BEIJING: The mid-50s visit of Faiz Ahmed Faiz to China helped strengthening Pakistan-China relations, said Prof. Tang Meng Sheng, Head of Pakistan Studies Centre, Peking University here on Saturday. Addressing "Youm-e-Faiz" (Faiz Day) to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz falling on Sunday (February 13), Prof.Tang Meng Sheng, who is also a prominent Chinese scholar having vast knowledge of Urdu language and literature, rekindled his memories about the visit and informed the audience that the great Urdu poet led a media delegation to China in 1956. Prof.Tang told a capacity packed hall of the Pakistan Embassy College Beijing (PECB), which organized the programme under the aegis of the Embassy of Pakistan, that Faiz wrote three poems on this visit including one on Xinjiang, neighbouring Pakistan. "Faiz is not only known in Pakistan, but is also internationally acclaimed due to his outstanding poetic work",Prof. Tang said while speaking in flawless Urdu. Tang said that he also wrote a 20-page article on Faiz in Chinese language which was published a few years earlier. Another renowned Chinese scholar Professor Intikhab Alam, also made a speech in flawless Urdu and highlighted various aspects of the life and works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Mr. Intikhab Alam has also written many books in Urdu. While speaking on the occasion Ambassador Masood Khan shed light on the life and poetry of Faiz. Through his poetic work, Ambassador Khan said, Faiz highlighted the challenges being faced by the society but he always remained optimistic. "Faiz never compromised on his revolutionary ideals and opted to face the challenges which come in the way of removing injustices from the society", Ambassador Khan observed. He pointed out that Faiz himself was an era of Urdu poetry. Faiz, Ambassador Khan said had dedicated his whole life to ensure equilibrium between various segments of the society. Faiz was not only the poet of his own period, but also the poet of our time and would be the poet of many generations to come", he observed. Ambassador Masood Khan said in his opinion Faiz was the poet of the people from all age groups, including children, elderly, youth and hardworking people, but above all he was the poet of the young generation. His poetry infused inspiration and encouragement in the youth, he said. In his speech he also read out excerpts from a famous poem of Faiz, Sheeson ka maseeha koi nahin. Dr. Asmat Naz, Urdu Chair, Peking University presented a paper on the poetry of Faiz. Earlier, Principal PECB, Tariq Mahmood Malik welcomed the guests and thanked them for their participation. In his speech he said that through his poetry Faiz has given a message of hope to the people. The programme was largely attended by the teachers and students of PECB as well as diplomats and senior officials from the Embassy of Pakistan. A number of professors and students from PECB also recited the poetry of Faiz and sang some of his famous ghazals.
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