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Jao Tsung-I is a contemporary interdisciplinary scholar, historian, archaeologist, litterateur, educator, calligrapher and painter, as well as a master of various academic studies and art genres. He is proficient in several languages, including English, French, Japanese, German, Indian and Iraqi Arabic, and has a thorough understanding of some ancient language such as Sanskrit and Babylonian Cuneiform Script. Celebrated scholar Ji Xianlin has even praised Jao as the epitome par excellence of our times in the areas of Chinese literature, history, philosophy and arts as well as the world of Sinology. The academia refer to him as the ‘Pride of Asian Civilisations’.
Born into a family of literati and artists in Chaozhou, Guangdong, Jao Tsung-I moved to Hong Kong at a later age. He taught in a number of renowned universities including the University of Hong Kong, National University of Singapore, Yale University in the United States and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. For his significant contributions to academia he was awarded several important prizes such as the Prix Stanislas Julien, a medal of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and a Grand Bauhinia Medal by the Hong Kong SAR Government. A visiting professor in the former Eastern Asia University (present-day University of Macau) during the 1980s, Jao has enjoyed a strong affinity with Macao: he established the Department of Chinese Literary History, where he served as department head, and was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, by the University of Macau in 2004.
Jao Tsung-I has also developed a close and deep friendship with the Macao Museum of Art under the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. For many years, Jao has lent immense support to the Museum in the promotion of traditional Chinese culture. In 2001 and 2006, the Macao Museum of Art organised the Exhibition of Calligraphy and Painting of Jao Tsung-I and Immortal Lotus: Painting and Calligraphy by Jao Tsung-I His 90th Birthday Celebration which displayed various masterpieces of Jao’s paintings and calligraphy. This year, celebrities in Macao and members of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole Fan Club – including Chui Sai Cheong, Lao Ngai Leong and Lei Loi Tak – proposed to Prof. Jao, to donate his paintings and calligraphy to the Macao Museum of Art for permanent collection. Given his faith in the Museum and his recognition of the Museum’s great endeavours in promoting Chinese culture, Jao has entrusted the Museum with the permanent custody of some thirty paintings and calligraphy produced throughout various stages of his life.
In light of this, the Macao Museum of Art has specially organised Convergence of Aspirations: An Exhibition of Donated Paintings and Calligraphies by Jao Tsung-I to MAM to showcase 21 paintings and 13 calligraphic works produced from the 1970s to the current year, all of which are representative works of Jao and are particularly precious. It is believed that exhibition-goers will be able to grasp a deeper understanding of the artistic style of a scholar excelling in both Chinese and Western cultures in addition to academic studies and the arts through this exhibition.
On behalf of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, I therefore extend my deepest gratitude to Jao Tsung-I for his support and the encouragement he has lent to our work. We are deeply indebted to him for bringing to Macao such rare and precious cultural heritage! At the same time, we are very grateful to Chui Sai Cheong, Lao Ngai Leong and Lei Loi Tak for their enthusiasm and immensely significant contribution to the cultural development of Macao.
Tam Vai Man
Chairman
Administration Committee
Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau
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