Many people know that in the 1920s and 1930s, the famous Indian poet Tagore was invited to China for visits and academic exchanges. During this period, China's academic circles were filled with many beautiful poems such as "born as splendid as a summer flower", and many people said that "this is a new exchange between China and India in the new century".
But what people don't know is that Mr. Chen Duxiu was also an admirer of Tagore, but what is more unknown is that Mr. Chen Duxiu and Tagore had face-to-face exchanges during this visit to China, but the results of the exchanges were not as expected.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" ></h1>
Tagore was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, in 1861, when Tagore was the youngest child in the family, so he was loved and cared for by his family from birth. Tagore, who grew up carefree since childhood, did not indulge in the warmth of his own home, but he soberly saw the cold reality of India at that time, under the colonial plunder of the Western powers, and the people were scattered.
With hatred for colonialism and love for his homeland, Tagore gradually found that he could express everything in his heart through brushstrokes, and in this way, at the age of thirteen, he wrote his own long poems, which were unanimously approved by his teachers.
In 1919, at the age of fifty-eight, Tagore won the first Nobel Prize in Literature in India and even in Asia with his book "Gitanjali", which can be called an idol and model for young people throughout Asia. Such a talented person also has a deep understanding of his home country, and what is even more touching is that Tagore has repeatedly spoken for China in the international community.
During his study in Britain, Tagore denounced the British government's colonial aggression against India and the opium trade and war with China in public; during his visit to Japan, Tagore also bluntly said that the Japanese aggression was criminal and unjust. Therefore, many people in our country at that time highly respected Tagore, and so did Mr. Chen Duxiu.
After Chen Duxiu returned to China from Japan, he personally founded the "Youth Magazine", and Chen Duxiu personally translated and published two poems of Tagore's "Jitanjali" in the magazine to express his admiration and respect for him.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > second, the opposite is the enemy</h1>
In 1924, at the strong invitation of Liang Qichao, Xu Zhimo, Lin Huiyin and others in China, Tagore decided to visit China to explore the majesty and glory of this mysterious country. After a series of arrangements, Lin Huiyin, Xu Zhimo and others finally set off for China.
After Tagore arrived in China, he went to Shanghai, Nanjing, Jinan and other places under the arrangement of many people, and visited many scenic spots and universities in China. During this period, Tagore also preached poetics in colleges and universities, talked about the achievements of ancient China and ancient India, and elaborated on oriental civilization.
As an admirer of Tagore in the past, Chen Duxiu naturally met Tagore, and the two had an in-depth conversation. The two had an in-depth exchange, which at that time was a thing that was praised by the literary world and thinkers. But the results of the exchange between the two were surprising. After Chen Duxiu's meeting with Tagore, he broke out in public and called Tagore a "shemale", which was greatly surprising. Tagore was also silent about the process and outcome of the meeting, which became the biggest unpleasantness in his visit to China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > third, a little thought</h1>
Naturally, Chen Duxiu said that Tagore was a "shemale", and this demon was not another demon, not a transgender person in a small Southeast Asian country. The reason why Mr. Chen Duxiu and Tagore have become enemies, the author does have some worries here:
At that time, Mr. Chen Duxiu advocated that China's ideological circles learn from the West, learn from the more advanced institutional systems and new ideas of the West, and strive to break the old ideas of old China. Mr. Chen Duxiu's previous statement that "we will not talk about politics for ten years" also took the initiative to break the precepts because of the country's peril.
In contrast, Tagore, he has always indulged in the profound achievements of Oriental civilization, civilization-oriented, culture-oriented. Tagore, who wanders in pure culture, is not tainted with political and ideological elements in the slightest. In this way, when a simple cultural scholar encounters a "fanatic" who is eager to find a way to save the country, the two are no longer the relationship between the admirer and the admired.
During his visit to China, Tagore had been preaching "the superiority of Eastern civilization over Western civilization", which had already clashed with the old ideas and cultures that Mr. Chen Duxiu wanted to vigorously promote at this time. Therefore, in Chen Duxiu's eyes, Tagore's preaching in China broke his previous layout, which was simply "making a demon".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" > Conclusion:</h1>
For the confrontation between Chen Duxiu and Tagore, in fact, it should be viewed dialectically. It is undeniable that both of them are from their own point of view, one is the excavation and promotion of ancient civilizations, and the other is to destroy the old culture and old ideas that must be carried out in order to save the country and save the people.