Rao Zongyi

CHINA, Guangdong, Chaozhou

Rao Zongyi is an archaeologist, literary writer, educator, painter, and calligrapher originally from Chaozhou, Guangdong, but currently resides in Hong Kong. He followed in the footsteps of his family’s scholarly tradition and managed to publish his father’s writings, in addition to assisting Ye Gongzhuo in editing and publishing the Complete Collection of Qing Verses. Rao later worked in education and is an impressive scholar with multiple disciplines that include history, literature, philosophy, linguistics, ancient languages, archaeology, religious studies, Dunhuang studies, culture, and Chinese poetry and verse. Rao has worked at various research institutes and universities around the world and has been awarded such honors as the 1962 French Sinology Julien Award.
Skilled in painting and calligraphy, Rao excels in seal, clerical, and running scripts. His Buddhist paintings include Stupas in Bagan, Acala, and Bodhidharma Facing the Wall. His transcription work includes a copy of the Heart Sutra that was exhibited in the University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong. In 2005, it was inscribed onto 38 separate wooden columns measuring 8 m to 10 m high and installed at the foothills of Lantau Peak on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, just beside Po Lin Monastery, forming the “Wisdom Path.”