• Chinese and Indian scholars celebrate 100 years of Tagore’s visit to China
    Times of India | 7 April 2025
  • Kolkata: "The Nobel Prize became famous because of Tagore and not the other way around," smiled Yu Longyu of Shenzhen University. The distinguished professor, who was celebrating his 79th birthday, was here along with 10 others as part of the Chinese delegation of scholars and artists. They were in Santiniketan on Tuesday, participating in the two-day closing ceremony of Tagore's visit to China.

    TOI caught up with the Chinese experts in Kolkata on Thursday, a day after the event at Visva Bharati's China Bhavan, inaugurated by Xu Wei, the consul-general of China in Kolkata. "The event also coincided with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations. I was privileged to represent Xu Feihong, the Chinese ambassador to India, to attend the conference to commemorate the centenary of Tagore's visit to China," the consul-general said.

    Yu Longyu presented a paper on "The significance of studying and advancing ‘Tagore Spirit'" at Cheena Bhavana, the centre for Chinese language and culture at Visva-Bharati. Tagore established Cheena Bhavana in 1937. He visited China in 1924 and 1928. "This is my third visit to West Bengal," said Yu Longyu. "For us Chinese, Tagore is the embodiment of universal peace.

    " When Asia's first Nobel Laureate visited China for 49 days in 1924, he met several Chinese intellectuals like Liang Qichao (1873–1929) and Xu Zhimo (1897–1931).

    Wan Jia from Wuhan University presented research on "China-related reports of Times of India during the War of Resistance.

    " The 35-year-old, one of China's youngest professors, explained, "I chose TOI because of its credibility as a mainstream publication. The China-related reports (1931-45) in TOI, India's first major English-language newspaper, established in Bombay in 1838, with mostly middle-class and elite readership—the most significant constituent force of the Indian civil society—served as a primary document for my paper.

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    She added, "TOI has been carrying substantial influence in international opinion, serving as a platform and connection between India and the outside world, especially the West. Under the atmosphere of Sino-Indian cultural enthusiasm brought about by Tagore's visit to China and the similarity of Chinese and Indian national circumstances, the Indian mainstream media's coverage of China during this period was very positive.

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    Avijit Banerjee, head of Cheena Bhavana, said, "The event was extremely important because it coincided with the 75th anniversary of Indo-China diplomatic relations. Scholars from both countries (including JNU, Delhi University, and Hyderabad University) discussed Tagore and his connection with China, and the ways to enhance ties between the two countries.

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