| Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), combined in himself the minds of a poet, an artist, a scientist, a philosopher, and a religious believer. He moved beyond literature and made outstanding contributions also as an educationist, a socialist reformer and a religious thinker. The survey of Chinese studies on Rabindranath Tagore and his work over the past eighty years shows the great achievements in perspectives. However, a systematic study on the religious thoughts and religious experiences in Tagore's thoughts and writings are still absent. This by no means negligible oversight prevents us from gaining a truly comprehensive view of Tagore's works. For in general, there is just no way one can come to grips with a sense, sensibilities and writings of an author, who lives a life of religion, without taking into serious considerations of the religious experiences from which the author first got aspiration and urge for his writings. And Rabindranath Tagore is no exception to this general rule.Our study pays special attention to the Tagore's literature thoughts, literature creation from religious perspective. We explore religious elements in Tagore's literature to reveal the profound relationship between literature and religion. The paper is divided into three parts: Introduction, body, and conclusion.The introduction reviews of Tagore research in China since 1920s by presenting the five periods of Tagore's research, the changing perspective of research and the neglected fields of Tagore's studies. Language, culture and religion are the rubs for the further Tagore Research in China.Then we narrate the method of the study. The perspective we take is piercing together Tagore's writing and thoughts, historical background, religious experiences and the Indian heritage. We inquire into the internal relationship between the religious thoughts and Tagore's writing and his literature concept.The body has four chapters.The first chapter deals with the sources of Tagore's religious thoughts. We take a detailed look at the historical context in which Tagore was born and grew to maturity, mainly focus on Tagore's search and seeking and of his understanding of and relationship with religion. Chapters two is further divided into three parts. The first part presents Tagore's literary thoughts and his religious oritenation. The second part takes a detailed look at Tagore's Concept of Personality, which are the core of Tagore's literature thoughts, and its relationship with Tagore's religious thoughts. The third explores Tagore's concept of Rasa, and the internal relations between Rasa and Tagore's religious thought.Chapter three concerns the internal relationship of Tagore's writing and his religious thoughts. It also has three sections. The first focuses on Tagore's poetry, which is the best illustration of the union of the finite and infinite. The second takes a close look at the inner connection between the women's image and religious elements, especially in Tagore's novels. The third studies the religious conflict in Tagore's plays.Chapter Four dwells on Tagore and Buddhism. The first narrates Tagore's relation with Buddhism. The second deals with Tagore's concept on Buddhism. The last section takes a close look at Tagore's writing about Buddhism and inquires into the degree of influence that Buddhism had on his life, thought and writing.Conclusion points out that the mutual influence between the Tagore's thoughts and writing and his religious experiences. Religion is the evident factor in forming Tagore's thoughts and writing. |
