Jao Tsung-I Academy｜“Lingnan Colour：Jao Tsung-i and the Gentlemen of the Arts” Exhibition

Description

Supported by Simon Suen Foundation and co-organised by Jao Tsung-I Academy and the Sun Museum, the exhibition selected 14 collaborative works by Professor Jao and the Masters of Lingnan: Zhao Shao-ang, Guan Shan-yue, and Yang Shan-sum.

This exhibition is the second in the “Lingnan Colour” series, “Jao Tsung-I and the Gentlemen of the Arts.” In this context, “gentlemen” refers not only to the masters of the Lingnan school but also to the gentlemanly objects depicted in the paintings. Visitors can explore symbols of gentility found in nature, such as plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, pines, and lotus flowers. The plum blossom symbolises resilience and purity, capable of enduring winter’s harshness; bamboo stands tall and graceful, representing both flexibility and strength; the orchid signifies elegance, closely associated with the refined temperament of scholars; the pine tree embodies steadfastness and noble integrity: and the lotus flower represents purity. As Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073), the famous scholar of the Song dynasty, noted in his Ai Lian Shuo: “The lotus is the gentleman among flowers,” celebrating its noble character of “emerging from the mud unstained, which is why it is cherished by scholars.