The Ministry of Culture has recognized traditional structural painting master Hung Ping-shun (洪平順), traditional carving master Lee Ping-kuei (李秉圭) and gezai opera backstage musician Lin Chu-an (林竹岸) as important individuals for the conservation of traditional arts and performances.
Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) on Thursday said that such individuals are recognized when they meet the standards listed in the Cultural Asset Preservation Act (文化資產保存法).
The ministry has recognized 22 individuals across 18 fields as important figures in preserving important cultural performance arts from 2009 to this year, as well as 14 important people in 10 traditional handicrafts during the same period, Cheng said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
The individuals have been tasked with passing on their knowledge of culture and art, and have taught about 61 students in their respective fields of expertise, she said.
Born in 1936, Lin is an expert in backstage music for traditional gezai opera and has seen all the different stages of the opera’s evolution.
Well-versed in all styles of accompanying music, including those utilized in gezai, Hakka traditional performances, traditional opera, hand puppetry and Western music, Lin’s knowledge is important in terms of how culture has evolved across the ages, the ministry said.
Photo: Lee Ping-kuei, courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
Lin’s knowledge of styles and applying them under different circumstances, his knowledge of when and what instrument to use, as well as his exquisite technique were also considered in his nomination, it said.
It is rare for any individual musician to be so well-versed in different styles and to possess not only the knowledge, but also the ability to play all kinds of instruments, it added.
Born in 1946, Hung’s paintings have incorporated themes and styles of various schools, and have since evolved into his own signature style.
Photo: Hung Ping-shun, courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
His works have their roots in the nation’s history and culture, fully reflecting the uniqueness of Taiwanese beliefs, the ministry said.
Hung has all the relevant knowledge and techniques for painting traditional scenes, and he is willing to pass on his knowledge, lending him considerable credibility and weight in Taiwan’s traditional painting field, it said.
Born in 1949, Lee is a fifth-generation descendant of a local Lugang (鹿港) wood-carving family and is well-versed in the techniques required for small carvings.
Heavily influenced by his father, Lee Sung-lin (李松林), Lee Ping-kuei’s works embody both the spirit of the current times, while maintaining unique local characteristics, the ministry said.
Employing both ancient and modern carving techniques, Lee Ping-kuei is also knowledgeable about Sinology, calligraphy and painting, allowing him to fully express his creativity in ways ultimately all his own, and yet blending such individuality seamlessly into a traditional art form, it said.
Lee Ping-kuei has embarked on a project to foster wood carving talent since 2014, and while seeking to pass on what he knows, he continues to seek ways to improve his own work, it said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching