Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t20.12

v2.c10.s2.t20.12

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*.