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Interview with the teacher, Jing-Fa Xu
He has served in Taipei for 13 and a half years, and transfered to Jing Siou Elementary School, after teaching for 13 and a half years, and accumulated 25 years of teaching experience. One morning, he was walking on the normal route to school, the sun was shining brightly, a decision popped into his mind, he wanted the personnel director to help him to apply for retirement, he would like to start a new life doing what he wants to do, and be himself. This person who is constantly perusing self-worthiness is the weirdest member of the Nine Eccentrics of Huang-Xi —Mr. Jing-Fa Xu. |
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I was a country boy
“The teacher lived in Pingtung Village, because there was no restroom then, he always squat on the roadside to poop when he was in second grade, and while pooping, there were some pigs walking around him, can you believe it?” When our guest , Mr. Jing-Fa Xu, sat down with us for our interview today, he mentioned this interesting story, and we knew today’s interview will be very special and fantastic. Mr. Jing-Fa Xu is not tall, he has thick eyebrows, large eyes, and always carried a smile on his face, he dressed casual, a T-shirt, jeans, and sandals. You couldn’t figure out that he has retired for nine years due to his gray hair.
Specializing in painting
After graduating from middle school, he entered the Pingtung Teachers College, majored in the subject of Art, specialized in painting, then taught at Taipei after graduating, and continued to study art at National Taiwan Normal University. After four years of studying, he won the second place on calligraphy at the NTNU graduating ceremony.
Special Experience
During the art fair of NTNU, all the works entering the competition must be anonymous, and be approved by five of the nine judges, the creation that Mr. Fa sent , some judges liked it, yet others disapproved, and in the end, it was still unsuccessful.
This story is not finished; if the students got top three on their graduation grades at NTNU, then they can be guaranteed to enter the Wusing Art Association ,after becoming a member, their works can be displayed without approval. Because his calligraphy graduation grade was second , the creation that Mr.Fa previously sent showed up again. He thought :This special experience allowed me to realize what is called “personal style”.
The Origin of Learning Ink wash painting
Mr.Fa specialized in ink wash painting when he was in NTNU, after served in the military, he learned more on it , and started pursuing his interesting.
Begin studied calligraphy seriously
He tried to practiced calligraphy seriously in these ten years after coming to JingXiu Elementary School. His reason for being determined toward learning calligraphy was the conversation with his colleague ,Mr. Jing -bo Yang, Mr. Yang is a hard working person and also likes calligraphy in cursive script. Even though they were good friends, Mr. Fa still did not understand the art of Mr. Yang. Therefore, he went to buy a cursive dictionary , and studied very hard for two years. So the important person who led and inspired him to become a cursive expert is Mr. Jing-bo Yang.
Driftwood is his teacher
Mr. Fa thought no one enlightened him into calligraphy, the teacher did not give him any guidance, they needed to practice by themselves .After growing up, he did not apprentice, he like to pick driftwoods by the sea, and look at the shape of the rocks. He found the beauty of the shapes of driftwoods in the nature, and connected this with his calligraphy. Therefore , driftwoods is his teacher.
He isn’t a copycat
Mr.Fa , he did not like to copy others, although, the experts’ works were excellent. He was wacky and did not like to mimic others. So he created his own way to write and teach. In a nutshell, he figured out how to combine calligraphy with his painting skills.
Served as the president of Taiwan Peace Calligraphy Institute
When he served as the president of Taiwan Peace Calligraphy Institute , he would host exhibitions with Japan annually, included calligraphy program. When he visited Japan, he would always bring calligraphy collections and painting as a gift, in an effort to promote the Chinese Culture.
Nothing can limit him
He never let anything limit him, and created his own style ,he also likes to follow his heart by using different kinds of tools and materials . Once, he was invited to a friend’s house, all of his friends asked him to paint on the curtain, after considering the size of the brush, he decided to use a rag instead of a brush, and completed this challenge with his hands and feet.
The Unity of calligraphy and arts
He expected his art would have the unity of calligraphy and arts, not just a simple black and white writing. He hoped every one of his works to have stories and can express different emotions.
On one exhibition, he showed three pieces of works”Tigers”,”Horses ”and “Horses “, these were inspired from the news reports of politic, and the troubles of people’s lives. He believed that calligraphy art should feature a contemporary feeling and the true meaning of life.
Endless amount of masterpiece
In recent years, he retired but still kept on working, the most important part of his daily life is to stay in the library, Mr.Fa said: “In these two years, I preferred to study Chinese Art and Western Art in the library”
Many professors and masters had different opinions of him, but he didn’t mind any complement or criticism. He believed in “live and learn”.
He preferred to express the modern style in his art, and not the regular style, His unique calligraphy derived from the effects of his life experience. We thought ”His masterpiece will never end”.
Contributing his calligraphy for charity
There was no place for students to study during the exam season, then, he discussed this problem with the masters at Zhulin Temple, the masters resolved the problem by providing an area in the temple. After the masters’ act of kindness, Mr.Fa followed by decorating the place with six pieces of his art. Let the place be filled with the academic atmosphere.
Adaptive Education
In this interview, Mr.Fa mentioned his two children, one likes to read, so he entered National Taiwan University and studied in the UK , but the other child specialized in machinery. He did not push his children into continuing studies, but wanted them to develop according to their own interests. Thus, no matter what you are interested in, follow your heart and insist on your dream. That is real Adaptive Education.
The future of calligraphy
Speaking of the need for elementary school students to learn calligraphy, he thought that it depends on their background and the child's personality. You have to not only be interested in calligraphy, but having a gift is important, too. Regarding his report, we understood that calligraphy education should focus on the promotion of appreciation. Fortunately, we could learn the art at a young age, and brought up our view.
Searching for the value of life
In Mr.Fa’s opinion, to express oneself, show off, and find out the value of life are the meanings of calligraphy. What do you think ? After the interview, we continued to think about it.
“The teacher lived in Pingtung Village, because there was no restroom then, he always squat on the roadside to poop when he was in second grade, and while pooping, there were some pigs walking around him, can you believe it?” When our guest , Mr. Jing-Fa Xu, sat down with us for our interview today, he mentioned this interesting story, and we knew today’s interview will be very special and fantastic. Mr. Jing-Fa Xu is not tall, he has thick eyebrows, large eyes, and always carried a smile on his face, he dressed casual, a T-shirt, jeans, and sandals. You couldn’t figure out that he has retired for nine years due to his gray hair.
Specializing in painting
After graduating from middle school, he entered the Pingtung Teachers College, majored in the subject of Art, specialized in painting, then taught at Taipei after graduating, and continued to study art at National Taiwan Normal University. After four years of studying, he won the second place on calligraphy at the NTNU graduating ceremony.
Special Experience
During the art fair of NTNU, all the works entering the competition must be anonymous, and be approved by five of the nine judges, the creation that Mr. Fa sent , some judges liked it, yet others disapproved, and in the end, it was still unsuccessful.
This story is not finished; if the students got top three on their graduation grades at NTNU, then they can be guaranteed to enter the Wusing Art Association ,after becoming a member, their works can be displayed without approval. Because his calligraphy graduation grade was second , the creation that Mr.Fa previously sent showed up again. He thought :This special experience allowed me to realize what is called “personal style”.
The Origin of Learning Ink wash painting
Mr.Fa specialized in ink wash painting when he was in NTNU, after served in the military, he learned more on it , and started pursuing his interesting.
Begin studied calligraphy seriously
He tried to practiced calligraphy seriously in these ten years after coming to JingXiu Elementary School. His reason for being determined toward learning calligraphy was the conversation with his colleague ,Mr. Jing -bo Yang, Mr. Yang is a hard working person and also likes calligraphy in cursive script. Even though they were good friends, Mr. Fa still did not understand the art of Mr. Yang. Therefore, he went to buy a cursive dictionary , and studied very hard for two years. So the important person who led and inspired him to become a cursive expert is Mr. Jing-bo Yang.
Driftwood is his teacher
Mr. Fa thought no one enlightened him into calligraphy, the teacher did not give him any guidance, they needed to practice by themselves .After growing up, he did not apprentice, he like to pick driftwoods by the sea, and look at the shape of the rocks. He found the beauty of the shapes of driftwoods in the nature, and connected this with his calligraphy. Therefore , driftwoods is his teacher.
He isn’t a copycat
Mr.Fa , he did not like to copy others, although, the experts’ works were excellent. He was wacky and did not like to mimic others. So he created his own way to write and teach. In a nutshell, he figured out how to combine calligraphy with his painting skills.
Served as the president of Taiwan Peace Calligraphy Institute
When he served as the president of Taiwan Peace Calligraphy Institute , he would host exhibitions with Japan annually, included calligraphy program. When he visited Japan, he would always bring calligraphy collections and painting as a gift, in an effort to promote the Chinese Culture.
Nothing can limit him
He never let anything limit him, and created his own style ,he also likes to follow his heart by using different kinds of tools and materials . Once, he was invited to a friend’s house, all of his friends asked him to paint on the curtain, after considering the size of the brush, he decided to use a rag instead of a brush, and completed this challenge with his hands and feet.
The Unity of calligraphy and arts
He expected his art would have the unity of calligraphy and arts, not just a simple black and white writing. He hoped every one of his works to have stories and can express different emotions.
On one exhibition, he showed three pieces of works”Tigers”,”Horses ”and “Horses “, these were inspired from the news reports of politic, and the troubles of people’s lives. He believed that calligraphy art should feature a contemporary feeling and the true meaning of life.
Endless amount of masterpiece
In recent years, he retired but still kept on working, the most important part of his daily life is to stay in the library, Mr.Fa said: “In these two years, I preferred to study Chinese Art and Western Art in the library”
Many professors and masters had different opinions of him, but he didn’t mind any complement or criticism. He believed in “live and learn”.
He preferred to express the modern style in his art, and not the regular style, His unique calligraphy derived from the effects of his life experience. We thought ”His masterpiece will never end”.
Contributing his calligraphy for charity
There was no place for students to study during the exam season, then, he discussed this problem with the masters at Zhulin Temple, the masters resolved the problem by providing an area in the temple. After the masters’ act of kindness, Mr.Fa followed by decorating the place with six pieces of his art. Let the place be filled with the academic atmosphere.
Adaptive Education
In this interview, Mr.Fa mentioned his two children, one likes to read, so he entered National Taiwan University and studied in the UK , but the other child specialized in machinery. He did not push his children into continuing studies, but wanted them to develop according to their own interests. Thus, no matter what you are interested in, follow your heart and insist on your dream. That is real Adaptive Education.
The future of calligraphy
Speaking of the need for elementary school students to learn calligraphy, he thought that it depends on their background and the child's personality. You have to not only be interested in calligraphy, but having a gift is important, too. Regarding his report, we understood that calligraphy education should focus on the promotion of appreciation. Fortunately, we could learn the art at a young age, and brought up our view.
Searching for the value of life
In Mr.Fa’s opinion, to express oneself, show off, and find out the value of life are the meanings of calligraphy. What do you think ? After the interview, we continued to think about it.