If you ever have a chance to meet Professor Jao Tsung-I, be prepared for a handshake so firm that your palm might feel a little numb afterwards.
Conversation might not be easy because of his deteriorating hearing. But that very firm handshake - the result of daily wielding a brush for calligraphy and painting - tells you that the 95-year-old scholar is still in great spirits and full of energy. He spends much of that energy on scholarship, through which he communicates with his admirers and lovers of Chinese culture around the world.
'Despite his age, Professor Jao still lives with the pure heart of a newborn baby. He focuses on his studies, in which he finds true happiness. If you ask him a question, he would do his research and find out the answer for you,' says Professor Lee Chack-fan, director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at the University of Hong Kong.
Jao, the master of sinology or 'Hua studies' - the term he prefers - yesterday attended the opening of the first phase of the Jao Tsung-I Academy, at the former Lai Chi Kok Hospital complex. 'The facility will be used for the promotion of Chinese art and cultural activities, for the benefit and enjoyment of our community at large,' Lee said.
'There will be a permanent exhibition of Professor Jao's calligraphy, paintings and scholarly achievements. The facility will feature a variety of cultural programmes and cultural courses, all offered in a very nice and tranquil Chinese garden setting.'
The academy, together with the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole - a scholarly research centre dedicated to Chinese art and culture that was founded in 2003 - would be 'complementary partners in the advancement of Chinese art and culture', Lee said.