The 3,000-year-old Yi’Jing
– Book
of Changes, the oldest and most influential of the Chinese classics, is
unquestionably one of the most important books in world literature. The central
concept of the Yi’Jing is “Heaven and Humanity as One”. It
delineates the principles behind how man can live in harmony with nature by
emulating the precepts of heaven and earth. This idea became the cornerstone of
China’s traditional culture, the root source of all
branches of knowledge and the most unique feature of Chinese civilization. From
its original text of about 4,900 characters emerged the two main pillars of
Chinese philosophy – Confucianism and Taoism.
Although it began life as a book of oracles, and still
remains a remarkable tool for divination, the Yi’Jing
has evolved over the long years of Chinese history into primarily a book of
wisdom. For more than 25 centuries Chinese emperors, statesmen and scholars
have consulted the book as a standard resource on matters ranging from
statecraft, warfare, business, to culture, religion and personal relationships.
Basil Pao began his photographic career in 1980 upon
his return to Hong Kong after ten years in the United States, where he was art
director for Atlantic Records and Album Graphics Inc. in New York, and Warner
Brothers Records in Los Angeles. His work during that time included designing
the book and graphics for the Monty Python film Life of Brian, where he first
worked with Michael Palin. They have since collaborated on 11 illustrated books
based on the BBC travel series Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Hemingway Adventure,
Sahara, Himalaya, New Europe and Brazil. He is also the author of Hands, China
Revealed and The Universal Scream, which was launched on 12 December 2013 to
commemorate the 150th anniversary of Edvard Munch’s
birthday. His exhibition catalogues include Yi’Jing-Book
of Changes, which accompanied The Great Walls of China Series exhibition;
Travels with Michael Palin for his exhibitions at the Fox Talbot Museum in
Wiltshire and the Royal Geographical Society in London; and Around the World in
8000 Days for the exhibition at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. His corporate
work includes the limited-edition books A Tale of Two Ventures for Wah Kwong
Maritime Transport; AMAN, Bhutan and AMAN2 for Amanresorts; OM-Ordinary
Moments, CMYK-China, Shan Shui-Mountain-Water, Blazing Shadows-A World of Black
& Light for Printer Trento and his latest OM 2 -Ordinary Moments+. Basil’s
travel essays and other assignments, including his photography for Bernardo
Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor and Little Buddha, have appeared
in publications and exhibitions all around the world.
