Art in giving wisdom

Scholar, connoisseur and collector of Chinese antiquities, Rong Geng, spent a lifetime accumulating artistic and cultural rarities.

Rong Geng (1894-1983), a scholar of Chinese paleography, educator and connoisseur of antiquities, is little known to the general public. However, his extensive studies of ancient Chinese writings and his former collection of archaic oracle bones and bronzes continue to enrich people's cultural life.

In his lifetime, Rong donated to the State nearly 200 bronze objects ranging in age and variety, with the oldest dating back more than 2,000 years, all of which are now housed at numerous public museums and universities.

It is believed that, to this day, Rong's donation is still the largest made by any private collector of such antiquities to the country.

He also donated more than 1,000 classical Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy works, one of the largest submissions of ancient art on paper the country has received.

Rong once said, "Knowledge should be shared and used by all people."

Mr Rong's Great World, an exhibition currently underway at the National Art Museum of China, and set to run through Monday, unfolds the diverse spiritual and cultural world of the learned scholar, offering a glimpse of his wide range of knowledge, his devotion to education and his generosity in sharing his love and findings with people.

On show are nearly 300 objects, including paintings, calligraphy works, carved seals, manuscripts, letters and books once owned by Rong, which not only reflect his academic accumulation over the years, but form the basis for his becoming such a well-rounded scholar in the realm of Chinese cultural traditions.