Chinese Name: 蘇榮仁
Born: 1966
Place of Birth: Kaohsiung (Southern Taiwan)
Did You Know That…?
Su Rong-ren is recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a master craftsman of monument restoration, while the Kaohsiung City Government lists him as the preserver of traditional painting, one of the traditional crafts.
Born and growing up in Kaohsiung, Su Rong-ren has been passionate about painting ever since he was a teen. Encouraged by his school teacher, he participated and won in several competitions. After finishing junior high school, he was supported by his father and recommended by his teacher to study painting in Tainan City. This paved the way for his 50-year art career. After entering the field of painting, Su continued to learn from many teachers. He was taught ink painting by professor Tsai Mao-sung (蔡茂松), learned to paint flowers and birds from professor Huang Ming-hsien (黃明賢), and sharpened skills of sketching with artist Cheng Hung-chang (鄭宏章). Su delved into different painting techniques, and he fused them into traditional temple paintings.
The most challenging part of being a temple painter is the requirement to be entirely familiar with Chinese mythology, folk legends, and histories. This is so that the painter can accurately portray the gestures and expressions of the gods and historical figures. In Su’s opinion, to master temple painting, one must possess the knowledge of ink wash painting, sketching, and chromatics.
Apart from temple painting, Su currently works on the temple restoration. He said that the focus of the restoration is to restore the ancient value and lengthen the lives of the historical buildings. For him, the most important mission as a restorer of temples is to pass his knowledge to future generations. Thus, he teaches in school whenever he can, to pass the torch of temple painting to the young mentees.
(Photo credit: 蘇靖倫)