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About Chen Cheng-po (1895–1947)

 

CHEN CHENG-PO was born in Chiayi, Taiwan on February 2nd, 1895. He was born in an interesting time, since several months later, Taiwan became Japan’s first colony. Chen entered the Normal Education Division of Tokyo Fine Arts School in Tokyo in 1924. In 1926, his painting, “Street of Chiayi,” was featured in the seventh Empire Art Exhibition of Japan, which was an extraordinary achievement for a colonized Taiwanese.

 

In 1929, after his graduation, Chen went to Shanghai for a further development of his art career. During his time in Shanghai, Chen not only served as a judge for western style paintings at Shanghai’s First National Art Exhibition, but was also influenced by Chinese painters and Chinese ink paintings. His work, “Lucid Water,” was selected to exhibit at Chicago’s Century of Progress International Exposition.

 

In 1933, due to the pressing tensions before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese war, Chen, as a Japanese citizen, returned to his hometown Chiayi with his family, and became one of the initial founders of the Tai-Yang Art Society, promoting aesthetic education and local Taiwanese culture through artworks in colonial Taiwan.

 

After the WWII ended in 1945, Taiwan was returned to the new China government, Republic of China, led by Kuomintang (KMT) party. One year after, Chen began to serve as a councilman in Chiayi City, which was a benchmark of his political career. However, in 1947, the continuous corruption of KMT government arouse tremendous dissatisfaction from Taiwanese society. Companied by the mutual misunderstanding between the local Taiwanese and the “mainlanders” who came from China, the 228 Incident occurred. From city to county, continuous chaos soon spread to the whole island, where government troops and armed citizens attached each other.

 

Chen, representing the local folks, sought to negotiate with the KMT authority for a peaceful solution. However, he failed to return home, and was executed in front of the public on March 25th at Chiayi Train Station without any official sentence, leaving the journey of an aspired, talented Taiwanese artist an abrupt ending.

 

More about Chen Cheng-po’s activities in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Taiwan

 

Chen Cheng-po: Stories and Artworks (Supported by Academia Sinica Digital Center)

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