The New Taipei City Government has recognized an artisan who has been restoring statues of deities for more than three decades for his contributions to cultural preservation.
Chin Ming-wei (金明偉), 52, has restored more than 10,000 statues of deities over the past 30 years, including those at Taipei’s Xiahai City God Temple and New Taipei City’s Baohe Temple in Lujhou District (蘆洲).
Last year, he received a plaque from a temple that named him the “god of healing” and received an award from the New Taipei City Government for his contributions to the preservation of intangible culture.
Photo courtesy of Chin Ming-wei
“When I entered junior-high school I had no interest in studies,” Chin said on Jan. 30. “I was at a store for Buddhist implements in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) when my mother suggested that I learn statue restoration from the artist working at the store.”
Chin studied as an apprentice with the store’s artist for three years, he said, adding that the first statue he restored on his own was one of the Taoist deity Guanze Zunwang (廣澤尊王) that he bought in Changhua County’s Lugang Township (鹿港).
“The face of the statue was eaten by moths. I worked on it for two months, and I was moved by the results. Since then, I have been immersed in the art,” he said. “Thirty years have gone by in the blink of an eye.”
Chin has worked with temples in Taipei and New Taipei City, and between 1995 and 1997 he worked for the Lin Family Mansion and Garden (林本源園邸) in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), restoring relics on the property.
Chin became associated with Xiahai City God Temple after he helped it restore an ancient plaque that was badly damaged by termites.
“The most important thing when it comes to the restoration of religious statues is that you must retain the original appearance. You cannot have it look new after restoration,” he said. “The statue must show traces of the years it has been through. Do not innovate, follow the footsteps of the artists who came before you.”
Restoring a statue is like curing it of a disease, he said, adding that he hangs an incense bag on the statue before beginning restoration.
Chin said he was once cured of back pain after restoring a statue from a doctor’s collection.
The art of statue restoration has been in decline since the 1990s, when China began mass producing statues and restoring them at low cost.
“In the time it would take a Taiwanese artist to restore one statue, China could make 10 to 20 replacement statues,” he said. “Lots of Taiwanese artists moved on to other fields.”
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