A Changhua County retiree has traveled around the nation to take photographs of thousands of examples of cultural heritage, including historical sites and folk customs, which have been made available for use by government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
Amateur photographer Chao Shouyen (趙守彥), 58, said he had previously photographed the cultural heritage of his native region — such as Changhua’s Wude Temple (武德殿) — as a hobby.
When he turned his interest to photographing other examples of cultural heritage in Taiwan, he realized that many sites require special dispensation or arrangements for access, so he filed a formal request with the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Chao said, adding that his project received official support after a review by Chen Chia-jui (陳嘉瑞), a section chief at the agency.
Photo courtesy of Chao Shou-yen
Over five years of travel and shooting, he photographed 2,030 examples of tangible culture and about 80 percent of all intangible cultural heritage elements in the nation, Chao said, adding that he transferred an estimated 20,000 photographs to the ministry.
Asked why he undertook the project, Chao said he has had a passion for photography since he was a student, but set that dream aside in order to raise a family.
After 13 years working at a hardware company that he cofounded, Chao decided that it was time to pursue his dream and retired from his post as the company’s general manager.
According to Chao, he traveled around the world taking photographs, but decided to redirect his interest to Taiwan in 2011 after a conversation with a friend, in which he found to his embarrassment that he did not know whether Wulai (烏來) is in New Taipei City’s north or south.
“I told my friend that Wulai is in northern New Taipei City, but he immediately corrected me. I realized then that, while I had traveled all over the world, I was ignorant about my own nation, where I was born and raised,” he said.
Photographing a cultural heritage requires a lot of research, such as reading, taking classes and consulting historians and experts, Chao said, naming Lin Mao-hsien (林茂賢), Huang Wen-po (黃文博) and Chien Shih-lang (簡史朗) as experts who gave him special help and guidance in the project.
The project also involved a significant amount of physical work, he said.
For example, as part of his research on the Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage (大甲媽祖繞境進香), Chao followed the procession on bicycle to prepare to photograph it two years later.
According to Chao, his most memorable experience of the project was taking photographs of a remote lighthouse on Kinmen County’s Wuchiu Islands (烏坵), where he was momentarily stranded.
When he arrived on the islands by ferry, Chiu was told that he had a two-hour window to take photographs.
However, he had barely begun when he was informed that the tide that day had cut that period to 15 minutes. After rushing to take photographs, Chiu hurriedly returned to the dock, only to see the ferry leaving without him.
Troops garrisoned on the island transported him to the ferry on a small boat, allowing him to return home, Chao said.
Taking photographs of a religious procession in Tainan’s Sigang District (西港) was made memorable by a young girl who, along with other local residents, volunteered to be his model, he said. Despite heavy rain, the girl remained dedicated to the task.
Moved by her dedication, Chao said he decided to risk damaging his camera in the rain and finished the shoot.
Chao said he is deeply impressed by Taiwan’s “abundant and exquisite” cultural heritage, adding that his only regret was that he “did not retire earlier” to enjoy them.
“I am doing my bit for society by allowing nonprofit organizations to use my photographs without copyright fees, and I hope more people will fall in love with Taiwan through them,” Chao said.
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