At one with nature
Chen was born in the Taipei Botanical Garden staff housing in 1951, and he has always felt a special closeness to plants and bugs. Once he enters a park, he feels a sense of peace generated from his immersion in nature. When he was in junior high school, his father was transferred by his employer to Chiayi, and Francis likewise had to change schools. The move broadened his horizons; and the floating scent of rice amid the changing seasons on the Jianan Plain served as a form of aesthetic immersion.
"Nature wakes me up and makes me think. It calls to the spiritual side of my genes and reminds me how insignificant humanity is," Chen remarks. "Nature is also the source of my creative inspiration, a secret garden where I can consider my place in the world and my values."
Modestly looking to nature as his teacher, Chen takes the Chinese term ren ("benevolence") as the concept behind the Franz brand. "'Benevolence aims for connections with other social groups. With it, one aims to help others, as well as oneself, succeed." Citing the philosopher Zhuangzi-"Heaven, earth and I were born together, and I am at one with the myriad beasts"-he explains that people can, through their experience of nature, come to an intuitive understanding of the beauty of living things, attaining a kind of enlightenment.
"Confucian philosophy describes truth and goodness in the context of human interaction, so that people have a basis on which to know how to behave and gauge whether their behavior is proper. If you want to demonstrate benevolence in everyday life, more than demonstrating an elegant and tasteful style, you must show a concern for humanity that reflects inner cultivation."
This kind of realization is demonstrated in Franz's collections. Starting in 2006, Franz won a UN "Award of Excellence for Handicrafts" back to back for the "Bamboo Song Bird," "Island Beauty," and "Rain Forest Little Dwellers" collections.
The "Bamboo Song Bird" collection features the endangered "blue-winged pitta," a brightly colored, eye-catching jewel of the forest, which is known as the "eight-color bird" in Chinese. The species is not only one of Taiwan's precious summer migratory birds; it is also a major target of global protection efforts. With fragile porcelain, Chen has created an impression of the blue-winged pitta, both expressing the hope of future visits from the bird and also conveying a sense of the fragility of nature and the need to treasure and preserve it.
Hibiscus, which is often used for hedging, is the main theme of the "Island Beauty" series. From spring to fall, hibiscus adds romance to an ordinary hedge. It has even been selected as Korea's national flower. It constantly reminds us not to forget the fertile hopes that nature brings to people.
In addition to producing works that remind people to love and care for nature, Chen also established a 30-hectare Franz Park in Jiangxi Province's Jingdezhen in 2004. And in order to be in accord with the Eastern philosophical approaches of "going with the flow" and "sustainability," the company has planted a million high-value trees on nearby hillsides, and also changed its formulas in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of its firing process. It is using natural gas or electricity instead of highly polluting heavy oil to fuel its kilns, and has reduced the temperature needed to fire the clay from 1350-1400°C to 1205°C. It is estimated that a reduction of 195°C is equivalent to saving 35 hectares of six-meter-tall trees from being cut. This cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 577 metric tons a year.
The main theme of the "Island Beauty" collection is the hibiscus, which has an especially lengthy period of bloom. Franz wanted to stimulate people's minds via the abundant hope demonstrated in nature's fertility. The collection earned Franz an Award of Excellence for Handicrafts from UNESCO in 2007.