A finely bound book, it contains portraits of 291 leading scientists in China, all prestigious academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Three weeks ago, a round table discussion was held at the Sanlian Bookstore in downtown Beijing.

During the discussion, Hou presented his third photo collection - a classically-bound 16mo album of his photographic portraits of leading Chinese scholars in the fields of politics, economics, law, philosophy, psychology, history, archaeology, literature, education, ethnology, communication and journalism, library science and other liberal arts subjects.

Unlike many of the leading scientists who have become role models for millions of school students, most of the people Hou photographed for his third album are unknown to the general public.

However, "the album offers a photographic history of modern scholarly achievements in China," said Chen Pingyuan, professor of Chinese literature with Peking University.

"The scholars (portrayed in the album) are the ones who have continued the centuries-old scholarly traditions of Chinese culture," said Yang Nianqun, 37, professor of history with Renmin University of China in Beijing. "They have remained academic idols for us young scholars."

Indeed, many of them have become academic landmarks and are still revered.

Critics point out that Hou's third photo album is not only a photographic history of modern scholarly accomplishments. It also allows readers to learn about the scholars as private individuals. During the photographing sessions in the scholars' homes, Hou asked them to follow their usual routines. "I wanted to capture the moment that best reflects their inner thoughts," Hou said.

Hou started his odyssey into the homes of the scholars six years ago.

He traveled across the country mostly at his own personal expense, as he got limited support only three years after he started his journey. Since many of the scholars are unknown even to their neighbors, it often took days and knocking on quite a number of wrong doors before Hou was able to find the old scholars.

Yue Daiyun, professor of literature with Peking University, points out that Hou has also missed a number of leading women scholars whose accomplishments should be recognized in the album. "There are too few women in the album," she said.

Despite the limits, the photo album has been welcomed by people in the academic world.

"These scholars have left a rich cultural and academic legacy for us young researchers and their accomplishments should give us confidence to face the challenges posed by economic globalization and continue the traditions of Chinese culture," said Yang Nianqun.

(China Daily 08/08/2001)