visit created a rich atmosphere in China. This was a rare phenomenon in the history of modern Chinese literature.
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There were, however, people like Lu Xun who initially did not agree with Tagore. As early as in 1907, he expressed how in the modern times, the tendency to decline and sink in order to become a British colony, India had already become a “shadow state” in an article titled *Forces of Poetry*. He argued that it was a failed state, no longer able to produce enough for “exotic circulation” of its great writers and their works. However, Lu Xun’s misunderstanding of Tagore, may be a result of the lack of information, or it could also be the influence of Japanese newspapers. Tagore on his part had criticised the Japanese nationalism and militarism about which the Japanese were uncomfortable. Later, Lu Xun’s attitude towards Tagore underwent change.
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Rabindranath Tagore and his entourage arrived at Shanghai on April 12, 1924. They received a grand welcome from various organisations and the masses. Subsequently, till May 30 before departure, the poet stayed in China for a period of 49 days. During this time, the poet took a tour of Hangzhou, Nanjing, Jinan, Beijing, Taiyuan and Hankou - all beautiful or historic cities. At a stretch, he participated in many activities, met various people from all sections of life, including the well-known scholars, writers, professors, actors, students as well as some politicians. Wherever he went, Tagore invariably received enthusiastic welcome from the leaders and the masses. Reports and articles about his activities were frequently published in all major newspapers and magazines across China.
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Tagore delivered a series of lectures under the aegis of *Jiangxueshe* (Beijing Lecture Association). But debates among the Chinese intellectuals of different schools of thought about relevance of Tagore to Chinese vision of progress and modernity had already started in 1923. During his visit Tagore travelled to Nanjing, Hangzhou, Beijing, Qufu, and included visits to several educational institutions and Buddhist organisations. He delivered many lectures and almost in every lecture he emphasised that he was a poet whose mission was to revive the ancient spiritual relationship between India and China. It was these lectures that were compiled together and published as *Talks in China* in 1925. During his visit, Tagore met many established and emerging writers and artists of his time. Mei Lanfang, the renowned Beijing Opera artist, was one such person with whom Tagore had a very significant meeting. Tagore inscribed one of his poems in original Bengali on a fan for Mei Lanfang as his appreciation of Mei’s outstanding artistic skill.
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During Tagore’s visit to China, his Beijing visit was considered as the high tide. He arrived on April 23 and left on the May 20, thus staying there for almost 30 days. He delivered six speeches in Beijing. On May 8, 1924, the poet’s birthday celebration was held in Beijing. Professor Liang Qichao generously gifted him with a pair of precious stone with a sealed inscription. On it was inscribed with poet’s Chinese name given by him “Zhu Zhendan”. He enthusiastically explained, how formerly India called China as Zhendan, and in Chinese, Tianzhu was the name for India, so his Chinese name stood for the unity of India and China, while it also retained the literal meaning of the poet’s Indian name - Rabindra. Tagore was deeply moved by this significant birthday gift. In 1925, his Chinese name came on the front cover page of the book - “Talks in China”. That evening, a member of the Beijing Crescent Society specifically on the occasion of the poet’s birthday in China performed on the poet’s own play *Chitra*. Lin Huiyin played the role of the female protagonist - *Chitra*. According to Lu Xun’s diary records, Lu Xun himself also attended this programme till late.
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Tagore himself was extremely pleased with his China trip. In 1941, at the age of 80, in an untitled poem, the poet fondly wrote recalling his unusual birthday celebration in China.
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A great friend of the Chinese people - throughout his life, Tagore has always cherished the boundless friendship and deep affection for the Chinese people. In 1881, at the age of 20, he published an article entitled *The Death of Opium trade in China*. Here, he strongly condemned the dumping of opium in China by the British colonists who had been poisoning the Chinese people. He accused the British of forcing the Chinese people to swallow the opium in order to seize huge profits for themselves. This perhaps was the first voice for justice condemning the evil opium trade. From then, for 60 years till his death, China has always occupied a special place in the heart and mind of Tagore.
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Tagore had full confidence in the future prospects of China. He had also predicted China’s eventual rise. In 1916, he was on his way to Japan he stayed at Hong Kong. He saw the Chinese labourers working. In them he could see the great strength of the Chinese nation. He sincerely hoped that China would be once prosperous and strong. His prediction not only reflected broad-mindedness and good intentions, but also revealed a rare wisdom and foresight.
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Tagore’s heartfelt friendship and love for the Chinese people gushed forth during his visit to China when he praised the long history of friendly relations between India and China. He cherished and treasured the friendship between the two countries. He was full of admiration for their predecessors who made great contributions for the friendship and
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*‘The Complete Works of Tagore’, 24 volumes* cultural exchanges between the two countries. He hoped to bridge the emotional fissures caused by the years between India and China. He gave a call to the Chinese people to “re-open the channels of communication”. He hoped for China to approach the Indian side, and India to move closer to China. He has repeatedly advocated strongly for the people of India and China, the people of Asia and the entire world to unite.
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'Tagore', painted by Xu Beihong, Xu Beihong Museum, Beijing
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Tagore spoke highly of the moral standards of the Chinese people. After observing the Chinese society, he said that the Chinese people are not dispersed individuals. Chinese society in itself is the product of the spirit of solidarity. He asserted that the Chinese people have instinctively grasped the rhythm of life. In the eve of his departure from China, he emotionally mentioned about his closeness with the Chinese people.
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Tagore’s love for the Chinese civilisation could be seen in his appreciation of ancient Chinese painting. He opined that the Chinese people have created a world of beauty. That Tagore was familiar with ancient Chinese poetry could be seen in his famous volume of lectures he published in China titled *Civilization and Progress* where he cited lines and verses from the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Zi’s *Dao Dejing* several times. He believed that Chinese civilisation was full of life, and it laid a consistent focus on spirit. He also believed that Chinese literature and all other art forms of self-expression have a natural affinity with the spirit of hospitality and amicability. This gave him a great sense of home during his stay at this ancient civilisational state. As a representative of the great Indian civilisation and people, he bore in mind the timeless friendship between India and China, and he successfully completed his historical mission. At the same time, he also lived forever in the hearts of Chinese people. His friendship with the Chinese people created a new chapter in the bilateral friendship between India and China. He witnessed China’s rich and colorful heritage, traveled across China’s vast and beautiful land, meeting and made a lot of friends. Naturally, his name also spread throughout China, like a wildfire. His charisma left a deep impression on the Chinese people. Since then, many of Tagore’s works have been successively translated into Chinese, which won him generations of readers.
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As for Tagore’s friendship with the talented and young poet Xu Zhimo, one could say that between the two, they shared the love of a father and a son. Tagore in his *Talks in China* mentioned this young man. In October 1928, Xu Zhimo went to India to visit the Tagore at Visva-Bharati. On March 19, 1929, when Tagore was returning to India after his visit to Canada, he made a special trip to Shanghai to stay for two days and visit Xu Zhimo. Before Tagore could return home, Song Qing Ling arranged a grand farewell ceremony for him. On May 14, a Chinese diplomat posted in Japan met Tagore at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel where he was staying. He again invited him to visit Nanjing and other places. The poet said he hoped to visit China again before he could return to India. On June 11, Tagore again visited Shanghai. This time he again stayed at Xu Zhimo’s house for two days.
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'Chinese Scholars on Rabindranath Tagore' (front cover)
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Unlike many of his times, Tagore had a foresight that was rooted as much in pragmatic consideration as in moral conviction. His desire and decision to set up a school of Chinese language, culture and India-China culture study became a landmark event in the modern history of India-China relations. At his behest, Tan Yun-shan travelled to India in 1928 to join Visva-Bharati as a Professor of Sino-Indian Studies, and was entrusted with the task of building Cheena-Bhavana as the first learning and research centre of Chinese language, literature and culture, as first modern-day symbol of India-China cultural interface. Under the unending encouragement of Tagore and untiring efforts of Tan Yun-shan, Cheena-Bhavana became a seat of learning and embodiment of enduring India-China cultural ties. Tagore observed in his address in the inauguration of Cheena-Bhavana: “This is, indeed, a great day for me, a day long looked for, when I should be able to redeem, on behalf of our people, an ancient pledge implicit in our past, the pledge to maintain the intercourse of culture and friendship between our people and the people of China”¹ Xu Dishan - the Chinese writer, Xu Beihong - the famous artist and others were been invited many times to deliver lectures at the Cheena-Bhavana. It was a lively unprecedented atmosphere there. Along with them Tagore had fostered the Indo-Chinese friendship.
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'Collected Works of Tagore' (Chinese version, 10 volumes), People's Literature Publishing House, 1961
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In 1940, Xu Beihong painted a colour portrait of Tagore. This masterpiece is now kept in the Xu Beihong Memorial at Beijing.
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The most gratifying incident which showed Tagore’s profound friendship with the Chinese people was his unwavering support and sympathy towards the Chinese people during the arduous anti-Japanese war. Tagore’s concern for civilisational interaction assumes a different dimension in the context of Japanese aggression on China in 1937. With a strong sense of righteousness, he expressed his disappointment towards Japan, as he resolutely stood beside the Chinese people. On more than one occasion, he clearly expressed his deep sympathy for the Chinese people and severely condemned Japanese aggression. He was deeply anguished by this act of violence by one Asian civilisation on another. He engaged in a deep philosophical debate with the Japanese poet Noguchi on issues facing human civilisation and its universal values; in this very profound public correspondence in the newspaper, Tagore expressed strong solidarity with the Chinese people in very clear and emphatic manner. In 1941, before he became seriously ill he was still obsessed with China, and was eager to hear about good news about the Chinese People’s War against Japan.
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A bridge of India-China friendship
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By many measure, Rabindranath Tagore has been the strongest bridge of India-China friendship in modern times, establishing everlasting links with China when he struck a creative chord in the hearts of young Chinese poets and intellectuals, when he stood beside Chinese people at difficult crucial junctures of their historical journey as they stood up for their rights of self-determination, and as he established the first learning and research centre of Chinese language, literature and culture in Visva-Bharati. No less important is the fact that Tagore’s discourse on civilisation and civilisational interaction has gradually come to form a major underpinning for the enhancement of India-China relations.
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When India gained independence in 1947 and with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, India-China relations have entered a new historical phase. In 1961, on the occasion of the birth centenary of Tagore, the People’s Literature Publishing House published 10 volumes of the hardbound *Selected Works of Tagore*. Tagore’s poems like *Gitanjali*, *The Gardener*, *stories and poems*, more than 30 short stories, novels - *Gora*, and some dramas were incorporated in this. Well-known Chinese indologist - Professor Ji Xianlin from Peking University, in the commemoration speech, spoke highly of Tagore’s works. If the period around Tagore’s visit to China is considered as the first high tide of Chinese Translation of Tagore, then the period from the 1950s to the early 1960s can be considered as the second high tide of Chinese Translation of Tagore. By now, it has been possible to have a systematic translation of Tagore’s works. In the 1950s, some Chinese scholars and translators like Zheng Zhenduo, Xie Bingxin, Shi Zhen, Huang Yushi, Wu Yan, Jin Kemu, Ying Ruocheng, Feng Jinxin, and others in addition to making amendments to their old translation works, have also newly translated some of his other works as well.
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In 1981, the Chinese Foreign Literature Research Symposium in Beijing for the first time convened an academic conference on Tagore, a number of papers published. The Chinese people had a deep and profound understanding about the poet and his works. People started to research and appraise Tagore with a new vision. There appeared many works of master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation studying the topic of Tagore’s short stories and poem collection - *Gitanjali*, and other works.
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Rabindranath Tagore, 1940
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In the past 90 years, especially since the reform and opening up, Chinese scholars have published over hundreds of articles, reviewing Tagore and his works. A great portion of his Bengali and English works has been translated into Chinese. Some works have also been translated more than once. In 2000, Hebei Education Press published 24 volumes of *The Complete Works of Tagore*.
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Since the 1950s, Tagore’s poem *Do Bigha Zameen*, *Gitanjali* and other 35 works were selected to be incorporated in the high school textbooks. In March 2000, the Chinese Ministry of Education revised the junior high and high school Chinese language syllabus, for the first time it was explicitly formulated that the middle school students required reading literary classics, including 10 for middle school and 20 for high school, and foreign literary classics accounted for 15. *Selected Poems of Tagore* including the *Gitanjali*, *Crescent Moon*, *The Gardener*, *Stories and Poems* and other collection of poems were the most prominent of them. China Education Council Professional Committee Organisation of secondary/middle school language teaching, compiled a book on middle school students reading literature, for this organisation by the experts. The introductory text Masterpiece poetry circles and philosophers is the one dealing with Tagore ‘s life. As for the university, Tagore is one of the most important foreign poets as far as foreign literature courses are concerned. These initiatives have made Tagore a household name in China.
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In the recent years the Chinese leadership and the people have attached a great deal of importance to Tagore’s contribution to the world of knowledge and culture, as they have enshrined Tagore as the modern-day symbol of India-China friendship. The Chinese intellectuals have been in the forefront to celebrate 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011 and the centenary of award of Nobel Prize to him in 2013. Both these milestones have been marked in China by many seminars, conferences, stage productions, and numerous research and translation projects, all of which have ushered in a new high tide of Tagore Wave.
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Endnote
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1. Rabindranath Tagore, “Address at the Opening Ceremony of Visva-Bharati Cheena-Bhavana on April 14, 1937”, in Tan Chung (ed.), In the Footsteps of Xuanzang: Tan Yun-shan and India, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, 1999, p. 177.
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(*Sabaree Mitra & Liu Jian*)
Linked texts (1)
- Upaniṣad — Sanskrit