A Tainan-based muralist is enriching the southern Taiwan city’s temple culture with his novel approach to religious artwork.
With its elaborate wood and stone carvings, clay figures, painted panels and ceramic roof tiles, Puji Temple in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan appears at first glance stylistically similar to the many other places of worship belonging to the country’s folk religions. But placed among the traditional decorations, one startlingly different mural inevitably catches the attention of visitors. Composed in soothing blues and sandy browns, the painting portrays Chifu Wangye, the temple’s patron deity, striding confidently forward on bare feet while clutching a creature resembling a cross between a carp and a phoenix in his outstretched hand.
The mural is the work of Jose Hsu (許荷西), who repainted an outer wall of the temple with his own version of the revered god over three months spanning 2017 and 2018. The project was conducted following years of extensive discussions between the temple administration and Puji Cultural and Historical Research Association. “It’s a bold attempt at community regeneration through creative endeavors reconnecting people to local heritage,” the group’s chief executive Chiang Wen-cheng (蔣文正) said. The association’s artistic vision resulted in one of the most appealing architectural paintings of its kind in Taiwan, and the mural soon began turning heads across the country. “The work reached a level of national fame well beyond our expectations,” Chiang said.
Jose Hsu braces his hand with a wood stick as he works on the Chifu Wangye mural. (Photos courtesy of Chiang Wen-cheng)
Part of what makes the painting so special is that the striking figure of Chifu Wangye differs greatly from traditional representations. The legendary seventh-century military leader is said to have sacrificed himself to prevent the spread of plague. For this he was elevated to divine status and is generally shown with a black face due to the poison he ingested from the plague god.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to present the deity in exactly the same way in every work of art,” Hsu said. “The point is to share the story with local residents and visitors.” The mural does precisely that, illustrating Chifu Wangye’s human life in vivid detail while also incorporating imagery reflecting the temple’s history as well as the port city’s past and present. The artist attributes his interest in religious motifs to the close link between art and religion that has existed since ancient times. Being based in Tainan, which has one of the highest densities of temples in the country, has greatly influenced his work, Hsu said.
The lower left section of the painting depicts musicians playing traditional instruments historically used at the temple. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Artistic Roots
The muralist was born in 1976 in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County and grew up in neighboring Kaohsiung City before heading to the central city of Taichung to study in the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University, where he majored in ink wash painting. While providing a thorough grounding in materials and techniques particular to the traditional art, Hsu’s training placed equal emphasis on the contemporary aspects of painting. “I chose the medium primarily as a means of creation,” he said. “My own work can easily go beyond the conventional precepts.”
An unexpected step in Hsu’s artistic development came when he moved to the Mediterranean port city of Alicante in southeastern Spain to study language for a year. While there he visited local art museums and delved deeper into diverse possibilities for utilizing color and form, especially in murals. “Architectural painting is an age-old profession, and Europe offers access to centuries of work by some of the most celebrated names in art history,” Hsu said, citing Leonardo da Vinci as one of his major inspirations.
Hsu’s work features on private buildings located around Tainan. (Photos by Pang Chia-shan)
Hsu began his own foray into painting murals seven years ago, when he was extended the chance to work on a project at Nankunshen Temple in Tainan. The two-year job further cemented his interest in architectural painting, leading him to pursue an apprenticeship in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City. His studies and training gave rise to a remarkable work created for Tainan’s Wind God Temple. Hsu’s depiction of the divinity soaring gracefully through a starry sky impressed Chiang so much that he decided to introduce the artist to Puji administrators, setting in motion the collaboration that resulted in the eye-catching Chifu Wangye mural.
As Hsu’s reputation took off in the mid-2010s, he began receiving commissions for pieces to adorn public and private buildings around Tainan. Though his popularity received a huge boost from the rise in wall art across the country as part of community rejuvenation efforts, his work remains distinct from the more ubiquitous compositions favoring well-known cartoon characters. Instead, Hsu prefers to incorporate a strong local flavor into complex abstract designs. Prominent examples of his work can be spotted in one of the city’s oldest historical districts at Xinmei Street near Tainan Grand Matsu Temple.
Prominent works by Hsu can be spotted along Xinmei Street in one of Tainan’s oldest historical districts. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Personal Touch
At the same time, Hsu has been exploring his potential skill in art restoration, which he believes is essential to conserving the country’s cultural legacy and providing inspiration to future generations. His concern is shared by the Tainan City Government, which has launched a program celebrating the 400th anniversary of recorded settlement in the area. Scheduled for 2024, the initiative is supported by the Ministry of Culture’s ongoing Regeneration of Historic Sites Project aimed at revitalizing dozens of significant locations across the country.
For his part, Hsu is planning to undertake more murals at local temples in cooperation with the city government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau. While conventional methods and stylistic elements have been used in many of the completed projects to date, the muralist believes in adding his own twist to works embellishing heritage structures. Such an approach promotes continuous artistic innovation, diversifying and enriching cultural traditions, according to Hsu.
Hsu’s mural at the Wind God Temple in Tainan shows the divinity soaring gracefully through a starry sky. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
The process of creation is first and foremost a quest to cultivate one’s signature style, Hsu said. His philosophy is evident in the unique blend of traditional and modern, Eastern and Western influences fused into his art. The artist particularly relishes the challenge of murals because physical surroundings add additional layers of complexity and depth to works.
“More often than not, inspiration comes from the environment and cultural context, rather than a preconceived vision,” Hsu said. “It’s critical to create harmony with the setting.” With its rich iconography rooted in both the deity’s mythology and Tainan’s history, the Chifu Wangye mural at Puji Temple is the pinnacle of Hsu’s achievements to date.
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw