The following is a letter Pao printed out on January 24, 2011 expressing his last wishes regarding his tombstone:

Mr He..... Mr Zhao Shiho

Amid my work and my living, I am conscious on the ever approaching dusk of my life. I wish to request to you in writing some details, the contents of which I have expressed to you on several occasions.

I am American, I was Chinese. I love both countries, and I am grateful to them for my growth and my education. I am dedicating my meager work to them. I roamed many lands, but I have found only one Lijiang, my eternal home. On this account, I wish to divide my earthly remained ash into three parts: one part in the Lijiang family cemetery, near the grave of my mother; she gave me love. The second part in Jade Dragon Pond, near the grave of my uncle; he taught me intelligence. The third part I leave to my wife, my children, and my grandchildren.

In the rectangular shaped cemetery of my uncle donated by the benevolent Lijiang people, I beg them to extend this benevolence to me; in this rectangle, on the corner facing the Lijiang plane on the bottom side, and west on left side, to place my grave.

The grave will be a slab made of semifinished cement formed into a tripode, a three dimensional structure--three dimensions being the ultimate limit, four dimensions leaves for imagination.

On my grave, on the inscription on the front face, please write "Son of Naxi" in Naxi characters vertically. Below that, horizontally, start with my milk name "Ah Zhonxia" in Naxi characters, followed by my name used in schools and adulthood, "Fang Baoxian" in Chinese and "Paul" in English. On the right side facing East, The Orient, inscribe "In Memoriam", "deine Sefi" in German script, my children and grandchildren and all following on the next line: my brother Baojian and sister (Renqi). Next line: Aiqi, Yixian, and Fuqi (my Uncle's). On the left face place a sketch of the Lijiang snow mountain and the Saalfelden snow mountain part of the Alps. They will be carried by the Golden Sand River, a river flow by day followed by night.

Such is my epitaph

I abhore elaboration, my modesty allows me only to say:

Adieu (a Dieux)


all sketchs and drawings by Maria, the architecture with Jim and Greg.
all Chinese characters by my friend He Chigan (lost his arms).
translation from English to Chinese by our friend Yu."