Ch'en T'ing-shih seems to be quite at ease, living in a soundless world. Judging from a strictly physiological point of view, he is a deaf-mute handicap, but in terms of spirit, he far surpasses the average man.
Holed up in his apartment in T'aip'ing Village, Taichung County, Ch'en puts all of his energy into managing his world of art-modern water colors, traditional Chinese ink-and-brush paintings, wood cuts, sculpture. . . .
Being isolated from the outside world was an obstacle in the beginning, but it gradually came to be of help in his work. "Being able to shut things out assists creativity," he writes. "It lets me abandon myself totally to contemplation."
Paper and pen are his tools of "speech." When with close friends he can actually dominate the "conversation," writing both quickly and voluminously, until the paper is covered so thickly as to render it nearly illegible.
Reading or just walking the streets, maybe catching a movie, are Ch'en's favorite leisure-time diversions. The purchase of a good book or the viewing of an exceptional painting can keep him happy for hours.
After working for a period, he likes to go up to Taipei and visit friends. At such times he always stays at his aunt's.
"I'm already seventy years old, but my aunt still tells me not to come back too late!" Scratching his head, he smiles an embarrassed smile. It seems that the occasional passage of a few days in the company of a doting, nagging aunt is simply one more source of enjoyment for Ch'en T'ing-shih.
[Picture Caption]
Ch'en T'ing-shih/Born 1915/From Changle, Fukien/Artist
Ch'en T'ing-shih's home is filled with works of his own and those he has collected.
Ch'en T'ing-shih's home is filled with works of his own and those he has collected.
Ch'en T'ing-shih's home is filled with works of his own and those he has collected.
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)