The Ministry of Culture announced 3 new additions to the nation's "National Living Treasures" register — a list of individuals or groups who embody important cultural properties and skills — on Oct. 18.
Hung Ping-shun (洪平順), a decorative painter of traditional architecture, was born in 1946 in Shuilin Township, Yunlin County. In a career spanning more than half a century, Hung has mastered the traditional aesthetics of painting door gods that guard the entry way, stone walls with intricate relief murals, sculptural elements that embellish wooden ceiling beams, and other ornamental features of traditional Taiwanese architecture.
He is now one of the foremost authorities on the construction and preservation of traditional temple embellishments, with a spectrum of skills that encompass on-site planning, blueprint sketching, color coordinating, and traditional painting. These skills have been selflessly passed onto a new generation of apprentices, many of whom are now independently certified and training their own teams of temple painters.
Li Ping-kuei (李秉圭), the fifth in his family line of ornamental craftsmen, was born in 1949 in Lukang Township, Changhua County. Through innumerable times going through the process from composition and blocking to carving and polishing, he has developed his own unique style that both preserves the essence of traditional carving and integrates modern ideas.
As an important preserver of the art of ornamental wood carving, Li's sculptures also reflect a far-reaching knowledge of classic Chinese literature, history, and art. The application of the elegance of traditional painting to woodcarving highlights the vision of his pieces, and it is this thoughtful perspective that he seeks to pass on by holding master classes and workshops.
Lin Zhu-an (林竹岸), who performs the backstage music that accompanies Taiwanese opera performances, was born in 1936 in Yuanchang Township, Yunlin County. The self-taught musician has been devoted to Taiwanese opera his entire life and is well-versed in creating the different atmospheres that accompany ticketed indoor performances, rowdy ware-peddling street shows, radio broadcasts of operatic tales, and temple festivals dedicated to deity worship.
Although Lin plays about a dozen traditional string and reed instruments, he has a special spot for the tuā-kóng-hiân (大廣弦), a Chinese bowed two-string musical instrument that is held on the lap and played upright, and the khak-á-hiân (殼仔弦), a two-stringed fiddle from the huqin family that is traditionally constructed with a coconut body. He remains active today, performing with his Minchuan Gezaixi Opera Troupe for temples in Taipei and New Taipei.
Akin to the intangible cultural heritage program by UNESCO, Taiwan's "National Living Treasures” designation recognizes living artists and important groups for their role in preserving the nation's cultural heritage. Since 2009, 36 individuals have received the coveted title — 22 for performing arts, and 14 for traditional crafts.