One hundred years ago at this time, Tagore crossed the ocean to China and came to Tsinghua Garden, opening a modern dialogue between the two great civilizations of China and India. In order to commemorate this cultural event, on April 20, on the eve of the 113th anniversary of Tsinghua University, the opening ceremony of a special exhibition and series of activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tagore's visit to Tsinghua University was held in the History Museum of Tsinghua University.
"You have made my acquaintances known to me. You prepared a seat for me at someone else's house. You shorten the distance, you turn the living into brothers. At the opening ceremony, teachers and students of the Department of Foreign Languages of Tsinghua University recited the 63rd poem of Tagore's Nobel Prize-winning work "Gitanjali" in seven languages: Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Japanese, Spanish, English and Chinese.
Yang Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua University, said in his speech that Tagore's visit to China is not only a cultural exchange between the two countries, but also an emotional resonance and spiritual resonance between the two peoples, which has drawn a strong and colorful stroke in the history of Sino-Indian exchanges. Tsinghua University's series of commemorative activities is not only a review of that period of history, but also an expectation for mutual learning between Chinese and Indian civilizations in the future, which is of great significance. China and India are both ancient civilizations with a long history and splendid culture, and they have an important position in the history of the development of human civilization, and the friendly exchanges between the two countries have a long history. It is hoped that through this event, Tsinghua University will better play its important role as a world-class university in international exchanges and cooperation, and make positive efforts to promote academic and cultural exchanges between China and India in the new era.
The special exhibition of "Tagore and the Tsinghua People's Ignorance of the West and the East" is composed of 19 graphic display panels and 8 physical display cabinets, which are divided into five parts: "First Acquaintance with Tagore", "Trip to China", "Tsinghua Imprint", "Tagore and Tsinghua People", "Sino-Indian Exchanges have a Long History", with more than 50 historical photos and documentary pictures, 13 pieces (groups) of historical books and periodicals collected by Tsinghua Library and other physical exhibits, the earliest published in 1913, comprehensively and systematically sorted out the historical background, main itinerary, and other physical exhibits of Tagore's visit to China. The far-reaching impact, especially the in-depth and detailed reflection of Tagore's experience of visiting Tsinghua Park and interacting with teachers and students. The exhibition also features highlights of Tagore's lectures at Tsinghua University, as well as comments on Tagore by Liang Qichao, Feng Youlan, Wen Yiduo, Zheng Zhenduo, Ji Xianlin, Bingxin, etc. The commemorative exhibition will be exhibited in the Preface Hall on the first floor of the History Museum of Tsinghua University from April 20 to 25, and will then be moved to the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of Tsinghua University.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tagore's visit to Tsinghua University, Tsinghua University Library, together with the Department of Foreign Languages, the University History Museum and the Archives of Tsinghua University, has carefully planned a series of colorful academic and cultural activities. The roundtable/academic conference will be held around five themes: the enlightenment of Tagore's thought to the contemporary world, China-South Asia people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. Tsinghua University Library will launch a bookshelf - a special bookshelf "Through a Hundred Years, Rereading Tagore", an in-depth exchange activity - inviting experts and scholars in the field of Tagore's research to hold an interactive lecture on "Real Library", a documentary screening - documentaries related to Tagore in the library's audio-visual reading room, and a poetry recital - inviting recitation enthusiasts inside and outside the university to read Tagore's famous poems in multiple languages.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Lei Jia
Editor/Ye Wan