Following the March presidential election, Professor Tchen Yu-chiou took advantage of the spring break to accompany her 94 year-old father, the painter Chen Hui-kun, on a trip to catch the cherry blossom season in Japan. Whenever a major art exhibition is held in Taiwan, such as the recent Leonardo da Vinci show at the National Museum of History, Tchen can be seen at her father's side. Influenced by her father, this filial daughter fell in love with art from a young age, while also displaying her talents for the piano and distinguishing herself as a top student throughout her school years. After testing into Taipei First Girls' High School and winning admission to the accelerated class, she admitted to her father that she was interested in the field of music. Applauding her determination at such a young age, Chen Hui-kun encouraged her, and she won a Ministry of Education scholarship to go to Europe to immerse herself in piano studies.
Romance with the Snowy Egret
"To study music, one must suffer. After just one day without practicing your hands get sluggish," says Tchen Yu-chiou. Tchen was deeply affected by her father's passion for painting. Only recently, at the age of 92, did the old artist put down his brush. As a young girl, whenever her older sister and younger brother went out to play, Tchen stayed inside to practice piano. In 1975, Tchen was graduated from the National Institute of Music in Paris with highest honors. At the time, her dream was to become a world-class concert pianist. That is, until she met Lu Hsiu-yi, who had also gone to Europe for advanced study. Meeting Lu turned Tchen's life in a completely different direction. "Lu Hsiu-yi said France could do with or without me, but if we went back to Taiwan, as long as we worked hard our efforts would help our country," Tchen recalls.
Upon returning to Taiwan, Lu Hsiu-yi taught at university and was considered a future star among Kuomintang scholars. Yet before long Lu was imprisoned, a victim of the White Terror. For three years, Tchen dragged her three children to the prison to visit her husband. For two years after his release from prison, Lu Hsiu-yi was unable to find employment, putting the burden on Tchen to bring home the family's bacon. The applause she won for her performances on the stage actually seemed to rankle Lu Hsiu-yi, himself a very talented individual. Perhaps it was the willpower that she had applied to her piano studies from a young age that she drew upon to survive this period.
Lu Hsiu-yi became one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986, commencing his political career. Tchen accompanied Lu everywhere, helping him with administrative work and contacts with the public, and helping take her out of the ivory tower of the arts. Applying her expertise, Tchen helped Lu Hsiu-yi work toward his ideals of cultural "localization" (preservation and promotion of Taiwanese cultural assets), steering Taiwan toward a more Taiwan-centered culture.
In 1993, the couple established the Snowy Egret Foundation for Culture and Education. The foundation's mission was to promote music education and organize a broad spectrum of arts and cultural activities. Tchen concentrated on sorting through and organizing information on Taiwanese music, publishing biographies of early Taiwanese musicians such as Chang Fu-hsing and Kuo Chih-yuan, in addition to an oral history by Lu Chuan-sheng.
Expanding horizons
Since accepting her new position as chairwoman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, Tchen has stressed in many interviews with the media that culture must ultimately take root. Commenting on President Chen Shui-bian's practice as mayor of Taipei of dressing up as various popular icons including Superman, Batman, and Michael Jackson to build close ties with the public, Tchen Yu-chiou expects that as president Chen Shui-bian will take a different perspective towards culture. Tchen believes the Council for Cultural Affairs should support the principle of cultural diversity, with equal attention to Taiwanese, aboriginal, Chinese, and Western cultures. Explaining her belief in cultural diversity, She says, "The roots of Taiwanese culture were absorbed over several centuries of assimilation and accumulation from various diverse cultures. This has enriched it."
Citing the example of 19th-century France, Tchen Yu-chiou says that the French had the breadth of mind to accept and assimilate different cultures, allowing foreign cultures to inspire local life and provide rich sustenance, resulting in a magnificent culture. Tchen's favorite 19th-century Impressionist composer, Claude Debussy, assimilated and incorporated Oriental colors into his music.
In the future, in addition to performing well at her job at the Council for Cultural Affairs, Tchen Yu-chiou will continue to perform music. "Compared to other professions, such as medicine, having music as a lifetime profession is a blessing," she reflects. For Tchen, music provides a chance for reflection and spiritual cleansing, enabling her to recharge her batteries.
Take care, Mom
Despite having experienced political persecution, Tchen remains firmly centered, perhaps due to her artistic cultivation. Lu Hsiu-yi never asked her to join the DPP, and neither she nor her husband ever tried to force their children to share their own ideology.
Now that their mother has joined the cabinet, Tchen Yu-chiou's children, having witnessed how their father worked himself to death, implore their mother to look after her health. One daughter calls her frequently from the United States to remind her to ride her bike daily and do her exercises, and asks her younger brother, a student at National Taiwan University, to get on their mother's case to see that she at least works up a sweat.
Other than performing music, Tchen Yu-chiou's plans never included being married to a politician, becoming director of a university arts institute, or heading the Council for Cultural Affairs. And although each step marks a major transition in her life, "it makes my life very rich." Surely, she has no regrets.
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