Xu Fancheng: a Chinese Scholar, Artist and Sage in 20Th Century India

The Newsletter No. 87 Autumn 2020 China Connections Regional Editor 21 India–China artistic engagements Yu Yan The Region in the 20th century Xu Fancheng: a Chinese scholar, artist and sage in 20th century India Devdip Ganguli small coastal town in southern Xu Fancheng, more commonly known India and a former French colony, as Hu Hsu in India, was born on 26 October A Pondicherry is best known for its 1909, in Changsha, Hunan Province, into association with Sri Aurobindo, née a well-to-do family. Coincidentally, the Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950), India’s young Mao Zedong was his geography foremost modern philosopher and teacher in school. However, it was Lu Xun, revolutionary-turned-mystic, and his the noted Chinese writer and literary French spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa reformist, who played the role of his early (1878-1973), popularly known as ‘The Mother’. mentor. Xu enrolled at the Second National Since the 1940s, an increasing number of Sun Yat-sen University (today Wuhan persons from India and abroad were drawn University) in 1926, to study History, then to Pondicherry by the teachings of Sri shifted to Fudan University in Shanghai the Aurobindo and the radiant presence of following year to study Western Literature, The Mother. Some of these visitors stayed before moving on to study Fine Arts and on in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg Fig.9: Xu Fancheng’s community that grew around the spiritual in 1929. Exhibition in 1967, The masters. As a result, this small town When his father died unexpectedly, Xu Sri Aurobindo Ashram, transformed into a melting pot of people, returned to China in 1932. At the prompting Pondicherry. and its quiet, sleepy exterior belied the of Lu Xun, he began the first of his major rich spiritual and cultural life of its translations into Chinese – Nietzsche’s Also lived until his death in 1936, and taught at school often came over to the ‘Chinese house’. international residents. Among them was sprach Zarathustra [Thus Spoke Zarathustra]. Tongji University. In 1939, as the Japanese He was happy to allow them to play and run a most intriguing personality, a Chinese He would go on to translate a number of invasion raged on, Xu moved to the National around in the garden even as he continued scholar and artist whose life and legacy the German philosopher’s works. Xu settled Academy of Art in Hunan, then to Kunming. his work quietly, occasionally also surprising are a fascinating study. down in Shanghai, where Lu Xun also In 1941 he moved to Chongqing, working them with lemonade or a short calligraphy at the Central Library and teaching at the demonstration, much to their delight! National Central University. Finally, in 1945, In his spare time, Xu was also an avid Xu received a government grant and headed painter. His paintings are mainly brushwork to Shantiniketan in eastern India. At Cheena depicting Chinese landscapes, flowers, and Bhavan, the Chinese study center co-founded bamboos in color or ink. He also practiced by Rabindranath Tagore and Tan Yun-shan Chinese calligraphy in mostly traditional in 1937, Xu joined a group of Chinese scholars, styles. We know that he had exhibited his artists and pioneers in the re-establishment artworks at least twice in Pondicherry. The of the ancient cultural links between India first was shortly after his arrival; the second and China.After five years at Shantiniketan, major exhibition was held in 1967, which was and a short interlude at Varanasi where given considerable prominence by The Mother. he worked on his Chinese translation of In the exhibition poster, there was a message Kalidasa’s Sanskrit play Meghaduta [The written by The Mother in her own hand, which Cloud Messenger], Xu arrived in Pondicherry was displayed on the Ashram Notice Board. in 1951. He was accompanied by a gifted The message reads, “Here are the paintings of Chinese female artist from Shantiniketan, a scholar, who is at once an artist and a yogi, You Yun-shan (lay name of Master Xiaoyun, exhibited with my blessings”. Xu offered about later an influential Buddhist nun in Taiwan 300 of his paintings to the Ashram, which are and the founder of Huafan University). While still preserved, and are a testimony to both his You left after a few months, Xu remained in artistic and scholarly achievements. (Fig 9) Pondicherry for 27 years. Xu lived like a sage – simple, focused on his Xu never met Sri Aurobindo, who had work, and with bare necessities. He had very already passed away a year earlier, but little money of his own, and all his material The Mother became a central spiritual figure in needs were taken care of by The Mother. Xu’s life, to whom he dedicated all his In a letter to a friend, Xu reportedly wrote, future books. The Mother treated him warmly “If you want to experience Taoism, come to and encouraged his tremendous potential. live in the Ashram, you will have the realisation A master of many languages – in addition of Lao-Tse’s philosophy.” The Mother passed to German, Sanskrit and English, Xu also away in 1973. A few years later, with China knew Greek, Latin and French – he was now slowly opening up after the death of Mao keen to translate Sri Aurobindo's books into Zedong, Xu felt he had a duty to take his Chinese. The Mother arranged a large books to the mainland, as his books could French colonial bungalow on the beach road not be sold in China in the 1960s and 1970s. for Xu; it was surrounded by a garden and In 1978, Xu left for China and eventually overlooked the Bay of Bengal. Here, at Villa settled in Beijing, a decision influenced by Ophelia, Xu lived a life of intense solitude two friends from his time at Heidelberg who and concentration. He worked intensively now taught at the Chinese Academy of Social on his translations, sometimes for 14 hours Sciences. They encouraged him to join them; a day. In order to support him, The Mother Xu agreed on the condition that he would purchased and shipped a Chinese printing not have to teach, so that he would be press, and appointed a salaried assistant allowed to continue his work quietly. Thus, for him from Hong Kong. Xu finally returned to his homeland after Xu published translations of numerous 33 years in India. works of Sri Aurobindo such as The Life In Beijing, Xu continued writing and Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, and The painting, sharing his vast erudition with Human Cycle, and the translations from interested students. He soon came to be known Sanskrit of 50 Upanishads (texts of religious as one of the foremost Chinese scholars on teaching and ideas) and the Bhagawad the subject of Indian philosophy. On 6 March Gita (Hindu scripture) as well. He also 2000, Xu passed away. His younger colleague While Professor Sen’s quest was reports was that these were interesting published commentaries on Confucianism, at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to highlight little-known artistic stories about Chinese people, who were Daoism and Buddhism, and the origins of Prof. Sun Bo, recognized the importance of interactions that took place between largely unknown in India. My reporting Chinese characters. Xu combined in his Xu’s work, and became a moving force in the two countries, as a reporter, I was on Chang and Hu was instrumental in person a rare mastery of both Indian and publishing his books in China. Today his intrigued by these journeys across the opening my eyes to a whole new world Chinese philosophy. Those who knew Xu in books attract a growing number of readers; border prior to the 1962 Sino-Indian of stories that could define the way the Pondicherry spoke warmly of him in inter- his paintings too have recently drawn attention War, which has in many ways come to two countries view each other. Especially views with the author. Many highlighted his from many quarters. The full import of Xu’s define the two countries’ relationship in the 70th year of diplomatic ties, this indrawn, refined, yet humorous personality. legacy will become clearer in the years to come. with each other. I received a wide range seems worth pondering over. Although he was not a social person, his small His life and work are a modern symbol of the of comments to the stories I filed, largely circle of friends fondly remembered the time ancient spiritual and cultural bridges that from readers telling me that they really Sowmiya Ashok, former assistant they spent together playing Go, learning have historically spanned India and China. had no idea that such exchanges had editor at The Indian Express, now calligraphy and painting, and cycling through even taken place. In fact, the consistent an independent journalist based the countryside on Sunday afternoons. Devdip Ganguli is a faculty member feedback I received for most of my in Chennai, India. Even though he accepted very few students at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre formally, the little children of the Ashram of Education, Pondicherry, India. .

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