Madame Chiang's Portrait

Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who had been keeping a low profile for some time, recently reentered the public spotlight. She first made a public appearance with famous painters, including Chen Li-fu, Fu Chuan-fu, and Ou Hao-nien, at a millennial exhibition of 20th century Chinese paintings that was shown on both American coasts. Then in March, when the presidential candidates were running neck and neck, she wrote an open letter urging her countrymen to vote for Lien Chan. Finally, on her 103rd birthday, which happened to fall on the day of the election, Steven Chen, the ROC's top representative in the United States, visited Madame Chiang and on President Lee Teng-hui's behalf conveyed to her the best wishes of the nation. These events got me thinking about Madame Chiang, and as I did memories flooded back about years past, when society here made up for its lack of material wealth with an abundance of warmth and peace.

Coincidentally, Madame Chiang's and my mutual enthusiasm for painting once resulted in our paths crossing.

I am not a painter by profession, nor do I belong to any school. I paint as I please. You could say that I just try to capture a mood or moving moment when I paint. And this is particularly the case with my portraits. For a long time I wanted to paint Madame Chiang because I thought she was very beautiful. Several images of her were etched in my mind: I could picture her lobbying for funds for China in front of the US Congress, establishing orphanages and homes for injured soldiers, and creating the National Women's League to make soldiers' uniforms. I know that in her later years she studied painting with masters such as Huang Chun-pi and Cheng Man-ching, and that she showed tremendous talent. Since I too am a painter, this is one more reason I feel close to her.

I have a son who is severely physically handicapped. Over the years I have taken him to numerous hospitals both small and large in Northern Taiwan. He spent a long stretch of time in Madame Chiang's Chenhsing Hospital, which is yet another reason I long harbored a desire to paint her. The Madame Chiang Kai-shek I had in mind was a benevolent mother figure, gentle and kind, a perfect embodiment of the Chinese feminine ideal of holding beauty within. I wanted to use the medium of painting to give expression to this beauty.

It was actually a rather spur-of-the-moment decision on my part to paint Madame Chiang the first time. In 1981 I established the Yifeng Tang arts society with a group of fellow art lovers. For Chinese Women's Day (March 8), some friends suggested that we hold an exhibition on the theme of women. I thought it was a good topic and since Madame Chiang Kai-shek was in some ways the most representative of all Chinese women and also a painter, I quickly painted a portrait of her for the show. Although I was pressed for time, her image was so deeply etched in my mind that it was very easy to paint. It was well received, and people made offers to buy it, but I was reluctant to part with the work, and it's still in my possession.

In 1986, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who had already moved to America, came back to Taiwan to visit relatives. When I saw her graceful bearing as she left the airplane-saw how sharp and wise she was, and how bursting with vitality and determination-I realized that she was quite different from my earlier rendering of her. I decided immediately to make another portrait of her.

When I finished that second painting, I felt that it really captured her spirit and resolved to find some way to give it to her. A good friend who had worked at Madame Chiang's National Women's League for many years introduced me to Wang Ya-chuan, who was then its director-general. After many twists and turns, she was finally able to arrange for me to present the painting to Madame Chiang in person. Seeing her for the first time, I felt truly awe-struck in the presence of greatness and could sense that she was someone who was open, upright and wise. Warm and easy-going, she didn't say much but was quick to laugh. What she did say was in Shanghai dialect, mostly questions about my painting education and preferences. Now, many years later, I don't remember the conversation very clearly. I just remember her reclining on the sofa, squinting somewhat as she viewed the portrait of her, seemingly quite pleased. Of course, I was even happier to be given a chance to offer it to her and let her know that there were still many people in Taiwan who loved and remembered her contributions to the Chinese people.

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Wang Shou-hsuan based her earlier portrait of Madame Chiang, in which Chiang comes across as simply gentle and kind, on a photograph. "It may be beautiful, but the spirit isn't quite right."

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In the winter of 1986, Madame Chiang Kai-shek returned to Taiwan to visit family. She bubbled with an energy that belied her 88 years. Wang Shou-hsuan (wearing the black qipao with red flowers) based this portrait on the way Madame Chiang appeared in news reports during her visit. It really captures her spirit. On the right is the general director of the National Women's League, Wang Ya-chuan.