The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom by ancient Chinese scholars manifested itself in various forms beyond the imagination of people in today’s society. At the time when ancient scholars’ “ears are shut to what goes on outside the window and are single-mindedly focus on the classics”, the ideal state of their austere existence was the pursuit of intellectual enlightenment and spiritual fulfillment. One can imagine, any objects in their studios would reflect only their simple but elegant taste. The exhibition “Enlightening Pursuit” features over 150 scholar’s objects that have been assembled by Mengdiexuan over years. It is a collection based on personal preference for simplicity, love for certain art form and designs. The article and all the entries in this catalogue are written by Professor Sun Ji.

Mr. Fung Yee Wang has a teaching/administrative experience spanning the whole spectrum of formal education from primary school to graduate studies, having taught in the Chi Lin Primary School, the Diocesan Boys’ School, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for a total of 36 years. He was Sports Master at DBS, Warden of Old Halls at HKU and Head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at CUHK. Specializing in extracurricular activities, student activism and geographical education, and devoted to the teaching of Chinese at the secondary level, Mr. Fung has published about 100 articles and over 10 books and a prize-winning video in these fields. His textbooks on map reading and world atlas, first published in 1963 and 1975 respectively, were used by most secondary schools in Hong Kong and many in Macau. Dr. Moira Chan-Yeung has over 40 years of experience in research and scholarship, having published 350 peer-reviewed articles, numerous book chapters and several books. A world authority on occupational asthma, she was instrumental in having it recognized as a compensable disease and setting up criteria for assessing respiratory impairment/disability in patients with asthma. She was given the Alice Hamilton Award for “Major and Lasting Contribution in Occupational Health” from the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society in recognition of her contributions. A student of the Diocesan Girls’ School, she studied physics and chemistry for three years in DBS before entering medicine in the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She returned to HKU in 1998 as Chair Professor of Respiratory Disease. Dr. Chan-Yeung is currently a Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of British Columbia, an Honorary Clinical Professor of Medicine, HKU, and a consultant to the World Health Organization.