27th September 2011

While other woods float in water, agarwood is the wood that sinks. In spite of its plain look, agarwood exudes threads of reverberating scent that keeps you company and wipes out hindrances. It is a graceful fragrance that calms the mind and opens up room for enlightenment. In fact, Hong Kong is literally named as the “Fragrant Harbour” as it was one of the significant trading centres for agarwood and incense in the early days, when Aquilaria sinensis was widely cultivated in Hong Kong and then transported to numerous Chinese provinces, Southeast Asia as well as Arabia along with other incense and spices. The exhibition “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour with 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts”, jointly presented by Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (the LCSD), and sponsored by Champion Technology Group, Kantone, Digital Hong Kong, A Better Tomorrow, Chinese Literature Foundation and World Cultural Relics Protection Foundation, will be held at Hong Kong City Hall Low Block Exhibition Hall from 13^th to 30^th October 2011. The public will be inspired with an aura of spirituality from hundreds of agarwood carvings and related artifacts. As a programme of the World Cultures Festival 2011 presented by the LCSD, the exhibition also echoes the theme of “Enchanting Arts of Asia”.

The use of agarwood has a long history and the resinous wood has multiple applications in various fields. Not only did the ancient Chinese use it for religious offerings, medicare and cure, purification of the interior and meeting friends, other ancient civilizations across the world were also intertwined with this incense wood. It was deemed a superior incense in Japanese Kodo (incense ceremony) as well as in Egyptian mummification and perfuming in the Middle East. Moreover, its unique resinous texture has given carvers a hard time, who produced the most wonderful masterworks with their deftest hands. Sizable agarwood statues, furniture and ornaments are especially precious due to the rarity of large agarwood pieces. Showcasing agarwood of different species and grades around the world – including Kinam, which is reputed as “the Diamond of Plants” – along with agarwood crafts of all sizes, it is sure enough that the exhibition will bring an eye-opening experience to visitors.

The intense aroma of agarwood has endowed it with a strong religious aura. Not only do Buddhists and Taoists regard it as a sacred incense capable of traversing “the Three Worlds”, agarwood and its oil have also been used in the history of Christianity as well as in Islamic customs. The audience will appreciate the status of the scented wood in faiths via plentiful “Aloes of Sacred Scripture and related artifacts” such as Buddhist statues, incense utensils and incense oils, including both the giant Sakyamuni statue and the world's largest pair of “Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara” in aloe.

All these rare and invaluable exhibits vest in the private collection of connoisseur and chair of Champion Technology Group, Dr. Paul Kan. On top of his passion for art and culture, Dr. Kan also seeks life inspiration and ways of attaining peace and harmony through such appreciation. He compares agarwood to life: “A young agarwood has very limited or even no fragrance at all. When a piece of agarwood goes under fire, its fragrance takes wing and radiates. Similarly, someone going through a slow process of lifetime learning may remain largely unnoticed. Yet, the potential is gradually realized. It takes hundreds of years for a piece of agarwood to sublime, which is parallel to the time, effort and patience we have to take to complete our lessons. The taller an agarwood tree is, the deeper its roots are. Each agarwood piece has its own fragrance and shape, which differs from one another – a metaphor that we all have our lessons to learn; the lessons themselves as well as the results achieved are different. When the tree completely rots, it turns into the priceless incense, and when we complete our lessons, our physical body decays but the spirit sublimes.”

The exhibition “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour with 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts” belongs to the “Peace and Harmony” series. Previous exhibitions include “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra Avalokitesvara from Tibet, China, with 108 pieces of Avalokitesvara and related artifacts” in 2007, followed by “Peace and Harmony: When East Meets West – a new perspective on Matisse from Dunhuang” and “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of Manjusri enshrining the Wisdom of China with 108 pieces of Manjusri and Related Artifacts” in 2009. “Peace and Harmony” has remained the core message for cultural exchange and integration as a means to reach utopia.

A 300-page Commemorative Journal, “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour: A Collection of 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts”, is published to mark the launch of the exhibition. Featuring impressive images and detailed explanations of the exhibits, it also expounds the species and functions of agarwood as well as related arts and cultures, the history and development of various incense and spices and their respective products, and Hong Kong's special tie with agarwood. A comprehensive account of “scent” and related stories is offered for the reader's appreciation of the wisdom of civilization.

“Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour with 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts” exhibition

Exhibition Period:
　　　13^th - 30^th October, 2011
Time:
　　　10:00am to 8:00pm (13^th – 29^th October 2011),
　　　10:00am to 6:00pm (30^th October 2011)
Venue:
　　　Hong Kong City Hall Low Block Exhibition Hall

Admission tickets are available for free distribution. Please kindly refer to the website of “Peace and Harmony”: www.xiang-he.org for details or reach the 24-hour hotline 2898 6683 (Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation).

Dr. Paul Kan CBE, Com OSSI, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, SBS, JP

Dr. Paul Kan is the Founder and Chair of three information technology companies (Champion Technology Holdings Limited, Kantone Holdings Limited, and DIGITALHONGKONG.COM) which are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Dr. Kan is also Chair of A Better Tomorrow; Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation; and World Cultural Relics Protection Foundation. He is a fervent supporter of the information technology industry and is currently Chairman of Hong Kong IT Alliance and Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Information Technology Industry Council. As an aficionado and connoisseur of art and culture, Dr. Kan is the Patron of International Foundation for Art Research; Member of Arts and Treasures Evaluation Committee, Ministry of Culture, China; and Executive Committee Member of Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation. Dr. Kan's contribution to the development of technology, arts and culture has received worldwide recognition. He has been appointed a Justice of the Peace by the Government of the HKSAR in 2006; awarded Commander of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2006; Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta Italiana (Comm OSSI) by the Italian Prime Minister Hon. Romano Prodi in 2006; Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French Government in 2007; and Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) by the Government of the HKSAR in 2009. In 2011, he was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Hungary in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region.

About agarwood

Agarwood is known by various names in different cultures. In addition to “agarwood”, “agar”, “aloeswood”, “aloes”, “aloewood” and “aloe” in English, it is known as “chenxiang”, “chenshuixiang” and “shuichenxiang” in Chinese, “aguru” in Sanskrit, “oud” in Arabic and “gaharu” in Indonesian. As an extremely rare and precious aromatic natural resource, agarwood has won the epithet of “the King of Incenses”. The fragrance of agarwood mainly comes from aloewood oil (or agarwood resin). According to the perspective of current botany, agarwood is the resinous heartwood that forms in four families of trees, namely Thymelaeaceae (mainly in the genus Aquilaria), Burseraceae, Lauraceae and Euphorbiaceae. When a tree is infected by fungi caused by certain external factors, resulting in pathological transformation, it begins to produce and accumulate aromatic resin in response to such an attack. Agarwood is named “chenxiang” – which literally means “sinking incense” – in Chinese because some agarwood is so dense and hard that it sinks in water. Superior agarwood is very often a product of over a hundred years, among which Kinam is the best. Except for the supreme ones, the scent of agarwood is usually not noticeable under normal circumstances, but once the wood is burnt, an intense aroma will emit and linger over a long period. Such fragrance varies according to numerous factors including tree types, places of origin, climate, and the quality of water and soil.

“Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour with 108 Aloes of Sacred Scripture and Related Artifacts” exhibition Website: www.xiang-he.org

Personal website of Dr. Paul Kan: www.paulkan.com

“World Cultures Festival 2011 – Enchanting Arts of Asia” Website: www.worldfestival.gov.hk