An interesting conversation between Tagore and Yan Xishan

An interesting conversation between Tagore and Yan Xishan

Numismatic literature

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Tags:Shanxi modern characters

Category: Stone of His Mountain

The magazine Happiness was published in March 2013

In April 1924, at the invitation of Chinese scholars Liang Qichao and Cai Yuanpei, Tagore visited China.

During the tour of Beijing, Tagore hoped to find a place in China to experiment with his agricultural reform plan, and when Xu Zhimo and others introduced that Shanxi's rural construction was quite distinctive, Tagore decided to go to Shanxi to have a look.

The news reached the ears of Yan Xishan, the overseer of Shanxi, and he was very happy in his heart. Yan Xishan was very fond of the philosophical and emotional verses in Tagore's poetry collection "The Collection of Birds" and "The Collection of the New Moon", and it was a rare opportunity to intersect with his idols.

The train carrying Tagore slowly drove into the Zhengtai Road Railway Station in Taiyuan City.

Yan Xishan, 41, dressed in a rustic pedantic outfit, wore a black satin coat and black cloth shoes on his feet, and smiled: "This morning the magpie croaked, I think there is something good, I welcomed you Mr. Tagore." At Yan Xishan's residence, through the translator, they exchanged a few words of homely greetings, and the topic turned to philosophy.

Tagore seemed to be deliberately questioning Yan Xishan, and said, "May I ask Mr. Yan, what is oriental culture?" Yan Xishan sighed for a moment and said, "Oriental culture is simply a 'middle' word. Tagore was intrigued and then asked, "What is Zhong?" Yan Xishan had already prepared and explained without hurrying: "The 'seed' of an egg with a 'seed' is 'medium', and this 'seed' is incredible and cannot be explained, there is only one seed in the universe, and creation is this 'seed' that is grasped." Suppose that the 'seed' of all things is removed from the earth, the earth will become decayed, the 'middle' will be lost in personnel, and mankind will fall into misery. Tagore smiled and nodded. Lin Huiyin and Xu Zhimo, who were acting as translators, both smiled with relief, because Yan Xishan understood all the ideological connotations in Tagore's poetry collection. Tagore shook Yan Xishan's hand with great satisfaction, and he said to Yan Xishan appreciatively: "You are a soldier and a state administrator with a poetic temperament. "The guests and hosts are talking about Xingzheng, and it is time for dinner."

Yan Xishan knew that Tagore was a man with rich ideas and a simple life, so he used simple farmhouse meals to entertain this international guest who came from afar. Balls, tofu, pork noodles, bean sprouts, roasted yam, plus a corn soup. Out of respect for the guests, Yan Xishan, who usually does not stick to the wine, made an exception to accompany Tagore to drink some apricot blossom village Fenjiu, and also quipped: "Our Shanxi people's ideal is: the capital is moved to Wuxiang; Taiyuan becomes the central; the national wine Fenyang King; the state banquet corn soup; the Chinese Wutai cavity; and the national anthem Shanxi State." Listening to Yan Xishan's words, the guests all laughed, and the atmosphere was very harmonious for a while. For this meal full of Local Style in Shanxi, Tagore was very curious, and he ate it with relish and praise. After the meal, Tagore was so excited that he once again shook Yan Xishan's hand and said, "All those who have been conquered, oppressed, and lost their lives should unite to give him a harmonious and life to return the otherwise beautiful world." ”

Back in India, Tagore was deeply impressed by Yan Xishan's reception. In his later memoirs, the description of Yan Xishan says: "He was more like a literati, with elegant manners and a philosopher's style. Talking about philosophy with the great poet Tagore became an unforgettable experience for Yan Xishan.

Yan Xishan talked about that meeting with Tagore many times later, and he would be full of emotions, and the ideas of a great poet like Tagore also influenced the second half of his life.