Major exhibition for renowned Hong Kong-based sinologist Jao Tsung-I

The national museum has launched a major exhibition showcasing works by a top Hong Kong-based sinologist, marking his contribution to Chinese culture.

The exhibition was launched a day after Premier Li Keqiang received 98-year-old Professor Jao Tsung-i, and hailed him as the "pride of Hong Kong".

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Chen Lusheng, deputy director of the National Museum of China in Beijing, described the display as a "centennial exhibition" and the largest dedicated to Jao.

"Master [Jao] is a most important scholar of the 20th and the 21st centuries. The exhibition will help the Chinese people understand how our cultural heritage has been passed on," Chen said.

Peter Cheng Wai-ming, a student who has followed Jao for 35 years and is now working in the University of Hong Kong's museum dedicated to Jao, said his teacher had broken new ground in Chinese culture, such as creating "northwest sect" landscape paintings. The style depicts the dry desert scenery in that part of the country using ink that is less watery, distinct from the southern and northern sects.

Jao attended the launch ceremony but did not speak. He will join a symposium today before returning to Hong Kong.