What surprised people even more was that Huang had been hard at work carving jade for 30 years without public knowledge. His work had received little fanfare until this summer's exhibition at the National Museum of History.

When one thinks of jade carving, the first thing that comes to mind for most Taiwanese is White Cabbage, a work in the National Palace Museum's collection. Created during Guangxu's rule (1875-1908) in the Qing dynasty, it was placed in the concubine Jin's room in the Imperial Palace. It is unclear who was responsible for creating this masterpiece. The work has and will stand the test of time because of its clever design that utilizes the original splendid coloration (a mixture of white and green) and the remarkable carving that rendered a piece of jade into a life-like cabbage with two katydids on top of it. The work, however, also shows jade carvings' traditional limitations. Because jade is a precious material, it is usually decorated in a manner that jibes with its shape and matches its colors. Only by so doing can a craftsman avoid wasting precious material and at the same time highlight the natural beauty of the jade.

The 11 virtues of jade

The white jade that China produces has long been highly valued by its people. Confucius praised jade for being a treasure of the land and for many other virtues, including kindness, wisdom, righteousness, humility, music (for its delightful ring), fidelity, trustworthiness and heavenliness.

Although pieces of jade have always been greatly treasured, for centuries jade carving remained more of a craft, emphasizing technique, than an art, emphasizing aesthetic sensibility. Even the great Ming dynasty craftsman Lu Zigang, who was said to have had no rivals for three generations, did not bring jade carving to the same plane as the masterpieces of Chinese ink painting-that of expressing personal moods or a unique artistic sensibility. It is reasonably assumed that this was because jade was so expensive, so hard, and so easily damaged that it would discourage any craftsman from attempting a daring work unless he possessed great creativity, a high level of skill, and considerable wealth to boot. The vast majority of work-typically auspicious symbols and other beautiful ornaments or pieces of jewelry-was done to satisfy the market. Objects that were purely works of art were rare indeed.

"Actually, to this day, most carvers of jade have been professional artisans," says C.K. Yen, putting the historical limitations of jade works into a nutshell. A long-time collector of jade works and a board member of the Taiwan Gem Association, Yen is credited with "discovering" Huang Fu-shou. He explains that only carvers at jade workshops, who work with jade on a daily basis designing and carving a variety of jade products, can truly grasp the nature of jade and through such devotion learn how to craft it into art.

Huang has just such a background. By chance he began working in a jade factory when he was 18, and ever since then his fate has been tied to Taiwanese jade. He has no regrets. It seems that he was put on earth to create new horizons for jade carving and to leave behind great jade works of this age for Taiwan or even the entire Chinese world.

The road to jade

Huang's story is really quite simple.

Until he was 18, he was a student like anyone else, attending elementary, junior high and high school. Failing to obtain a high score on the joint entrance exam for universities and colleges, he came to Taipei to enroll in a cram school to prepare to take the test the following year. Before that summer vacation was over, a classmate helped him get a job at a jade factory in the Taipei suburbs. This was the first job he had ever had, and it would shape his career and utterly change his life. Putting aside his aspirations for college, Huang completely threw himself into the world of jade. Apart from carving the various pendants, Buddhist statues and animals that were on the factory's order list, after work he would take unwanted scraps and carve on them whatever caught his fancy. Thus began his life with jade.

Huang recalls that he had always displayed artistic talent, frequently winning art competitions as a student. His boss recognized this talent too, allowing him to start carving even before he had finished training for the more mundane tasks of sanding and polishing. His boss's faith in his talents proved well founded, as Huang quickly injected wonderful creative touches to the small traditional ornaments that he carved. The proportions, expressions, and poses of his rendered subjects were always accurate, detailed, and lively, and never fell into the typical ruts. As a result, his boss began to let him design new products. Huang began to acquire a small reputation within the industry. But this wasn't enough for Huang. Loving jade deeply, he aspired to transcend carving jade for ornaments and amulets and create truly individual works of art. And so, apart from designing and carving, when his fellow workers were off work and at leisure, Huang busied himself attending exhibitions and doing relevant research in the field.

"I wanted," Huang says, describing his individual creative aspirations, "to create my own creative vocabulary for jade carving that was suited to this brilliant, expansive and constantly evolving age. And I've never wavered from working to accomplish this."

It was exactly this love and determination, and his sense of mission with regard to the cultural legacy, that allowed this talented artistic individual, who had no formal training in carving, to teach himself and urge himself on, breaking through jade carving limitations that had existed for hundreds and thousands of years to create his own artistic realm.

Hometown flavor

Huang's works can be divided into two styles, and both are closely connected to the creator's personal experiences. One is a realistic pastoral style. Huang's representative works of this category include The Myriad Poses of Ants, A Chance Encounter and A Sense of Spring. In these works Huang fashions jade carvings from his memories of what he saw and heard while he was working or playing in the fields as a youngster. Take, for instance, The Myriad Poses of Ants. The large black ants common to Taiwanese fields are seen scurrying on top of a piece of bamboo, transporting food. Every ant has a different pose, and the dark green sheen of Taiwan jade gives the bamboo a great vibrancy. When you look close, the ants almost appear to be breathing.

Now look at A Chance Meeting. The texture of the spring grass is very distinct, and appears so fresh and alive that it almost makes you think that you can squeeze water from it. On the tip of one blade of grass there is a cricket that dangles in the wind, while at the base of the grass there is another cricket that seems to be preparing to jump up and say hello to the first. Something as hard as jade in Huang's hands is remarkably rendered to appear to be supplely bending in the wind, thoroughly evoking the artist's love of spring. It is truly an outstanding work.

"Ice-like and hard, jade can be injected with a vivid touch and feeling so that it gives expression to people's inner sentiments." It is in this spirit that Huang Fu-shou carves jade. The jade in Huang's eyes and mind is alive. Often, as he works late into the night, he talks to the jade: "Let me get in there a little deeper, OK?" "Can you float up a little bit?"

Huang, who works at least 12 hours a day, says that each piece of jade has a different personality and harbors a unique soul. His job as a carver is to chisel away at the jade until he can expose that personality and free that soul. Sometimes a raw chunk of jade that weighs 70 kilos ends up as a finished work that weighs only two kilos. Often a single work will take a year to complete. A jade carver engages in endless polishing-polishing both the jade and his own mind.

A partner in life

For the sake of carving, Huang has enjoyed virtually no leisure for 30 years, living a simple and frugal life. The polio he had as a child damaged his leg, but this hasn't stopped Huang from swimming every morning for two hours, day in and day out. Huang does it to maintain a high state of physical fitness, because carving jade is an activity that is very demanding on the eyes and the body. With one slip of concentration, a piece of jade worth hundreds of thousands of NT dollars and several months of effort could all be for naught.

Fortunately, his wife and soul mate Wang Jung-hua has been highly supportive, encouraging him without complaint for 20 years. And so, although his life as an artist has been difficult, it has never been lonely. Wang explains that it was her love for jade that led her to have an affinity for her husband. Having the good fortune to be at the side of a man who is willing and able to create works of art that are representative of Taiwan in this day and age, she is willing to do all she can to support him. With such a wife, it is no wonder that Huang Fu-shou has been able to produce non-stop despite facing great obstacles. Sometimes a work is nearly completed but ends up getting destroyed because of a mistake with a small detail. With frustrations of this sort, it would be difficult for Huang to go on if he didn't possess a superhuman will, as well as Wang Jung-hua's encouragement, understanding and support.

Huang Fu-shou feels greatly honored that his works are being exhibited in a national museum. Apart from the realistic pieces mentioned earlier, the exhibition includes several abstract and philosophical works that Huang Fu-shou has made in recent years. Take, for instance, the work that is being given pride of place for symbolizing the theme of the show: Jade of the Heart. This work completely obliterates the old notions of "form" and "function" that shackled jade works when they were regarded as "utensils" or "ornaments."

Jade of the Heart is a nearly 30-kilogram jade column, carved to appear to have a rope around its middle. What kind of power is needed to conquer the hardness of jade so as to show its tender yet persevering character, so that it becomes pliant in the hands of an artist? Huang Fu-shou says that calmness and stability are the parents of wisdom and that hardness cannot be overcome by hardness, but rather by true love and patience. These qualities are what led to Jade of the Heart. Huang hopes that this work will lead people in through the door to enjoy his art, and also lead people into the artist's heart.

p.042

The Myriad Poses of Ants

p.044

Huang Fu-shou shows an intense focus when at work carving. He loves jade deeply, and undertakes a long process of communication with each piece of jade that he carves.

p.045

Huang Fu-shou carves from 12 to 14 hours a day. Though small in area, his workshop harbors the boundless imagination of an artist. (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang)

p.046

A Chance Encounter

p.047

A Sense of Spring

p.047

Jade of the Heart