A museum documenting the life of Taiwan’s first saxophone maker and 60 years of manufacturing history opened in Taichung City’s Houli District Jan. 27.
The museum is named after Chang Lien-cheng (1913-1986), maker of Taiwan’s first domestically produced saxophone, and founder of a business that led to Houli’s becoming one of the largest centers of saxophone production in the world.
“Visitors to our factory and museum will be able to learn how to make and play a saxophone,” according to Chang Tsung-yao, Chang Lien-cheng’s grandson and president of Lien Cheng Saxophone Co. Ltd.
Chang Lien-cheng’s life has become a legend in the area, said his grandson. He abandoned the family’s farm to become a painter, and formed a band with friends in 1936. A fire destroyed their only saxophone, which they had purchased from the U.S.
Chang then used his painting skills to draw blueprints from the remains of the instrument, and set out to make a new saxophone by hand.
He completed it after three years, but lost the sight in his right eye due to an accident in the process, according to the museum. He passed the instrument-making skill down to his children, and it became a family tradition.
Must-see items in the museum collection include a 160-year-old creation by Belgian saxophone inventor Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) and one made by Chang Lien-cheng that is decorated with dragons, the museum stated.
Built with assistance from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the museum, with an exhibition hall, performance venue and tourist-friendly factory, is intended to bring more tourists to the area. (THN)