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Preserver of Chen Cheng-po’s legacy remembered with citation

  • Date:2020-06-10
Preserver of Chen Cheng-po’s legacy remembered with citation

Chen Chung-kuang, eldest son of Taiwanese master painter Chen Cheng-po, passes away; Minister of Culture presents posthumous presidential citation

Chen Chung-kuang (陳重光, also credited as Chen Tsung-kuang), founding chairman of the Chen Cheng-po Cultural Foundation (陳澄波文化基金會) and the Chiayi City 228 Association (嘉義市二二八關懷協會), passed away on April 10 at the age of 95. On June 10, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te was able to complete the citation process and honor him posthumously, with a certificate from the president presented to his eldest son Chen Li-bo (陳立栢).

As a family member of a victim of the February 28 Incident, the late Mr. Chen was witness to a number of turning points in Taiwan's modern history. Under authoritarian rule, he and his mother Chang Chieh (張捷) risked their lives to hide his father's legacy, finally letting the evocative works of the elder Chen see the light again after those dark days had passed.

Through art education, Chen Chong-kuang continued to promote his father's creative vision built around making one's own culture and environs the subject of one's art, further helping foster a Taiwanese spirit and Taiwanese values in painting. He also worked with members of other families impacted by the February 28 Incident, founding the Chiayi City 228 Association and actively fighting for the rehabilitation of victims and the pursuit of historical truth.

Minister Lee praised Mr. Chen's lifelong commitment to human rights, pursuit of historical truth, and furthering of arts education. With scant concern for the threat to his own life, he protected the works of his father Chen Cheng-po (陳澄波, also credited as Tan Ting-pho) during the authoritarian era, and it is thanks to this selfless effort that these valuable parts of Taiwan's cultural heritage, rich not only with historical memory but also cultural value, can be enjoyed today.