Chinese Name: 陳春明
Born: 1941
Died: Feb. 27, 2024
Birthplace: Taichung City (Central Taiwan)
Did You Know That…?
Chen Chun-ming was registered by the Taichung City Government as a preserver of traditional bamboo carving in 2013.
Chen Chun-ming, born in 1941, started to learn wood carving at the age of ten following in the footsteps of his father Chen Cheng-chi (陳正氣). When he matured as a craftsman, both he and his father decided to take a turn in researching bamboo, a material twenty times harder than wood. This decision led him to a 70-year-long career in bamboo creation, and his works stand out for their aesthetic and cultural significance that fuses tradition and modernity. The themes of Chen’s creations encompass religion, folk culture, and classical literature. They often portray dragons and phoenixes as depicted in legends, as well as young shepherds and cows in rural villages, and plants and animals in nature.
For his remarkable contributions, Chen was honored with the National Award for Arts in 1980. In 2013, he was recognized by the Taichung City Government as a preserver of traditional bamboo carving. Traditional bamboo carving is one of Taiwan’s unique cultural heritage, and Chen has tirelessly contributed to its promotion and preservation. He was one the most outstanding craftsmen in the country who solidified the foundation for traditional crafts’ transmission.
Bamboo carving has a long tradition, stemming from ancient literati who inscribed poems, paintings, or seals on bamboo, which were later valued as artistic works. Taiwan’s climate is conducive to the growth of bamboo, and bamboo art and bamboo-made products were once highly popular in the country. A master bamboo carver like Chen Chun-ming has to fully understand the characteristics of bamboo to make truly beautiful bamboo creations.