Interview with Mr. Hong-liang Chuang, the President of NPH
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He is not tall but always energetic. He has a large, square face but a gentle demeanor. Mr. Hong-liang Chuang, a prominent educationist in recent years, is the secretary general of Da Der Commercial and Technical Vocational School in Changhua County and the president of NPH. |
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Solid Writing Foundation
When he was a child, he frequently visited Nan Yao Temple, near his home, to study engraved inscriptions and learned Chinese calligraphy. He received a copybook of Thousand Character Classic in Japanese cursive and was very interested in calligraphy. In high school, he took cursive lessons from a famous Chinese calligrapher, Mr. You-chang Wang, and built a solid foundation in Chinese calligraphy.
Receiving the President’s Award in His First Contest
In high school, he was the most talented in Chinese calligraphy class. He received the President’s Award in the Daito Calligraphy Alliance in 1978, which was his first time participating in a contest. His calligraphy works incorporate the elements of Wang Xizhi’s elegance, Huaisu’s freedom, and Yu Youren’ vigor. It has been his goal to incorporate these three persons’ strengths into his work and create his own personal style.
Writing Chinese Calligraphy to Reduce Homesickness
While studying in the United States, he was very homesick, so he solved homesickness with Chinese calligraphy. Since he was the president of the Student Association, he often held cultural exchange activities to teach Chinese characters, using oracle bone script and radicles, to foreign students. The chief librarian, a Taiwanese student, of the Far Eastern Library was fond of Chinese calligraphy, so he collected many inscription copybooks for calligraphy and calligraphic works from Japan and China. At that time, during the martial law period, these books were banned in Taiwan. He was grateful for being able to see the famous inscriptions and rubbings in the United States.
Calligraphy, Chinese Martial Arts, and Acupuncture
In 1985, he held a personal calligraphy exhibition in San Diego. Many foreign friends asked him: “Besides Chinese calligraphy, can you perform Chinese martial arts too? Can you also do acupuncture?” This interesting past is still unforgettable for him.
The Stolen Work
One of his works displayed in Taichung Cultural Center was stolen. He intentionally used all “faulty strokes” to write the verse “Life cannot be perfect, but the conscience can be clear.” on the work. It means to get up and succeed after failing. He wrote the characters with unacceptable faulty strokes on purpose and was very proud of the idea. However, the work was stolen after the exhibition, and he never forgot it.
Incorporating Calligraphy into Pottery Works
He also likes to study pottery techniques and has joined a number of Japanese pottery exhibitions. He learned pottery for the hope of incorporating calligraphy into pottery artworks. He tries to make three-dimensional calligraphy, so that it can display different views with changing shadows from various angles under sunlight.
Excellent Ink Wine
He likes to have desserts in the creative process. Sometimes, he adds wine in the ink, and then he drinks the mix while writing calligraphy in it. The volatile mix makes him write more fluently!
Meeting a Literary Friend
An old man, after seeing Mr. Chuang’s works, was deeply touched and said: “I didn’t know today’s young people could write such an excellent calligraphy.” He, a senior calligrapher, felt sad that the new generation could not write as well as the old generation. Their meeting encouraged him to work harder in order to pass down the culture.
Training Program for Tour Guides
In an exhibition, a tour guide couldn’t explain the artworks and even criticized them for looking ugly. However, a master of Chinese calligraphy is capable of bringing back their writings to the original purity and simplicity. The more powerful their techniques are, the simpler their writings can be. After all, the appreciative and perceptive senses require training. After the predicament, he started to plan a professional training program for tour guides.
Complementing One Another
His family is very supportive of his interest in calligraphy. Although they do not write Chinese calligraphy, they love arts. Chinese calligraphy helps train a person’s concentration, and interest helps grow a person’s personality and expertise. Previously, he didn’t like to talk. In order to introduce Chinese calligraphy to others, he started to practice and grow his communication skills. Today, he talks a lot when talking about Chinese calligraphy. He said:” If you wanted to learn a hobby, you would find a way to dig out more information about it, so learning a hobby and related information can complement one another to generate a good result that we can expect from the very beginning.”
Expectations for NPH
He said humbly: “Generation by generation, everyone takes turns in the position of president of NPH. It has nothing to do with personal capabilities.” He thinks, if possible, frequently holding exhibitions in primary and middle schools will help Chinese calligraphic art develop thoroughly, which is also his expectation. “Primary schools should start with the small seal script or official script when teaching Chinese calligraphy. The small seal script, having the least strokes, is the easiest writing, but its font is hard to recognize. Thus, schools should start with teaching the official script instead of the regular script, which is very frustrating to students.” That is his opinion. Mainland China has added Chinese calligraphy into their curriculum, which means they have stressed the importance of Chinese calligraphy. Mr. Chuang expects that he himself and NPH will never be absent from the events of Chinese calligraphy.
When he was a child, he frequently visited Nan Yao Temple, near his home, to study engraved inscriptions and learned Chinese calligraphy. He received a copybook of Thousand Character Classic in Japanese cursive and was very interested in calligraphy. In high school, he took cursive lessons from a famous Chinese calligrapher, Mr. You-chang Wang, and built a solid foundation in Chinese calligraphy.
Receiving the President’s Award in His First Contest
In high school, he was the most talented in Chinese calligraphy class. He received the President’s Award in the Daito Calligraphy Alliance in 1978, which was his first time participating in a contest. His calligraphy works incorporate the elements of Wang Xizhi’s elegance, Huaisu’s freedom, and Yu Youren’ vigor. It has been his goal to incorporate these three persons’ strengths into his work and create his own personal style.
Writing Chinese Calligraphy to Reduce Homesickness
While studying in the United States, he was very homesick, so he solved homesickness with Chinese calligraphy. Since he was the president of the Student Association, he often held cultural exchange activities to teach Chinese characters, using oracle bone script and radicles, to foreign students. The chief librarian, a Taiwanese student, of the Far Eastern Library was fond of Chinese calligraphy, so he collected many inscription copybooks for calligraphy and calligraphic works from Japan and China. At that time, during the martial law period, these books were banned in Taiwan. He was grateful for being able to see the famous inscriptions and rubbings in the United States.
Calligraphy, Chinese Martial Arts, and Acupuncture
In 1985, he held a personal calligraphy exhibition in San Diego. Many foreign friends asked him: “Besides Chinese calligraphy, can you perform Chinese martial arts too? Can you also do acupuncture?” This interesting past is still unforgettable for him.
The Stolen Work
One of his works displayed in Taichung Cultural Center was stolen. He intentionally used all “faulty strokes” to write the verse “Life cannot be perfect, but the conscience can be clear.” on the work. It means to get up and succeed after failing. He wrote the characters with unacceptable faulty strokes on purpose and was very proud of the idea. However, the work was stolen after the exhibition, and he never forgot it.
Incorporating Calligraphy into Pottery Works
He also likes to study pottery techniques and has joined a number of Japanese pottery exhibitions. He learned pottery for the hope of incorporating calligraphy into pottery artworks. He tries to make three-dimensional calligraphy, so that it can display different views with changing shadows from various angles under sunlight.
Excellent Ink Wine
He likes to have desserts in the creative process. Sometimes, he adds wine in the ink, and then he drinks the mix while writing calligraphy in it. The volatile mix makes him write more fluently!
Meeting a Literary Friend
An old man, after seeing Mr. Chuang’s works, was deeply touched and said: “I didn’t know today’s young people could write such an excellent calligraphy.” He, a senior calligrapher, felt sad that the new generation could not write as well as the old generation. Their meeting encouraged him to work harder in order to pass down the culture.
Training Program for Tour Guides
In an exhibition, a tour guide couldn’t explain the artworks and even criticized them for looking ugly. However, a master of Chinese calligraphy is capable of bringing back their writings to the original purity and simplicity. The more powerful their techniques are, the simpler their writings can be. After all, the appreciative and perceptive senses require training. After the predicament, he started to plan a professional training program for tour guides.
Complementing One Another
His family is very supportive of his interest in calligraphy. Although they do not write Chinese calligraphy, they love arts. Chinese calligraphy helps train a person’s concentration, and interest helps grow a person’s personality and expertise. Previously, he didn’t like to talk. In order to introduce Chinese calligraphy to others, he started to practice and grow his communication skills. Today, he talks a lot when talking about Chinese calligraphy. He said:” If you wanted to learn a hobby, you would find a way to dig out more information about it, so learning a hobby and related information can complement one another to generate a good result that we can expect from the very beginning.”
Expectations for NPH
He said humbly: “Generation by generation, everyone takes turns in the position of president of NPH. It has nothing to do with personal capabilities.” He thinks, if possible, frequently holding exhibitions in primary and middle schools will help Chinese calligraphic art develop thoroughly, which is also his expectation. “Primary schools should start with the small seal script or official script when teaching Chinese calligraphy. The small seal script, having the least strokes, is the easiest writing, but its font is hard to recognize. Thus, schools should start with teaching the official script instead of the regular script, which is very frustrating to students.” That is his opinion. Mainland China has added Chinese calligraphy into their curriculum, which means they have stressed the importance of Chinese calligraphy. Mr. Chuang expects that he himself and NPH will never be absent from the events of Chinese calligraphy.