Scholar-calligrapher Prof. Jao Tsung-I (1917-2018) was perhaps the most famous multidisciplinary practitioner of the arts of 20th-century (and early 21st-century) China. One could say that he combined multiple fields of the humanities, from Sanskrit to cuneiform, to embody a distinctly Chinese version of the Renaissance Man. One of his favorite activities was to copy Buddhist texts, in particular the shorter version of the Heart Sutra.
The legacy of Jao Tsung-I is prominent in Hong Kong not only through the beautiful campus of Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, which is devoted to furthering the scholar’s legacy. It is also prominent in the “Wisdom Path” at the foothills of Lantau Peak, a collection of thirty-eight wooden columns inscribed with Jao’s Heart Sutra calligraphy and is the largest outdoor wood inscription installation carved with Buddhist scripture in the world.
The exhibit at Sun Museum in the artsy neighborhood of Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun, “Transcribing Wisdom: Jao Tsung-I’s Heart Sutra Calligraphy and the ‘Wisdom Path’,” is a special exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of the Wisdom Path. It This show brings together a choice selection of Professor Jao Tsung-I’s Heart Sutra calligraphy in a variety of scripts and styles. One of my favorite parts of the exhibits is an Oracle Bone Script rendition of the beginning of the Heart Sutra, which provides a fascinating hypothetical idea of what the first characters of the scripture would have looked like if written in much older Oracle Bone characters.
Another inspiring section of the exhibit are two calligraphic renditions of the Heart Sutra. One was completed by Jao when he was in his sixties, another in his nineties. It may surprise you to see how the latter actually looks more stable and grounded than the version from his younger years. It is a testament to the power of the Heart Sutra that accompanied Jao all his life: the idea that all the wisdom of the Buddhist tradition could be captured in one short rendition of a vast canon of texts, and was therefore worth constantly copying. The act of copying Buddhist scriptures, of course, was always celebrated as a meritorious activity since the advent of the Mahayana, and Jao very clearly took it to heart.
“Transcribing Wisdom: Jao Tsung-I’s Heart Sutra Calligraphy and the ‘Wisdom Path’” is running in two phases: the first phase from 4 October to 14 December, 2025, and the second from 16 December 2025 to 1 March 2026.
