Chinese Intellectuals Misreading Of Tagore In China Event

In April of 1924, Indian poet Tagore was invited to China to pay a academic visit by Peing Lecture Association. He delivered speeches in Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing, giving his criticism on occidental material civilization, praise to oriental spiritual civilization and calling for the renaissance of Eastern civilization. Chinese intellectuals misread Tagore in the perspective of their different cultural advocacies. As the result of his visit accompanied by flowers and applause as well as sneering, protest and expelling, Tagore was unexpectedly engaged in the debating on the modernization of China. One aspect of the debates is on the superiority of Western or Eastern culture, which had been the issue among radicals, free and conservative groups long before Tagore's visit. Chen Duxiu, Gu Hongming, Liang Shuming, Liang Qichao and Hu Shi, leading thinkers of that time with respective views on the tendency of Chinese culture, evaluated Tagore and clashed with him on ideas of Western and Eastern cultures in different perspectives. Upholding Western civilization and expelling Eastern , Chen Duxiu rejected Tagore extremely in the way of criticizing him in pens. Gu Hongming and Tagore, though representative figures of Eastern culture in the vision of westerners, were essentially distinctive of the understanding of Eastern culture. Liang Shuming also misread Tagore in his perspective of instinct and Confucianism. As the host of Peing Lecture Association, Liang Qichao extended a warm welcome to Tagore's visit. They shared similar thoughts, and Tagore's coming was helpful to the construction of his adovacy. Although Hu Shi disagreed with Tagor's view, he welcomed him for his own consideration. In all, Tagore's visit to China left deep impression to the era, and all misreading resulting from the background of debate on Western and Eastern cultures were inevitable.