Sincerely Yours: Personal Letters from Tsinghua Scholars offers an intimate view into the thoughts and feelings of leading Chinese scholars of the twentieth century. First presented at the new Tsinghua University Art Museum, this unique exhibition of original, hand-written documents was restaged by City University for the Hong Kong public. This collection of unpublished material traces the intellectual development of China in the 20th century, and enables one to appreciate, first-hand, these scholars’ contribution to the different branches of the arts and sciences. Even though they are no longer with us, the surviving letters, manuscripts, and teaching materials provide wonderful glimpses into their private thoughts and emotions, conjuring up the writer as a whole person.

On the occasion of this exhibition, the School of Creative Media at City University produced two new media installations. One allows exhibition visitors to create their own letters using the hand-written words of the scholars. The other, namely the First-person Painter, shows a performance by the acclaimed contemporary calligrapher, Professor Wang Dongling, where a tiny video camera attached to his brush provides an immersive close-up of the dynamic creation of each of his painted characters.