Xu Fancheng (), Courtesy name Jihai () (26 October 1909, Changsha - 6 March 2000, Beijing), also known as Hu Hsu and F.C. Hsu in India, was a Chinese scholar and translator, indologist and philosopher. He translated 50 of the Upanishads into classical Chinese. He also translated Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra, Kalidasa's lyric poem Meghaduuta (Cloud Messenger), and several of Sri Aurobindo's works into Chinese. He was familiar with Greek, Latin, English, French, as well as Sanskrit and German. A 16-volume edition of his complete works was published in 2006.

His life and studies

He was born into a wealthy family in Changsha, Hunan. His name was "Hu"() by birth. Fancheng is his Pen name. The childhood of Xu was marked by a complete study of Classical Chinese. He was taught by the student of the late Qing dynasty Confucian scholar Wang Kaiyun. He was a friend and student of Lu Xun in his early life. From 1927 to 1929, he studied history at Zhongshan University and then Western Literature in Fudan University. He studied Fine Art and Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, Germany from 1929 to 1932. From 1945 to 1978, he studied and taught in India, thus escaping the Cultural Revolution. He moved to Pondicherry in 1951 where he met Mirra Alfassa (also known as the Mother) and joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Xu Fancheng was provided an independent house by the Mother near the beach, where he translated and printed various Indian texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, various Upanishads, and most of Sri Aurobindo's major writings. He was also an accomplished painter in the Chinese style. He offered more than 300 paintings to the Mother which are still preserved in the Ashram. After returning to China in 1978, he worked as a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and all his works were collectively published in 16 volumes in China.

Xu was an acquaintance of Lu Xun. His study in Königsberg was at first inspired by Lu's advice.

Literature

  • F.C. Hsu (1978). Chinese Words. An Analysis of the Chinese Language. An Etymological Approach. Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education.
  • Devdip Ganguli (2018). The Life and Legacy of Xu Fancheng - a Spiritual Bridge between India and China. Sraddha, Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Kolkata, Nov. 2018, pp. 130–139
  • Essays on XuFancheng (2018) - Compilation of the essays by renowned scholars from the event "symposium in memory of XuFancheng" (March 10, 2018), Pondicherry, event by Pondicherry India-China Friendship Association jointly with Embassy of the People's Republic of China in India, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry, INTACH Pondicherry, C3S and India-China Friendship Association Tamilnadu Unit.
  • " Remembering Xu Fancheng: A Cultural Bridge" by BIKASH KALI DAS. News from China, China-India Review Vol. XXXII | Special edition. page 98-100
  • ABOUT XuFancheng
  • Prof Tansen sen and Chinese scholars visit to Pondicherry
  • Remarks by Ambassador Luo Zhaohui At the Symposium in Memory of Professor Xu Fancheng
  • C3S Event report
  • Ambassador Sun Weidong - Inauguration of XuFancheng Culture study center
  • XuFancheng Culture study center
  • Remembering Xu Fancheng: A Cultural Bridge by Embassy of the peoples republic of China in India · Sep 1, 2020

Sources