Peking University, Nov.3, 2011: An International Conference to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's birth kicked off at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing Thursday.
Dr. S. Jaishankar, India's ambassador to China, and many famous Indian and Chinese scholars were present at the opening ceremony of the conference which was jointly organized by the Indian embassy in Beijing and PKU.
Ambassador S. Jaishankar speaks at the opening ceremony.
At the opening ceremony, Jaishankar described Tagore as a symbol of the modern cultural relationship between China and India.
"He made an immense contribution in a very difficult geopolitical context to connecting the intellectuals of the two nations," the ambassador said.
Jaishankar commented that Tagore also urged the teaching of the Chinese language in India, as well as promotion of Chinese culture.
"Tagore is an ambassador in cultural exchanges between China and India," said Huang Baosheng, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Huang added that Tagore's works are warmly welcomed and loved by Chinese people, commenting that Tagore is one of the most widely translated foreign writers in Chinese.
Jaishankar expressed the hope that new initiatives, such as an India-China cultural contacts encyclopedia and the teaching of Chinese in Indian middle schools, would have met with Tagore's approval.
As part of "The Year of China-India Exchange", many activities have been held in China to celebrate the great poet's birthday.
He also said that, for its part, India will also establish a Tagore Chair, install Tagore busts, organize Tagore art exhibitions and support the staging of Tagore's plays in Chinese to celebrate his birthday.
Honorable guests are present at the opening ceremony.
Honorable guests pose to take a photo following the opening ceremony.
Tagore, born on May 7, 1861, was the first Asian Nobel Prize laureate. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his poem Gitanjali.
Edited by: Arthars
Source: China.org.cn
