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         饒宗頤教授晚年的繪畫創作，荷花可說是最重要的一個主題。饒教授說，他喜歡寫荷花，是因為荷花代表著「負荷」及「擔當」的精神。他認為，近代的中國知識分子應該擔當著繼續發展以及推進中國傳統文化的責任。故此，他的荷花創作皆繪寫著荷花蓬勃茂盛及生生不息的精神。

         「饒宗頤教授荷花系列展」選取饒教授各式各樣的荷花作品，包括他寫的金石荷花、荷花成扇、紈扇、荷譜、敦煌荷花等等。這系列的展覽將成為二零二零年十月到二零二一年上半年的主要展覽活動。我們希望透過這個展覽，除了讓喜好藝術者得以見到饒教授如何把荷花發展為中國花鳥畫的一個重要題材，也可以見到饒教授如何使用各種材料及技法，把中國繪畫推展成世界性繪畫的一個重要部分。

         這個系列展覽，開始於中秋之後，故借用了五四年代作家朱自清一篇有名散文的題目，命名為「荷塘月色」。

Foreword

       In Professor Jao Tsung-i’s later years, “lotus” was the most significant topic in his paintings. Professor Jao said that he liked to paint lotus flowers as they represented the spirit of “bearing” and “shouldering responsibility.” He believed that the development and advancement of traditional Chinese culture should be the responsibility of modern Chinese intellectuals. Therefore, all his lotus paintings depict the spirit of prosperity and vitality.

       The exhibition series features a wide variety of artworks with the topic of lotus flowers by Professor Jao, including epigraphic lotuses, lotus on folding fans, lotus on circular fans, lotus albums, lotus paintings in Dunhuang style, and so on. Through this series, we hope that not only will art lovers be able to see how Professor Jao developed the subject of lotus as an important topic in Chinese bird-and-flower paintings, but also how he used a variety of materials and techniques to promote Chinese paintings and made it an essential part in the art field of the world.

       This series of exhibitions began after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they are thus entitled Moonlight over the Lotus Pond by using the title of the famous prose by Zhu Ziqing during the era of the May Fourth Movement.

荷塘月色系列展覽（一）：紈扇

       荷塘月色系列展覽的第一個主題是饒宗頤教授的荷花紈扇。

       把荷花畫在紈扇上，最早應起源於宋代。在今日存世的宋人紈扇之中，有不少是繪寫荷花。不過，當時的紈扇不是用來搧風，而是要來擋塵，故又名「障面」。到了清代晚期，海派畫家如任伯年、吳昌碩、蒲華等金石畫家都有這一類的作品。但是他們都是偶而為之，不像饒教授是有意識地讓荷花紈扇成為他創作的重要路向。

Exhibition Series of Lotus Paintings by Professor Jao Tsung-i (I): Circular Fans

       The first theme of the exhibition series is Professor Jao Tsung-i’s lotus flowers on circular fans.

       Painting lotus on circular fans dates back to the Song dynasty. Many circular fans from that period of time exist today were painted with lotus flowers. However, circular fans were not used for fanning but keeping dust off the face; therefore, circular fan was also called “face shield.” Until the Qing dynasty, Shanghai School painters such as Ren Yi, Wu Changshuo, Pu Hua, and other Epigraphic artists occasionally produced such works. Professor Jao, nevertheless, consciously made the creation of lotus circular fans a significant part of his artworks.