Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s4.t3.47

v2.c11.s4.t3.47

In 1933, Xu organised an exhibition of modern Chinese painting in different cities of France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the Soviet Union. During World War II, he travelled to Southeast Asia, holding exhibitions in Singapore and India. All the proceeds from these exhibitions were donated to Chinese people who were suffering as a result of the war, which reflected Xu Beihong’s deep concern for his people, and a profound sense of patriotism and nationalism. Xu Beihong visited Shantiniketan, the abode of the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore in 1940, and then met Mahatma Gandhi in Kolkata on February 17, the same year, where he sketched two portraits of the latter.