徐梵澄——现代中印文化交流的杰出使者

Xu Fancheng: An Outstanding Ambassador in Modern China-India Cultural Exchanges

徐梵澄(1909～2000年)是现代中印文化交流的杰出使者。1945年,他作为一位学者被中国政府派遣到印度圣蒂尼克坦的泰戈尔国际大学讲学,讲授中国历史、哲学、文学等,长达五年之久。1951年,他去南印度的本地治理参观奥罗宾多修道院,并应邀留在这里。他在修道院的华文部工作,主要讲授中国文化和翻译奥罗宾多的著作,在此工作了28年,直到1978年回国。徐先生在印度生活和工作了33年,为中印文化的交流奉献了他三分之一以上的人生。他对中印文化交流的贡献主要有三个方面:第一,在印度传播中国传统文化,帮助印度人民全面了解中国;第二,把印度古代经典五十种《奥义书》由梵文译成中文,从而成为第一个翻译如此多《奥义书》的中国人;第三,翻译印度现代哲学家奥罗宾多的著作,他几乎把奥罗宾多所有有关哲学、瑜伽和社会学的作品都译成了中文,这些作品大大促进了中国人对奥罗宾多和印度现代哲学的了解。

Xu Fancheng(1909~2000) was an outstanding ambassador in modern China-India cultural exchanges.He was a lecturer to Vishva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan dispatched by Chinese government in 1945 and taught classes on Chinese history,philosophy,and literature for five years.He visited the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry in 1951.He stayed there and worked with the Chinese Department,mainly engaging in teaching Chinese culture and translating Aurobindo’s works into Chinese till 1978.Xu Fancheng lived and worked in India for 33 years,more than one-third of his life.His contributions to China-India cultural exchanges mainly covered the following aspects: First,disseminating Chinese traditional culture in India.He helped Indian people overally to understand Chinese culture.Second,translating ancient Indian classics into Chinese.He translated The Fifty Upanisads from Sanskrit into Chinese and was the first Chinese who translated so many Upanisads into Chinese.Third,translating Aurobindo’s works into Chinese.He had translated almost all the works by Aurobindo into Chinese on philosophy,yoga and sociology.These Chinese versions are greatly helpful for Chinese to understand Aurobindo and Modern Indian philosophy.