The National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute yesterday presented the National Crafts Achievement Award to wood carver Chen Chi-tsun (陳啟村).
Born in Tainan in 1963, Chen at age 14 began studying traditional religious sculpture under Lin Yi-shui (林依水) of the Fuzhou School, the Ministry of Culture said.
In 1986, he opened the Chi-Tsun Sculpture Studio at the age of 24, it said.
Photo provided by the Ministry of Culture
Chen went on to earn many accolades, receiving second prize at the 1999 National Traditional Crafts Awards, a Da Dun Craftsman Award in 2007 and a Global Chinese Culture and Arts Award in 2010, the ministry said.
Last year, Chen was named a preserver of traditional woodcarving by the ministry’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage, it said.
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) presented the award to Chen at a ceremony at the institute’s Taipei branch.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) were among the attendees.
The National Crafts Achievement Award is the nation’s highest honor in crafts, Lee said, adding that only one recipient is named each year.
The issuing of the award represents the nation’s highest respect for Chen’s dedication to Taiwan’s crafts industry, he said.
Chen’s work not only preserves traditional techniques, but also incorporates elements of modern art, Lee said.
His sculptures can be found not only in temples, but also in the collections of major museums and art galleries in Taiwan and abroad, Lee added.
Receiving the National Crafts Achievement Award is an honor, but also a responsibility, Chen said.
He hopes to help pass down traditional craft skills, he said, adding that he is to donate eight bronze sculptures to the institute.
This year was the award’s 14th edition, the ministry said, adding that the award recognizes people who have shown a lifelong commitment to craftsmanship.
Fourteen craftsmen, who either nominated themselves or were nominated by others, were candidates for this year’s prize, it said, adding that a jury decided the winner.
Wood carving is an important traditional Taiwanese cultural asset, jury member Lin Pao-yao (林保堯) said.
The jury selected Chen for his artistic achievement, for his work in passing on the craft and for his service to the community, he said.
Lin said that Chen’s sculptures could be found throughout southern Taiwan, including at the Wenwu City God Temple and the Zuoying City God Temple in Kaohsiung, and Tainan’s Shuzihjiao Bao-an Temple.
The National Museum of Taiwan History, the Tainan Art Museum and the Matsura Historical Museum in Hirado, Japan, are some of the museums that have collected his works, Lin added.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
RSS