The glory of life in the creature world is depicted detail by detail. With a sharp eye for minutiae, as the carving knife moves, the wonder of that beyond the physical world is conveyed. Ex-director Taipei National Palace Museum
With much hardship and over a long period of time, he has refined his creative works of art until his sculpting has now reached a higher state. Buddhist Master
2013/07Wu Ching was Included in the "Natio...
2013/02Wuching Golden Sculptures Spectacul...
2012/01A great deal of thought and effort ...
A great deal of thought and effort has gone into launching the Wu Ching Sculptures bilingual website in Chinese and English. This will allow comprehensive one-click access to the creative concepts, creative background, unique technique, art appreciation,
2011/06Kaohsiung’s famous Fo Guang Monaste...
Buddhist Master Hsing Yun, the founder and head of Fo Guang Monastery, praised Wu Ching’s divinely inspired work, saying that Wu’s unremitting cultivation of mind and spirit, purification and sublimation infused with external technique allowed for attainment of the perfect state in which mind and art are combined. Wu Ching’s art is a sophisticated, delicate and thin and transparent absolute state of sculpting technique in a class of its own that moves those who behold it. Wu Ching’s mind has attained the Dharma state of emptiness that allows understanding of the mystery of nothingness, a realm where things and self are one. This is the power and inspiration for his inspired creation.
Wu Ching has cultivated himself through the tempering from living as a human being and enlightenment from life via precise sculpture creation. Especially during the centennial of the Republic of China, the Buddha Memorial Center of Fo Guang Monastery decided to welcome in the new lunar year by inviting Wu Ching to exhibit his gold sculpture works so that the public could be replete with Dharma bliss and joyfully see in the new lunar year.
2011/011. The Xian International Horticult...
The Xian International Horticultural Expo specially invited Taiwan’s gold sculpting master Wu Ching to exhibit his gold sculpture works alongside national treasure-class cultural objects “Che Tong Ma” and “San Er Long Wen Ding” in the Chang’an Tower. After receiving the invitation, Wu Ching specially created “Datong Shijie”, “Tianluo Diwang”, “Great Harmony”, “Posuo Haiyang,” “Prosperous Descendants” and 13 works he felt closest to for display at the Chang’an Tower.
2010/01Wu Ching accepts invitation from th...
In 2009, the deputy curator of the China
Maritime Museum
in Shanghai led a delegation to Europe where in
the Hamburg Maritime Museum
they saw a pure gold model of a ship. The museum authorities proudly declared
that this was one of the rarest gold ships in the world. Casting a ship
required bringing together exacting industrial art precision and choice and an
extraordinarily expensive selection of material, so it was rarely found in
museums around the world. The deputy curator of the China Maritime
Museum asked many ship
model companies about this, but due to the risk and extreme difficulty, none
were willing to take on a commission to fabricate a ship model. By chance, he
heard of Taiwan’s famous
gold sculpting master Wu Ching, whom he asked to make a 99.99% pure gold model
of a large-finned ancient Chinese battleship for the China Maritime
Museum so that the
museum’s display could have historical significance and enhance its precious
art collection value.
This was a pioneering work in the museum’s collection
and a major conceptual manifestation of “pre-arranged collecting.”
2009/01The 89th Floor Observation Deck of ...
Two new works premiered at this exhibition:
“Urn”; 30 x 30x 25 cm; gold and porcelain (approximately 20 gold ants)
“Mystery of Orchid Life” 2006; 30 x 30 x 20cm; gold and porcelain
2008/01Wu Ching was engaged by the Prepara...
“Countryside Reminiscences” is an unparalleled large-scale work given a place of honor in the special collection of the Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts under the Council for Cultural Affairs and the National Center for Traditional Arts. It was a pioneering work for Taiwan’s promotion of a national special collection policy, and was the only large-scale art work commissioned by the National Center for Traditional Arts in terms of scale, technique and artistic attainment. It has become the treasured centerpiece of the township center, is a tourist attraction, and is effective as an example of applied education.
2007/01The Yilan National Center for Tradi...
One a year of time and 25 kg of boxwood was used to make this 25 gram sculpture of 24 by 36 inch women’s lace underpants. The woman’s physique is invisible, the sculpting very detailed and since the work appeared lifelike, it elicited curiosity from those who saw it. The Center specially arranged a recording and slides as well as a sophisticated poster to explain the process of making this work.
2006/011. The Xingang, Chiayi County Cultu...
1. The “Wu Ching Wood Sculpture/Gold Sculpture/Installation and Statuary Art Exhibition” was divided into wood sculpture and gold sculpture categories:
Wood Sculpture
“Mundane Affinity” 1991; 28 x 28 x 55 cm; boxwood
“Soar and Roar” 1978; 9 x 10 x 24 cm; boxwood
“Struggling to Break Free” 1984; 31 x 31 x 380 cm; boxwood
“Dreaming of Butterflies” 1987; 23 x 23 x 100 cm; boxwood
“Symbiotic Connection” 1987; 32 x 12 x 41 cm; satinwood
“Zen” 1986; 11 x 11 x 22 cm; boxwood
“Process of Life” 1983; 84 x 13 x 59 cm; ironwood
Gold Sculpture
“I Need Soil” 1999; 16 x 20 x 68 cm; gold and glass
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997; 55 x 20 x 42; gold, silver and copper
“Dragonfly Love” 1993; 13 x 9 x 13 cm; gold and stone
“Grief and Joy Intermingled” 1996; 96 x 71 x 275 cm; gold and copper
“Involvement? Obeisance?”; 300 x 60 x 190 cm; copper
“Hairy Crabs Gathering at the Precious Basin” 2006; 23 x 23 x 26; gold, porcelain
“Mantis Preying Upon a Cicada” 1995; 30 x 15 x 15; gold and silver
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind” 1991; 30 x 12 x 42; gold and stone
2. The Taipei 101 building’s observation deck exhibition “Taiwan’s Golden Images—Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Art Exhibition” featured a display of 22 sculptures using 99.99% pure gold worth NT$200 million, at a venue atop what was then the world’s tallest building, to set a new record. All works used such virtually pure gold as their sculpting material, allowing them to manifest integrality. Most works were welded together with 1100°C heat then minutely micro-sculpted to give a uniform and gorgeous surface appearance. Pursuing exacting standards has allowed Wu Ching’s gold sculpture art to appear lifelike as if it could speak…gold sculpted flower petals are transparent, butterflies lightly tremble as lifelike as if they were about to fly out the window. Thick and heavy gold, thanks to Wu Ching’s precise and minute sculpting, becomes a thin, transparent and moving work of art.
2005/01The then Taipei County Gold Museum ...
The most famous work in Wu Ching’s gold sculpture exhibition is the large-scale “Prosperous Descendants” which used 2.9 kg of gold to make, and which is 1.95 meter long, 1.05 meter wide and 1.33 meters tall, in addition to a silver base and bronze frame. It has bitter gourd vine creepers and ants as its main subjects. The gold ants are the same size as real one. There are also butterflies, praying mantis and lady bugs flit to and fro. This work that uses realism techniques expresses the beauty of the natural world of creatures. The work consists of thousands of individual entities carved to make molds then is assembled with extremely difficult welding techniques to join gold piece with gold piece. He directly uses nearly pure gold with spot use of 1200̊C heat. The surface of the work is uniform and represents a new aspect of gold art. Use of floating, three-dimensional and transparent sculpting techniques, this hand-carved work has a special portrayal that is very lifelike, and is a rare example anywhere in the world of a large-scale gold sculpture carved with such precision.
Another most well-know work is “Home,” 6 meters long, 0.8 meters wide and 0.6 meters tall. Made with 1.021 kg of gold, it is an ecological work with 523 gold ants as its subject. It minutely portrays a society of creatures from the natural world in all their fine complexity and vividness.
2004/011. Wu Ching gave something back to ...
1. The exhibition “A View of What Matters in Human Life from the World of Flora and Ants” displayed 8 gold sculptures, 8 wood sculptures, and 2 copper sculptures. Among them was “Broken Urn,” a work consuming two years to complete, on display for the first time. Although not formally released for 15 years, it was specially brought to congratulate realization of the Chiayi Municipal Museum, and is the progenitor of all orchid sculptures in Taiwan. A vase of butterfly orchids was carved from a single block of 3,000 year-old boxwood. The work is marvelous to behold and lifelike, with the butterfly orchid’s branches and trunk coarsely carved, and its flower petals carved thin as gossamer cicada wings. The flower vase has the feel of a hand-thrown piece of pottery. The work was well received and the subject of considerable attention.
For the exhibition “Wu Ching and Van Gogh—A Cross-Era and Distance Dialogue,” over ten wood and gold sculpted works were displayed, and “Dharma Bliss” was publicly premiered for art lovers, featuring Wu Ching’s own head as its subject. Also on display for the first time was “Woman Walking,” which took as its subject matter a pair of women’s underpants. The fourth generation of the Chiang family, Chiang Yu-po, cultural creation master, was invited to attend. He most admired “Dharma Bliss,” feeling that the entire entity was very startling and made extremely precisely with minute detail, leaving a deep impression.
To encourage the circumstances for artistic talent, creation and research, and foster the pluralistic development of the fine arts in Taiwan, as well as to assist in cultivating assessment and critical capabilities for modern art, Wu Ching accepted an invitation to serve on the planning commission and as a panel judge for the 17th Nationwide Art Exhibition, where he unselfishly promoted the emergence of new art and exulted in fame being accorded real talent.
2003/01Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Art & Culture ...
This was the first time that the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Educational and Cultural Foundation invited an individual touring exhibition.
The works during this period experimented with another kind of value preserving material, jade, with wonderful results. Completed works include:
“Lotus Crab” (Harmony); gold and jade; 30 x 15 x 15 cm
“Source of Life II”; gold and copper; 30 x 30 x 50 cm
“Deep in Thought?”; copper; 69 x 85 x 101 cm
“Involvement? Obeisance?”; copper; 300 x 60 x 190 cm
2002/01The Taichung Municipal Huludun Cult...
The works during this period once again improve on the “Prosperous Descendants” series of works, making them easier to display and collect.
The “Gold and Jade Drawing Room” exhibition displayed over 100 sets of gold sculpture and ancient jades. What was most viewed by the public was Wu Ching’s gold sculpture work “Countryside Reminiscences”. Wu Ching spent nearly three years meticulously creating this ant world where no detail was left out, large or small. In all, 806 lifelike gold ants arduously labor atop silver branches, transporting things. The circulation and interdependence of Nature are evident in the subtleties of this work. Director Chen of the cultural center stated, “Teacher Wu Ching’s mastery of sculpting tiny ants is much like learning Buddhist practices, it requires extraordinary personal endurance and determination to realistically depict the world of ants to serve as an allegory for genuine human life.”
2001/01Invited to take part in “Gold Legen...
The works completed during this period:
“Prosperous Descendants” 2001 (medium-sized version); gold, silver and copper; 89 x 43 x 86 cm (2002 Wang Wen-yuan collection)
2000/01Took a year-long sabbatical in Tait...
Creation of the works completed during this period was commissioned by the National Science and Technology Museum of Kaohsiung as an invitation to create ecological education materials. “Prosperous Descendants” 2000 (medium-sized version); gold and copper; 110 x 50 x 100 cm (2000 Wu Jen-fu collection)“Ant Ecology” 2000; gold and copper; 81 x 26 x 33 cm; (2000 National Science and Technology Museum of Kaohsiung collection)
1999/011. The Kaohsiung Museum of History ...
1. A total of 23 gold sculpture works were displayed. From 1989 onward, sculptured art works were made with gold, directly using 99.99 percent pure gold welded at 1200°C. This produced works with perfect surface appearance and opened up a new field of precision carved art. Silver and copper were combined with gold for a multiplier effect and different materials were matched and combined to give the gold sculpted works even greater perfection and to broaden the expressive space of sculpted art.
2. The major works include:
“New Year’s Orchid” 1999 (small version); gold and stone; 22 x 23 x 58 cm
“I Need Soil” 1999 (small version); gold and glass; 16 x 20 x 68 cm
“Dragonflies Sport with Taipei Grass Frogs”; gold and copper; 30 x 17 x 17 cm
“Swallowtails Sport with Taipei Grass Frogs”; gold and copper; 30 x 17 x 17 cm
1998/011. Chungyo Department Store in Taic...
1. To promote artistic and cultural events to give something back to society, the Chungyo Department Store of Taichung invited Wu Ching to hold a large gold sculpture exhibition. Since this objective was highly significant, Wu Ching happily agreed to do his part to make it a success.
2. In all, 23 works were displayed, demonstrating Wu Ching’s compassion, exploration, concern and philosophical insight on impassioned and passionless life. During his lonely, long-term and arduous creative career, he gradually realized the marvelous in emptiness and the Dharma bliss amidst tranquility, just as Buddhist Master Hsing Yuan’s words of praise put it: “The material he shapes is gold, and the residue on his hands is gold. But in his heart, there is not gold but self-cultivation.”
1997/01The Buddha’s Light International As...
The “Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Exhibition” displayed only one wood sculpture, “Why Stir Up Dust?” along with 31 gold sculpted works.
Wu Ching attempted to explore such concepts as the alternation of life and death and affinities of passion in the human world, while abstrusely realizing practice of the Buddhist doctrines, going beyond realism to incorporate abstract ideas and expressing philosophical ideas about such issues as ecology and the environment. When sculpting ants, he began reading the Buddhist canon and was greatly influenced, leading this individual exhibition to demonstrate the results of his personal Buddhist practice.
The works during this period once again improve on the “Prosperous Descendants” series of works, making them easier to display and collect.
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-1 (medium-size version; gold, silver and copper; 68 x 42 x 56 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-2; gold and stone; 30 x 16 x 6 cm; (1997 Kao Chung-yun collection)
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-3 (small version); gold, silver and copper; 55 x 20 x 42 cm
“Ant Ecology” 1997; gold and silver; 80 x 26 x 24 cm (Koo Chen-fu collection)
1996/011. Pinnacle period of artistic crea...
1. During this period, all of Wu Ching’s effort went into creating, Buddhist meditation, and reading Buddhist sutras. After experiencing intermingled grief and joy, great compassion and sorrow, Wu Ching reached the pinnacle of creation at age 40. After a visit to his residence by the curator of the modern art pavilion at the National Palace Museum, Ms Chen Yuan, to admire his new works, she encouragingly remarked that “this is your creative pinnacle!”
2. Ms Chao Tsui-hui, a lecturer at Fo Guang Monastery, and friends visited Wu Ching’s residence to see his wood sculpture works and were deeply moved and taken with them. She vigorously promoted the first “Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Exhibition” the next year.
The works during this period profoundly explore the reality beneath the surface of life. Completed works include:
“Heartbeat”; boxwood; 300 x 50 x 25 cm
“Passion for What Thing?”; boxwood, assemblage; 140 x 132 x 195 cm
“Zen Meditation”; boxwood; assemblage; 184 x 80 x 94 cm; the dialogue between bone and orchids is fascinating
“Dharma Bliss”; boxwood; 23 x 26 x 49 cm; a woodcarving challenging the properties of wood to convey the feeling of skin with accurate and minute detail
“Countryside Reminiscences”; gold, silver and copper; 302 x 92 x 213 cm
“Affinity of Life, Affinity of Death”; copper; 17 x 20 x 22 cm; recasting of wood sculpture exploration of life and death, the copper version is clearly more solid
“Passion for What Thing?”; gold and silver; 140 x 132 x 194 cm
“And the Flower?”; silver; 23 x 16 x 26 cm
“Grief and Joy Intermingled”; gold and copper; 96 x 71 x 275 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture, the two kinds of metal combine in an interesting way
“Zen, Meditation?”; gold and copper; 184 x 80 x 94 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture; the gold metal gives off a different essence
“Heartbeat”; gold and silver; 220 x 47 x 20 cm
“Dharma Bliss”; gold and copper; 26 x 22 x 48 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture. Despite the properties of gold, the butterflies still seem to flit lithely.
1995/01Invited by Council for Cultural Aff...
Taiwan, renowned for its woodcarving of ants, in order to open up the field of gold sculpture, exhibited 24 sparking gold sculpture works in a rarely seen special gold sculpture exhibition at the Taipei Art Gallery in Rockefeller Center, New York on 6th Avenue between 48th and 49th Street. Many new works were completed for this exhibition to be shared with friends abroad.
The creative juices were really flowing during this period; every creation has a profound story from the bottom of one’s heart. Completed works include:
“Grief and Joy Intermingled”; boxwood; 155 x 112 x 126 cm; created from thought during Buddhist meditation with endless joy during the creation process
“Walking Woman” boxwood; 25 x 19 x 22 cm; Very challenging and considerably imaginative; immediately apprehensible
“Daisies”; boxwood
“Panties”; boxwood; 57 x 15 x 45 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1995 (large version); gold, silver and copper; 195 x 105 x 133 cm; another explication of arboreal beauty
“Bamboo and Dragonflies” 1995; gold and silver; 24 x 13 x 21 cm
“Butterfly Love” 1995; gold and silver; 18 x 7 x 18 cm
“Mantis Preying Upon a Cicada”; gold and silver; 30 x 15 x 15 cm
“Mother and Child”; gold and silver; 30 x 12 x 55 cm
“A Love in Life and Death”; gold and stone; 14 x 12 x 14 cm
“My Life”; gold and plastic; 70 x 30 x 24 cm
“I Need Water”; gold; 47 x 5 x 20 cm
“Source of Life”; gold and silver; 41 x 30 x 62 cm
“Mundane Affinity”; gold and silver; 40 x 32 x 57 cm; cast from wood sculpture, the gold and silver sparkle enhances attractiveness
“ Mystery of Life”; gold and fossilized bovine skull; 60 x 35 x 70 cm; the combination of different materials produced a marvelous effect (1997 Lin Hsieh rare collection)
1994/01Invited by Council for Cultural Aff...
Chairman Chen Chin-huang of the sponsoring agency, the Xingang Cultural and Educational Foundation, invited Wu Ching to return to his hometown and mount an exhibition. This was also the first event of the Nationwide Culture and Art Festival. Chairman Chen subsequently recommended that Wu Ching exhibit in New York in 1995.
Works of this period were simultaneously rendered as wood and gold sculptures. The works exhibited in the Xingang Township, Chiayi County Elementary School lobby included:
“Protected Cocoon” 1981; ironwood; 26 x 26 x 50 cm
“Struggling to Break Free” 1984; ironwood; 23 x 23 x 120 cm
“Cicadas” 1984; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Comings and Goings” 1985; boxwood; 66 x 5 xx 77 cm
“Orchids” 1986; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Rabbits” 1987; boxwood; 70 x 55 x 35 cm
“One of the Unhindered” 1987; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 28 cm
“Parental Love” 1989; 99.99% pure gold; 9 x 6 x 9 cm
“Zen” 1991; 99.99% pure gold and silver; 15 x 15 x 26 cm
“I Need Soil” 1993; 99.99% pure gold; 28 x 28 x 60 cm
Works of this period were even more in the style of Buddhist thought and philosophy. Completed works include:
“One Ant on a Leaf” (1); boxwood; 6.2 x 3.2 x 2.5 cm
“Desire”; boxwood; 60 x 40 x 80 cm
“Affinity of Life, Affinity of Death”; boxwood; 16 x 21 x 23 cm
“Why Stir Up Dust?”; boxwood; 155 x 18 x 30 cm
1993/011. The Chinese Culture and Movie Ce...
1. First exhibition of a large-scale work, “Prosperous Descendants”; gold, copper and stone; 420 x 200 x 400 cm, weighing 7 kg.
2. Wu Ching is sincerely grateful to Ms Chen Yuan, curator of the Modern Art pavilion of NPM, who visited his studio to borrow works for exhibition, and who conveyed the hope that NPM would collect his works to the Director of NPM.
On the 14th day of the first lunar month of 1993, Director Ch’in Hsiao-yi invited Wu Ching to meet with him at the NPM a couple of days later, during which Director Ch’in indicated that the NPM wanted to break with tradition and collect Wu Ching’s gold sculpture. He was asked to create a work depicting ant ecology whereupon he happily agreed and with concentration researched and started creating the giant work which was completed within a year.
1.2 Works of this period were simultaneously rendered as wood and gold sculptures. Completed works include:
“Empty”; boxwood; 22 x 26 x 46 cm
“One Ant on a Leaf” (2); boxwood; 6.6 x 3.3 x 2.8 cm
“Two Ants on a Leaf” (1); boxwood; 6.3 x 3.2 x 2.5 cm
“Two Ants on a Leaf” (2); boxwood; 6.8 x 3.3 x 2.9 cm
“Mystery of Life”; boxwood, modular assemblage; 105 x 80 x 168 cm
“I Need Water” (1); boxwood, modular assemblage; 8 x 9 x 101 cm
“I Need Water” (2); boxwood, modular assemblage; 84 x 40 x 109 cm
“Life? Death?” (1); boxwood; 100 x 27 x 18 cm
“Life? Death?” (2); boxwood; 150 x 20 x 30 cm
“Rose Walking in the Air”; boxwood; 70 x 26 x 70 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-1; gold, copper and stone; 280 x 38 x 120 cm (permanent collection of National Palace Museum)
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-2; gold and stone; 40 x 22 x 7 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-3; gold; 11 x 12 x 8 cm; (1993 Jiang Soong Mei Ling collection)
“Dragonfly Love” 1993; gold and stone; 13 x 9 x 13 cm
“Butterfly Love” 1993; gold and stone; 12 x 10 x 13 cm
“Joy of Life”; gold and stone; 11 x 8 x 13 cm
1992/01Creation of his first-ever large-sc...
“Mundane Affinity”; boxwood; 28 x 28 x 55 cm
“Absurd Appearance”; boxwood; 19 x 21 x 23 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1992; gold, copper and stone; 420 x 200 x 400 cm
“Dragonflies” 1992‒1; gold and stone; 9 x 8 x 10 cm
“Bamboo and Dragonflies” 1992‒2; gold and silver; 12 x 12 x 18 cm
“Swallowtails” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 10 x 10 cm
“Locusts” 1992; gold and stone; 8 x 8 x 9 cm
“Bees” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 10 cm
“Cicada” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 9 cm
“Mantis” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 10 cm
“I Need Soil” 1992 (large version); gold and glass; 20 x 20 x 70; plant cutting extends out of a glass bottle to find its way out
1991/01Taipei Fine Arts Museum mounts the ...
Over the past six years, Wu Ching concentrated on exploring Zen Buddhism, using what he learned to develop gold sculpture and achieving breakthroughs in sculpting with boxwood. His greatest success at challenging himself was using wood one fifth the thickness of newsprint to carve creature wings or flower petal patterns with a transparent sense.
He also fabricated separate molds for many of his gold sculpted works and used 1060˚C welding techniques with virtually pure gold, a breakthrough over traditional methods. After 10 months, “Bitter Gourds” was completed and assembled from 160 block modules.
As of this period, development of techniques for making gold sculpted works and properly joining different materials was had matured. Completed works include:
“Old Bamboo”; boxwood, modular assemblage
“Ants” 1991; gold and stone; 14 x 10 x 10 cm 1998
“Parental Love” (small version); gold and stone; 7 x 5 x 4 cm
“Bitter Gourds” 1991; gold, silver and stone; 80 x 45 x 156
“New Year’s Orchid” 1991 (large version); gold and stone; 55 x 26 x 87 cm
“Water Play”; gold and stone; 56 x 40 x 12 cm
“Man or Butterfly?”; gold and silver; 29 x 29 x 55 cm; cast from wood, less thinness but more contemplation
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind”; gold and stone; 30 x 12 x 42 cm
“Zen” 1991; gold and silver; 14 x 14 x 21; the associations of the cicada, circular gold and silver creates an extremely pluralistic appreciative perspective
“Unhindered” 1991; gold and silver; 16 x 9 x 20 cm
“Insects”; gold and silver; 28 x 22 x 10 cm
“Dragonflies” 1991; gold; 6 x 8 x 4 cm
“Butterflies” 1991; gold; 8 x 7 x 4 cm
“Locusts” 1991; gold; 6 x 2 x 3 cm
“Bees: 1991; gold; 5 x 6 x 4
“Cicadas” 1991; gold; 4 x 8 x 4 cm
“Mantis” 1991; gold; 8 x 5 x 6 cm
1990/01Change of mindset: the goal of life...
During this period, gold sculpting technique was continually undergoing experimentation to adjust it to the most fitting mode. Completed works include:
“Right Move? Bad Move?”; boxwood
“Butterfly Orchid”; gold; 40 x 36 x 102 cm
“Large Ant”; gold and stone; 5 x 3 x 3 cm (single ant)
“Ants” 1990; gold and stone; 10 x 10 x 10 cm
“Mantis and Ant”; gold and stone; 63 x 32 x 33 cm
“A Close Couple Fly Off in Unison”; gold; 50 x 9 x 30 cm
“Protecting the Young”; gold and agate; 13 x 9 x 23 cm
“Sublimation”; gold; 8 x 6 x 59 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow” 1990‒1; gold and stone; 42 x 28 x 56 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow” 1990‒2; gold and silver; 43 x 23 x 72 cm
“Zen” 1990; gold; 14 x 14 x 21 cm
“Unhindered” 1990; gold
1989/01Awakened to the mental state of “Gr...
1. After several continuous days of Buddhist meditation, in a blink of an eye, a fraction of a second, the realization came that all things in the universe are empty, and all phenomena are unreal. After a very, very long time…came awareness of the hardship of what I was trying to accomplish (wanting to leave behind a batch of wood sculpted works, and to make an art museum of my own). Then the tears started flowing uncontrollably and my heard was full of grief and joy.
This period involved seeking and experimenting with the possibilities of shifting from wood sculpting to gold sculpting. Completed works include:
“Tree of Life”; satinwood; incomplete
“Broken Urn”; boxwood; 52 x 23 x 66 cm; An orchid lives and the urn is cracked, providing the observer with different perspectives and thoughts
“Man or Butterfly?”; boxwood; 22 x 22 x 42 cm; Inspired by an ancient text, this work explores the nature of emptiness, nothingness, reality and fantasy
“Life and Death; Death and Life”; boxwood; incomplete
“Parental Love” (Large version); gold and agate; 10 x 7 x 10 cm
1988/011. Invited to take part in Dedicato...
1. The dedication of what was then the Taiwan Province Museum of Fine Arts was gala event of the art world at the time. Those invited were all major contemporary artists. The work invited to be exhibited, “Symbiotic Connection” is a 32 x 12 x 41 cm work carved out of satinwood. This work selected for the exhibition has a profound creative precept: The work was enlarged five cubic times. Three ants are being pinched between a thumb and index finger. The ants are being compressed and half an ant is sticking out of the second joint of the index finger, but there is no crack at the point where it is sticking out. The finger and ant are linked together in symbiosis as a symbiotic entity, casting doubt on mankind’s endless occupation and destruction of the natural ecology. If the earth only had human beings, could we continue to survive?
All things in the universe are an inseparable symbiotic entity.
The concave blood vessels of the hand and the lines on its skin, as well as the hair pores were all carved. Where the finger was cut, the bone, large and small blood vessels, tendon, fat and skin were all carved. This surface effect startled observers and made them think.
2. That year, the ROC’s National Palace Museum exhibited some works at San Francisco’s Pacific Heritage Museum for 10 months. On display were paintings, slides, porcelain ware, copperware and modern industrial art, 54 works in total. Among the woodcarvings Wu Ching’s precision-sculpted and minutely carved art appeared on an international art stage and drew attention.
1.2. Creative works during that period incorporated an immersion in Buddhist reasoning and philosophy. Completed works include:
“Sublimation”; boxwood; 6 x 6x 53 cm
“A Close Couple Fly Off in Unison”; boxwood; 51 x 8 x 14 cm
“Symbiotic Connection”; satinwood; 32 x 12 x 41 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow”; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 66 cm
“Dreaming of Butterflies”; boxwood; 23 x 23 x 100 cm
1987/01After engaging in Buddhist medicati...
During this period, creating with a quiet concentrated mind served as another form of Buddhist practice. Completed works include:
“Butterfly Orchid”; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Wild Vine”; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Mother and Child”; boxwood; 70 x 55 x 35 cm
“Unhindered”; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 28 cm; Created after engaging in Zen meditation and reading the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (Heart Sutra) six years before
“Parental Love”; silver; 9 x 8 x 7 cm
1986/01Invited to take part in the Nationa...
The major works exhibited during this period at the National Palace Museum in Taipei:
“Cicada”; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Zen”; boxwood; 11 x 11 x 22 cm
During this period, the ecological works were more and more involved with philosophy and conveying inner spiritual significance. Completed works include:
“Comings and Goings”; boxwood; 66 x 5 xx 77 cm
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind”; boxwood; 25 8 42 cm (grass portion damaged, repaired)
“Water Play”; boxwood; 59 x 11 9 cm
“Life Entity”; boxwood; 12 x 12 x 18 cm
“Transfigured Hairy Crab” I; boxwood 20 x 9 x 8 cm
“Transfigured Hairy Crab” II; boxwood 32 x 12 x 9 cm
“Zen”; boxwood; 11 x 11 x 22 cm; After 3 months of arduous thought, a work demonstrating a self challenge breakthrough of Zen thought
1985/011. Invited by the cultural centers ...
1. With the powerful support of then Governor of Taiwan Province Lee Teng-hui, Wu Ching was able to successfully mount his “Wood Sculpture of Ants Individual Exhibition”in various cultural centers around Taiwan province. For the “Wood Sculpture of Ants Individual Exhibition” in Kaohsiung city, the mayor at the time Hsu Shui-teh personally presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Even then President Chiang Ching-kuo demonstrated his concern sending personnel to discuss preparations for arranging an overseas exhibition in the name of the nation. It is a pity that since I was young then, I did not understand the importance of this and never responded.
The works completed during this period center on ecological observations. Completed works include:
“Xie”; boxwood; 11 x 15 x 51 cm (incomplete)
“Cicada Crude Prototype Process”; boxwood; 60 x 16 x 33 cm (damaged)
“Chick tugging at an Earthworm”; boxwood; 14 x 12 x 8 cm (1986 Chang Kuo-chu collection)
“Two Chicks tugging at an Earthworm”; boxwood; 11 x 10 x 24 cm (1986 Tsai Chen-yang collection)
“Small Duck Catching a Loach”; boxwood; 8 x 7 x 10 cm (1986 Chang Kuo-chu collection; sold for five times the price to the Lin Shan-fu collection in 1993)
“Bitter Gourd”; boxwood; 17 x 14 x 26 cm; (1987 Huang Chin-yuan collection)
“Fruit”; boxwood; 23 x 23 x 36 cm
“United Collaborating Ants”; Silver (creatures); copper (colony hole) (Science Education Center Collection)
1984/011.Taipei Fine Arts Museum unveils “...
1. The first time that the curator of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum agreed to accept an individual exhibition. After the “Wood Sculpted Ants Individual Exhibition” was mounted, public reaction was welcoming and sensational.
3. During the Kariya City Art Museum exhibition, Wu Ching expressed gratitude for the support of two teachers, Ko Chuan and Ou Hao, who had passed away. He specially prepared 25 ant woodcarving works for exhibition in Japan and embarked on a 20-day cultural journey. He went on to thank one of Nagoya’s prominent painters of the older generation for the reception and arrangement of the exhibition.
1.2.3. During this period, Wu Ching experimented with the possibilities presented by many different kinds of wood, using the natural properties of each kind of wood to bring the natural gift of life in each creative work. Completed works include:
“Struggling to Break Free” (Large version); Chinese cypress; 31 x 31 x 380 cm
“Pushing”; Chinese cypress; 108 x 94 x 110 cm
“Elephant and Ant”; ivory; 3 x 2 x 4 (damaged, not preserved)
“Parental Love”; boxwood, 8 x 8 x 7 cm
“Breaking Free”; boxwood; 10 x 15 x 42 cm; (1984 Sculptor Chang Ching collection)
“Block Ants”; ironwood; 60 x 16 x 21 cm; 11 x 14 x 21 cm
“Play” I; boxwood
“Play” II; boxwood
“Legends”; boxwood (incomplete)
“Dancing Mantis”; satinwood; 18 x 20 x 28 cm (incomplete)
“Cicada”; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Joining Forces to Push Steep”; ironwood; 90 x 90 x 135 cm (1985 presented to President Chiang Ching-kuo)
“Process of Life”; ironwood; 84 x 13 x 59 cm
“Magic Metamorphosis of Life”; ironwood; 36 x 30 x 11 cm
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm (1993 Lin Shan-fu collection)
1983/01Taipei Fine Arts Museum Opening Inv...
Wu Ching is extremely grateful for the first patron of his life, the curator at the time of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Su Jui-ping.
Since he could not find an exhibition venue, a photo journalist friend Kao Chong-li encouraged Wu Ching to consider the Dedicatory United Exhibition of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum as an opportunity and call up the museum curator, Su Jui-ping.
The curator invited Wu to bring “Struggling to Break Free” to the museum, where Curator Su and the project coordinator, Lin Ching-lung, after looking at it, asked if he had any other works. Wu replied that there were many at his studio, so there after Lin Ching-lung paid Wu’s studio a visit and additionally chose “Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice” to go to the museum.
Although these were only two major works to appear in this exhibition, it was sufficient to elicit a high degree of discussion in the art world.
“Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice”; ironwood; 273 x 28 x 18
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm
1982/01Begins seeking exhibition venues to...
The works completed during this period, from single scenes to narrative stories have limitless imagination. They include:
“Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice”; Ironwood; 273 x 28 x 18; required 4015 working hours to complete
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm;
“Struggling to Break Free” (Large version); Chinese cypress; 31 x 31 x 380 cm
1981/01Completely devotes himself to wood ...
These woodcarvings of ants are unprecedented in the history of the field for their realism and fine detail. They are easily broken, cracked or damaged, so when Wu Ching began reading the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (Heart Sutra) and engaging in Zen meditation, his heart began to calm down, which helped him greatly while carving. As he began to gain enlightenment and understanding of the myriad phenomena of the universe, this laid the foundation for the creative energy of the enlightenment series of works.
The works completed during this period tend to favor use of woodcarving to depict the mental state of seeking breakthroughs. They include:
“Breeding”; boxwood; (1987 Lee Teng-hui Vice Presidential Collection)
“Broken Cocoon” I; boxwood; 18 x 8 x 11 cm
“Broken Cocoon” II; boxwood; 18 x 15 x 11 cm
“Broken Cocoon” III; boxwood; 16 x 18 x 4 cm; (1987 Keelung Municipal Culture Center collection)
“Broken Cocoon” IV; boxwood; 24 x 22 x 16 cm
“Drawing Off” I; boxwood; 15 x 13 x 15 cm; (1984 Chang Ming-jen collection)
“Drawing Off” II; ironwood; 14 x 13 x 14 cm; (1987 Keelung Municipal Culture Center collection)
“Drawing Off” III; boxwood; 13 x 13 x 13.5 cm; (1984 Chang Ming-jen collection)
1980/01Works selected for national and pro...
The works completed during this period gradually shifted from being purely realistic to adding conveyance of his thought. They include:
“Survival and Struggle”; Selected for the 9th National Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; Selected for the 34th Provincial Art Exhibition
“Goddess of Mercy”; camphor wood; 24 x 26 x 49 cm; first pious attempt to sculpt a religious image (not preserved).
“Fascinating”; ironwood; 14 x 14 x 18; (1984 Kuomintang Taiwan Province Party Headquarters Collection)
“Greeting Sunshine”; ironwood; 20 x 17 x 10 cm (damaged)
“Digging a Hole”; ironwood; 54 x 21 x 10 cm
“Winter Plum Delights the Sparrow”; camphor wood; 16 x 20 x 4 cm; From insects to flowers and birds this was an experiment with another kind of realistic depiction (damaged; not preserved)
“Mutually Predating”; ironwood; 19 x 18 x 63 cm; two ants and a fly-feeding spider in a showdown
“Protected Cocoon”; ironwood; 26 x 26 x 50 cm
1979/01Serves as a watchman in the Zuoying...
He was discharged from military service on August 19, and helped out at the photo studio of an old Xingang friend, Ho Chuan-san while working on his creations in the attic of the studio. He used four month to complete his “Survival and Struggle” work not finished during his military tour of duty. Afterward, he spent six months completing another work “An Idea Gels”, which was part of an island-wide art exhibition.
The works completed during this period all involved highly difficult techniques to master the art of realism. They include:
“Survival and Struggle”; Ironwood; 14 x 14 9 cm; Selected as an original woodcarving composition for the 9th National Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; teak; 33 x 27 x 21 cm; Selected as an original woodcarving composition for the 34th Provincial Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; ironwood; 10 x 8 x 6 cm; Work completed at that time.
1978/01During military service continually...
The works completed during this period experimented with the extreme challenge of precise detail. They include:
“Ant”; ironwood; 8 x 8 x 6 cm; (First completed ant) Treasured collection of first intention; decided to make art his life.
“Soar and Roar I”; ironwood; 12 x 12 x 14 cm; Small ants can use determination to exert enormous amounts of energy (damaged, not preserved)
“Soar and Roar II”; ironwood; 13 x 13 x 18 cm; (damaged, not preserved)
“Soar and Roar III”; boxwood; 9 x 10 x 24 cm
1977/011) Began making wood carvings of an...
1) Began making wood carvings of ants; building the foundation of Wu Ching’s realism technique, heading toward delicate woodcarving 2) Began reading western art books and absorbing the philosophy and trends of world art development
1.2. While in the basic level platoon, Wu Ching often used his time to seek wood with the help of friends and try studying ant woodcarving creations. He also loved to read books on religion and philosophy, and books and magazines pertaining to art. After reading voluminously, absorbing the philosophy and trends of world art development, and the latest developmental trends in art, he found his own creative direction. The most concrete influence was super realism. This extremely realistic and virtually lifelike technique allowed Wu Ching thereafter to head toward minute wood carving and even due to this, to become a prominent artist, finding the ultimate core dialogue relationship with his works.
1976/01Does military service...
When one reached the age of obligatory military service back then, you waited to draw lots and receive your orders as to which branch of the armed forces one would serve. Most drafted men feared drawing the lot of serving in the Marines because they feared the hellish boot camp training, and during that era of tense standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, there was considerable risk of war. However, Wu Ching, who by nature was rebellious and loved the thrill of a challenge, prayed to the Goddess Matsu to protect him and allow him to draw a lot to serve as “a proud Marine.” With a first-class physique, he got his wish and drew down the ace lot, and began his three years of military service in August.
1974/01Began studying ant ecology and unde...
While apprenticing at a rosewood shop in Beitou, he went for a stroll along a riverbank one afternoon after getting off work and sat down to rest. Then he discovered a two-meter high earthen wall ahead with a white spot moving. He walked over to take a look and was startled to see that it was several ants pushing a gecko egg right up the slope at a 90 degree angle. He noted that the ants were nowhere near the size of the egg, but nevertheless could move an egg several times larger than their own bodies. Surprised and moved, he materialized this vision in his "Ants" series of creative work and developed a solid realistic technique.
1973/01Began learning how to carve wood. S...
He first encountered carving at age 17 and developed his rudimentary technique from carving wood furniture, but before long, he quit the job. Without any formal training or schooling, he had his own unique style. Right up to when he did his military service, Wu Ching roamed Taiwan three years learning carving techniques, observing the technique and tools used by each shop to carve different types of materials. This laid the foundation after his discharge from the military for his open-minded outlook when engaging in wood sculpture creation.
The first time he went to the National Palace Museum and saw the jade carving of cabbage, ivory balls within balls and a walnut shell carving, he was astonished and thought to himself that if in this lifetime one of his carvings could be added to the NPM collection, he would be fulfilled. Hoping that his creations would be collected by the NPR became his continual motivation thereafter, but he never would have imagined at the time that this dream would come true!
1956/01Born in Xingang Township, Chiayi, T...
Wu Ching was born into a simple farming family of Chiayi, Taiwan in 1956. The only word to describe his youth is “wild.”
He was never interested in studying, and often skipped going to school, heading off into the fields to catch insects and steal fruit. On the banks of a creek he would catch crab or take a bamboo rod to stir up bees nests. He also loved to wander about the streets of Xingang, going to comic book stores to read comic books, and even went gambling. This greatly vexed his teachers and family. Since he was the youngest child, he as spoiled by his entire family, old and young. Even when he got into unnecessary trouble or was so naughty as to get into big trouble, he as virtually never severely punished. Only one time was he beaten by his father. That was when he was 13 and ran away from home with a partner, who planned to seek their fortune in Tainan. When the partner was caught and taken back home, all he could do was shrug his shoulders and head back home.
He only actually completed a middle school education, but anyone who has met Wu Ching would find it difficult to imagine that this sort of eloquence and poise could be so different than the person he was in his childhood. Most of the credit for this goes to his hard work at educating himself and his referent learning about Buddhism.
Even though is childhood life was wide and rebellious, Wu Ching never took a wrong turn. Farming village life was pretty simple, giving him a most unfettered childhood free and self assured, and a far more genuine and precious experience of life than most. Especially since his wandering amidst an abundant natural environment and ardent and steady interest in art cultivated a strong affection for nature, deep love of life and keen sense of observation that became the firm basis of his art.
After graduating from middle school, Wu Ching headed north and spent a year as an itinerant part-time worker. The next year, he decided to return home and go back to school, preparing to sit for the entrance exam to the National Academy of Arts (today’s National Taiwan University of Arts). Then back home he got into a fight that resulted in his father to have to recompense the other party for several thousands of NT dollars of medical expenses, so his dream of a higher education ended there, leading to a life of pursuing his own self education.
The glory of life in the creature world is depicted detail by detail. With a sharp eye for minutiae, as the carving knife moves, the wonder of that beyond the physical world is conveyed.
Ex-director Taipei National Palace Museum
With much hardship and over a long period of time, he has refined his creative works of art until his sculpting has now reached a higher state.
Buddhist Master
A great deal of thought and effort has gone into launching the Wu Ching Sculptures bilingual website in Chinese and English. This will allow comprehensive one-click access to the creative concepts, creative background, unique technique, art appreciation,
Buddhist Master Hsing Yun, the founder and head of Fo Guang Monastery, praised Wu Ching’s divinely inspired work, saying that Wu’s unremitting cultivation of mind and spirit, purification and sublimation infused with external technique allowed for attainment of the perfect state in which mind and art are combined. Wu Ching’s art is a sophisticated, delicate and thin and transparent absolute state of sculpting technique in a class of its own that moves those who behold it. Wu Ching’s mind has attained the Dharma state of emptiness that allows understanding of the mystery of nothingness, a realm where things and self are one. This is the power and inspiration for his inspired creation.
Wu Ching has cultivated himself through the tempering from living as a human being and enlightenment from life via precise sculpture creation. Especially during the centennial of the Republic of China, the Buddha Memorial Center of Fo Guang Monastery decided to welcome in the new lunar year by inviting Wu Ching to exhibit his gold sculpture works so that the public could be replete with Dharma bliss and joyfully see in the new lunar year.
The Xian International Horticultural Expo specially invited Taiwan’s gold sculpting master Wu Ching to exhibit his gold sculpture works alongside national treasure-class cultural objects “Che Tong Ma” and “San Er Long Wen Ding” in the Chang’an Tower. After receiving the invitation, Wu Ching specially created “Datong Shijie”, “Tianluo Diwang”, “Great Harmony”, “Posuo Haiyang,” “Prosperous Descendants” and 13 works he felt closest to for display at the Chang’an Tower.
In 2009, the deputy curator of the China
Maritime Museum
in Shanghai led a delegation to Europe where in
the Hamburg Maritime Museum
they saw a pure gold model of a ship. The museum authorities proudly declared
that this was one of the rarest gold ships in the world. Casting a ship
required bringing together exacting industrial art precision and choice and an
extraordinarily expensive selection of material, so it was rarely found in
museums around the world. The deputy curator of the China Maritime
Museum asked many ship
model companies about this, but due to the risk and extreme difficulty, none
were willing to take on a commission to fabricate a ship model. By chance, he
heard of Taiwan’s famous
gold sculpting master Wu Ching, whom he asked to make a 99.99% pure gold model
of a large-finned ancient Chinese battleship for the China Maritime
Museum so that the
museum’s display could have historical significance and enhance its precious
art collection value.
This was a pioneering work in the museum’s collection
and a major conceptual manifestation of “pre-arranged collecting.”
Two new works premiered at this exhibition:
“Urn”; 30 x 30x 25 cm; gold and porcelain (approximately 20 gold ants)
“Mystery of Orchid Life” 2006; 30 x 30 x 20cm; gold and porcelain
“Countryside Reminiscences” is an unparalleled large-scale work given a place of honor in the special collection of the Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts under the Council for Cultural Affairs and the National Center for Traditional Arts. It was a pioneering work for Taiwan’s promotion of a national special collection policy, and was the only large-scale art work commissioned by the National Center for Traditional Arts in terms of scale, technique and artistic attainment. It has become the treasured centerpiece of the township center, is a tourist attraction, and is effective as an example of applied education.
One a year of time and 25 kg of boxwood was used to make this 25 gram sculpture of 24 by 36 inch women’s lace underpants. The woman’s physique is invisible, the sculpting very detailed and since the work appeared lifelike, it elicited curiosity from those who saw it. The Center specially arranged a recording and slides as well as a sophisticated poster to explain the process of making this work.
1. The “Wu Ching Wood Sculpture/Gold Sculpture/Installation and Statuary Art Exhibition” was divided into wood sculpture and gold sculpture categories:
Wood Sculpture
“Mundane Affinity” 1991; 28 x 28 x 55 cm; boxwood
“Soar and Roar” 1978; 9 x 10 x 24 cm; boxwood
“Struggling to Break Free” 1984; 31 x 31 x 380 cm; boxwood
“Dreaming of Butterflies” 1987; 23 x 23 x 100 cm; boxwood
“Symbiotic Connection” 1987; 32 x 12 x 41 cm; satinwood
“Zen” 1986; 11 x 11 x 22 cm; boxwood
“Process of Life” 1983; 84 x 13 x 59 cm; ironwood
Gold Sculpture
“I Need Soil” 1999; 16 x 20 x 68 cm; gold and glass
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997; 55 x 20 x 42; gold, silver and copper
“Dragonfly Love” 1993; 13 x 9 x 13 cm; gold and stone
“Grief and Joy Intermingled” 1996; 96 x 71 x 275 cm; gold and copper
“Involvement? Obeisance?”; 300 x 60 x 190 cm; copper
“Hairy Crabs Gathering at the Precious Basin” 2006; 23 x 23 x 26; gold, porcelain
“Mantis Preying Upon a Cicada” 1995; 30 x 15 x 15; gold and silver
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind” 1991; 30 x 12 x 42; gold and stone
2. The Taipei 101 building’s observation deck exhibition “Taiwan’s Golden Images—Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Art Exhibition” featured a display of 22 sculptures using 99.99% pure gold worth NT$200 million, at a venue atop what was then the world’s tallest building, to set a new record. All works used such virtually pure gold as their sculpting material, allowing them to manifest integrality. Most works were welded together with 1100°C heat then minutely micro-sculpted to give a uniform and gorgeous surface appearance. Pursuing exacting standards has allowed Wu Ching’s gold sculpture art to appear lifelike as if it could speak…gold sculpted flower petals are transparent, butterflies lightly tremble as lifelike as if they were about to fly out the window. Thick and heavy gold, thanks to Wu Ching’s precise and minute sculpting, becomes a thin, transparent and moving work of art.
The most famous work in Wu Ching’s gold sculpture exhibition is the large-scale “Prosperous Descendants” which used 2.9 kg of gold to make, and which is 1.95 meter long, 1.05 meter wide and 1.33 meters tall, in addition to a silver base and bronze frame. It has bitter gourd vine creepers and ants as its main subjects. The gold ants are the same size as real one. There are also butterflies, praying mantis and lady bugs flit to and fro. This work that uses realism techniques expresses the beauty of the natural world of creatures. The work consists of thousands of individual entities carved to make molds then is assembled with extremely difficult welding techniques to join gold piece with gold piece. He directly uses nearly pure gold with spot use of 1200̊C heat. The surface of the work is uniform and represents a new aspect of gold art. Use of floating, three-dimensional and transparent sculpting techniques, this hand-carved work has a special portrayal that is very lifelike, and is a rare example anywhere in the world of a large-scale gold sculpture carved with such precision.
Another most well-know work is “Home,” 6 meters long, 0.8 meters wide and 0.6 meters tall. Made with 1.021 kg of gold, it is an ecological work with 523 gold ants as its subject. It minutely portrays a society of creatures from the natural world in all their fine complexity and vividness.
1. The exhibition “A View of What Matters in Human Life from the World of Flora and Ants” displayed 8 gold sculptures, 8 wood sculptures, and 2 copper sculptures. Among them was “Broken Urn,” a work consuming two years to complete, on display for the first time. Although not formally released for 15 years, it was specially brought to congratulate realization of the Chiayi Municipal Museum, and is the progenitor of all orchid sculptures in Taiwan. A vase of butterfly orchids was carved from a single block of 3,000 year-old boxwood. The work is marvelous to behold and lifelike, with the butterfly orchid’s branches and trunk coarsely carved, and its flower petals carved thin as gossamer cicada wings. The flower vase has the feel of a hand-thrown piece of pottery. The work was well received and the subject of considerable attention.
For the exhibition “Wu Ching and Van Gogh—A Cross-Era and Distance Dialogue,” over ten wood and gold sculpted works were displayed, and “Dharma Bliss” was publicly premiered for art lovers, featuring Wu Ching’s own head as its subject. Also on display for the first time was “Woman Walking,” which took as its subject matter a pair of women’s underpants. The fourth generation of the Chiang family, Chiang Yu-po, cultural creation master, was invited to attend. He most admired “Dharma Bliss,” feeling that the entire entity was very startling and made extremely precisely with minute detail, leaving a deep impression.
To encourage the circumstances for artistic talent, creation and research, and foster the pluralistic development of the fine arts in Taiwan, as well as to assist in cultivating assessment and critical capabilities for modern art, Wu Ching accepted an invitation to serve on the planning commission and as a panel judge for the 17th Nationwide Art Exhibition, where he unselfishly promoted the emergence of new art and exulted in fame being accorded real talent.
This was the first time that the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Educational and Cultural Foundation invited an individual touring exhibition.
The works during this period experimented with another kind of value preserving material, jade, with wonderful results. Completed works include:
“Lotus Crab” (Harmony); gold and jade; 30 x 15 x 15 cm
“Source of Life II”; gold and copper; 30 x 30 x 50 cm
“Deep in Thought?”; copper; 69 x 85 x 101 cm
“Involvement? Obeisance?”; copper; 300 x 60 x 190 cm
The works during this period once again improve on the “Prosperous Descendants” series of works, making them easier to display and collect.
The “Gold and Jade Drawing Room” exhibition displayed over 100 sets of gold sculpture and ancient jades. What was most viewed by the public was Wu Ching’s gold sculpture work “Countryside Reminiscences”. Wu Ching spent nearly three years meticulously creating this ant world where no detail was left out, large or small. In all, 806 lifelike gold ants arduously labor atop silver branches, transporting things. The circulation and interdependence of Nature are evident in the subtleties of this work. Director Chen of the cultural center stated, “Teacher Wu Ching’s mastery of sculpting tiny ants is much like learning Buddhist practices, it requires extraordinary personal endurance and determination to realistically depict the world of ants to serve as an allegory for genuine human life.”
The works completed during this period:
“Prosperous Descendants” 2001 (medium-sized version); gold, silver and copper; 89 x 43 x 86 cm (2002 Wang Wen-yuan collection)
Creation of the works completed during this period was commissioned by the National Science and Technology Museum of Kaohsiung as an invitation to create ecological education materials. “Prosperous Descendants” 2000 (medium-sized version); gold and copper; 110 x 50 x 100 cm (2000 Wu Jen-fu collection)“Ant Ecology” 2000; gold and copper; 81 x 26 x 33 cm; (2000 National Science and Technology Museum of Kaohsiung collection)
1. A total of 23 gold sculpture works were displayed. From 1989 onward, sculptured art works were made with gold, directly using 99.99 percent pure gold welded at 1200°C. This produced works with perfect surface appearance and opened up a new field of precision carved art. Silver and copper were combined with gold for a multiplier effect and different materials were matched and combined to give the gold sculpted works even greater perfection and to broaden the expressive space of sculpted art.
2. The major works include:
“New Year’s Orchid” 1999 (small version); gold and stone; 22 x 23 x 58 cm
“I Need Soil” 1999 (small version); gold and glass; 16 x 20 x 68 cm
“Dragonflies Sport with Taipei Grass Frogs”; gold and copper; 30 x 17 x 17 cm
“Swallowtails Sport with Taipei Grass Frogs”; gold and copper; 30 x 17 x 17 cm
1. To promote artistic and cultural events to give something back to society, the Chungyo Department Store of Taichung invited Wu Ching to hold a large gold sculpture exhibition. Since this objective was highly significant, Wu Ching happily agreed to do his part to make it a success.
2. In all, 23 works were displayed, demonstrating Wu Ching’s compassion, exploration, concern and philosophical insight on impassioned and passionless life. During his lonely, long-term and arduous creative career, he gradually realized the marvelous in emptiness and the Dharma bliss amidst tranquility, just as Buddhist Master Hsing Yuan’s words of praise put it: “The material he shapes is gold, and the residue on his hands is gold. But in his heart, there is not gold but self-cultivation.”
The “Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Exhibition” displayed only one wood sculpture, “Why Stir Up Dust?” along with 31 gold sculpted works.
Wu Ching attempted to explore such concepts as the alternation of life and death and affinities of passion in the human world, while abstrusely realizing practice of the Buddhist doctrines, going beyond realism to incorporate abstract ideas and expressing philosophical ideas about such issues as ecology and the environment. When sculpting ants, he began reading the Buddhist canon and was greatly influenced, leading this individual exhibition to demonstrate the results of his personal Buddhist practice.
The works during this period once again improve on the “Prosperous Descendants” series of works, making them easier to display and collect.
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-1 (medium-size version; gold, silver and copper; 68 x 42 x 56 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-2; gold and stone; 30 x 16 x 6 cm; (1997 Kao Chung-yun collection)
“Prosperous Descendants” 1997-3 (small version); gold, silver and copper; 55 x 20 x 42 cm
“Ant Ecology” 1997; gold and silver; 80 x 26 x 24 cm (Koo Chen-fu collection)
1. During this period, all of Wu Ching’s effort went into creating, Buddhist meditation, and reading Buddhist sutras. After experiencing intermingled grief and joy, great compassion and sorrow, Wu Ching reached the pinnacle of creation at age 40. After a visit to his residence by the curator of the modern art pavilion at the National Palace Museum, Ms Chen Yuan, to admire his new works, she encouragingly remarked that “this is your creative pinnacle!”
2. Ms Chao Tsui-hui, a lecturer at Fo Guang Monastery, and friends visited Wu Ching’s residence to see his wood sculpture works and were deeply moved and taken with them. She vigorously promoted the first “Wu Ching Gold Sculpture Exhibition” the next year.
The works during this period profoundly explore the reality beneath the surface of life. Completed works include:
“Heartbeat”; boxwood; 300 x 50 x 25 cm
“Passion for What Thing?”; boxwood, assemblage; 140 x 132 x 195 cm
“Zen Meditation”; boxwood; assemblage; 184 x 80 x 94 cm; the dialogue between bone and orchids is fascinating
“Dharma Bliss”; boxwood; 23 x 26 x 49 cm; a woodcarving challenging the properties of wood to convey the feeling of skin with accurate and minute detail
“Countryside Reminiscences”; gold, silver and copper; 302 x 92 x 213 cm
“Affinity of Life, Affinity of Death”; copper; 17 x 20 x 22 cm; recasting of wood sculpture exploration of life and death, the copper version is clearly more solid
“Passion for What Thing?”; gold and silver; 140 x 132 x 194 cm
“And the Flower?”; silver; 23 x 16 x 26 cm
“Grief and Joy Intermingled”; gold and copper; 96 x 71 x 275 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture, the two kinds of metal combine in an interesting way
“Zen, Meditation?”; gold and copper; 184 x 80 x 94 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture; the gold metal gives off a different essence
“Heartbeat”; gold and silver; 220 x 47 x 20 cm
“Dharma Bliss”; gold and copper; 26 x 22 x 48 cm; recasting of original wood sculpture. Despite the properties of gold, the butterflies still seem to flit lithely.
Taiwan, renowned for its woodcarving of ants, in order to open up the field of gold sculpture, exhibited 24 sparking gold sculpture works in a rarely seen special gold sculpture exhibition at the Taipei Art Gallery in Rockefeller Center, New York on 6th Avenue between 48th and 49th Street. Many new works were completed for this exhibition to be shared with friends abroad.
The creative juices were really flowing during this period; every creation has a profound story from the bottom of one’s heart. Completed works include:
“Grief and Joy Intermingled”; boxwood; 155 x 112 x 126 cm; created from thought during Buddhist meditation with endless joy during the creation process
“Walking Woman” boxwood; 25 x 19 x 22 cm; Very challenging and considerably imaginative; immediately apprehensible
“Daisies”; boxwood
“Panties”; boxwood; 57 x 15 x 45 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1995 (large version); gold, silver and copper; 195 x 105 x 133 cm; another explication of arboreal beauty
“Bamboo and Dragonflies” 1995; gold and silver; 24 x 13 x 21 cm
“Butterfly Love” 1995; gold and silver; 18 x 7 x 18 cm
“Mantis Preying Upon a Cicada”; gold and silver; 30 x 15 x 15 cm
“Mother and Child”; gold and silver; 30 x 12 x 55 cm
“A Love in Life and Death”; gold and stone; 14 x 12 x 14 cm
“My Life”; gold and plastic; 70 x 30 x 24 cm
“I Need Water”; gold; 47 x 5 x 20 cm
“Source of Life”; gold and silver; 41 x 30 x 62 cm
“Mundane Affinity”; gold and silver; 40 x 32 x 57 cm; cast from wood sculpture, the gold and silver sparkle enhances attractiveness
“ Mystery of Life”; gold and fossilized bovine skull; 60 x 35 x 70 cm; the combination of different materials produced a marvelous effect (1997 Lin Hsieh rare collection)
Chairman Chen Chin-huang of the sponsoring agency, the Xingang Cultural and Educational Foundation, invited Wu Ching to return to his hometown and mount an exhibition. This was also the first event of the Nationwide Culture and Art Festival. Chairman Chen subsequently recommended that Wu Ching exhibit in New York in 1995.
Works of this period were simultaneously rendered as wood and gold sculptures. The works exhibited in the Xingang Township, Chiayi County Elementary School lobby included:
“Protected Cocoon” 1981; ironwood; 26 x 26 x 50 cm
“Struggling to Break Free” 1984; ironwood; 23 x 23 x 120 cm
“Cicadas” 1984; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Comings and Goings” 1985; boxwood; 66 x 5 xx 77 cm
“Orchids” 1986; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Rabbits” 1987; boxwood; 70 x 55 x 35 cm
“One of the Unhindered” 1987; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 28 cm
“Parental Love” 1989; 99.99% pure gold; 9 x 6 x 9 cm
“Zen” 1991; 99.99% pure gold and silver; 15 x 15 x 26 cm
“I Need Soil” 1993; 99.99% pure gold; 28 x 28 x 60 cm
Works of this period were even more in the style of Buddhist thought and philosophy. Completed works include:
“One Ant on a Leaf” (1); boxwood; 6.2 x 3.2 x 2.5 cm
“Desire”; boxwood; 60 x 40 x 80 cm
“Affinity of Life, Affinity of Death”; boxwood; 16 x 21 x 23 cm
“Why Stir Up Dust?”; boxwood; 155 x 18 x 30 cm
1. First exhibition of a large-scale work, “Prosperous Descendants”; gold, copper and stone; 420 x 200 x 400 cm, weighing 7 kg.
2. Wu Ching is sincerely grateful to Ms Chen Yuan, curator of the Modern Art pavilion of NPM, who visited his studio to borrow works for exhibition, and who conveyed the hope that NPM would collect his works to the Director of NPM.
On the 14th day of the first lunar month of 1993, Director Ch’in Hsiao-yi invited Wu Ching to meet with him at the NPM a couple of days later, during which Director Ch’in indicated that the NPM wanted to break with tradition and collect Wu Ching’s gold sculpture. He was asked to create a work depicting ant ecology whereupon he happily agreed and with concentration researched and started creating the giant work which was completed within a year.
1.2 Works of this period were simultaneously rendered as wood and gold sculptures. Completed works include:
“Empty”; boxwood; 22 x 26 x 46 cm
“One Ant on a Leaf” (2); boxwood; 6.6 x 3.3 x 2.8 cm
“Two Ants on a Leaf” (1); boxwood; 6.3 x 3.2 x 2.5 cm
“Two Ants on a Leaf” (2); boxwood; 6.8 x 3.3 x 2.9 cm
“Mystery of Life”; boxwood, modular assemblage; 105 x 80 x 168 cm
“I Need Water” (1); boxwood, modular assemblage; 8 x 9 x 101 cm
“I Need Water” (2); boxwood, modular assemblage; 84 x 40 x 109 cm
“Life? Death?” (1); boxwood; 100 x 27 x 18 cm
“Life? Death?” (2); boxwood; 150 x 20 x 30 cm
“Rose Walking in the Air”; boxwood; 70 x 26 x 70 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-1; gold, copper and stone; 280 x 38 x 120 cm (permanent collection of National Palace Museum)
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-2; gold and stone; 40 x 22 x 7 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1993-3; gold; 11 x 12 x 8 cm; (1993 Jiang Soong Mei Ling collection)
“Dragonfly Love” 1993; gold and stone; 13 x 9 x 13 cm
“Butterfly Love” 1993; gold and stone; 12 x 10 x 13 cm
“Joy of Life”; gold and stone; 11 x 8 x 13 cm
“Mundane Affinity”; boxwood; 28 x 28 x 55 cm
“Absurd Appearance”; boxwood; 19 x 21 x 23 cm
“Prosperous Descendants” 1992; gold, copper and stone; 420 x 200 x 400 cm
“Dragonflies” 1992‒1; gold and stone; 9 x 8 x 10 cm
“Bamboo and Dragonflies” 1992‒2; gold and silver; 12 x 12 x 18 cm
“Swallowtails” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 10 x 10 cm
“Locusts” 1992; gold and stone; 8 x 8 x 9 cm
“Bees” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 10 cm
“Cicada” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 9 cm
“Mantis” 1992; gold and stone; 10 x 9 x 10 cm
“I Need Soil” 1992 (large version); gold and glass; 20 x 20 x 70; plant cutting extends out of a glass bottle to find its way out
Over the past six years, Wu Ching concentrated on exploring Zen Buddhism, using what he learned to develop gold sculpture and achieving breakthroughs in sculpting with boxwood. His greatest success at challenging himself was using wood one fifth the thickness of newsprint to carve creature wings or flower petal patterns with a transparent sense.
He also fabricated separate molds for many of his gold sculpted works and used 1060˚C welding techniques with virtually pure gold, a breakthrough over traditional methods. After 10 months, “Bitter Gourds” was completed and assembled from 160 block modules.
As of this period, development of techniques for making gold sculpted works and properly joining different materials was had matured. Completed works include:
“Old Bamboo”; boxwood, modular assemblage
“Ants” 1991; gold and stone; 14 x 10 x 10 cm 1998
“Parental Love” (small version); gold and stone; 7 x 5 x 4 cm
“Bitter Gourds” 1991; gold, silver and stone; 80 x 45 x 156
“New Year’s Orchid” 1991 (large version); gold and stone; 55 x 26 x 87 cm
“Water Play”; gold and stone; 56 x 40 x 12 cm
“Man or Butterfly?”; gold and silver; 29 x 29 x 55 cm; cast from wood, less thinness but more contemplation
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind”; gold and stone; 30 x 12 x 42 cm
“Zen” 1991; gold and silver; 14 x 14 x 21; the associations of the cicada, circular gold and silver creates an extremely pluralistic appreciative perspective
“Unhindered” 1991; gold and silver; 16 x 9 x 20 cm
“Insects”; gold and silver; 28 x 22 x 10 cm
“Dragonflies” 1991; gold; 6 x 8 x 4 cm
“Butterflies” 1991; gold; 8 x 7 x 4 cm
“Locusts” 1991; gold; 6 x 2 x 3 cm
“Bees: 1991; gold; 5 x 6 x 4
“Cicadas” 1991; gold; 4 x 8 x 4 cm
“Mantis” 1991; gold; 8 x 5 x 6 cm
During this period, gold sculpting technique was continually undergoing experimentation to adjust it to the most fitting mode. Completed works include:
“Right Move? Bad Move?”; boxwood
“Butterfly Orchid”; gold; 40 x 36 x 102 cm
“Large Ant”; gold and stone; 5 x 3 x 3 cm (single ant)
“Ants” 1990; gold and stone; 10 x 10 x 10 cm
“Mantis and Ant”; gold and stone; 63 x 32 x 33 cm
“A Close Couple Fly Off in Unison”; gold; 50 x 9 x 30 cm
“Protecting the Young”; gold and agate; 13 x 9 x 23 cm
“Sublimation”; gold; 8 x 6 x 59 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow” 1990‒1; gold and stone; 42 x 28 x 56 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow” 1990‒2; gold and silver; 43 x 23 x 72 cm
“Zen” 1990; gold; 14 x 14 x 21 cm
“Unhindered” 1990; gold
1. After several continuous days of Buddhist meditation, in a blink of an eye, a fraction of a second, the realization came that all things in the universe are empty, and all phenomena are unreal. After a very, very long time…came awareness of the hardship of what I was trying to accomplish (wanting to leave behind a batch of wood sculpted works, and to make an art museum of my own). Then the tears started flowing uncontrollably and my heard was full of grief and joy.
This period involved seeking and experimenting with the possibilities of shifting from wood sculpting to gold sculpting. Completed works include:
“Tree of Life”; satinwood; incomplete
“Broken Urn”; boxwood; 52 x 23 x 66 cm; An orchid lives and the urn is cracked, providing the observer with different perspectives and thoughts
“Man or Butterfly?”; boxwood; 22 x 22 x 42 cm; Inspired by an ancient text, this work explores the nature of emptiness, nothingness, reality and fantasy
“Life and Death; Death and Life”; boxwood; incomplete
“Parental Love” (Large version); gold and agate; 10 x 7 x 10 cm
1. The dedication of what was then the Taiwan Province Museum of Fine Arts was gala event of the art world at the time. Those invited were all major contemporary artists. The work invited to be exhibited, “Symbiotic Connection” is a 32 x 12 x 41 cm work carved out of satinwood. This work selected for the exhibition has a profound creative precept: The work was enlarged five cubic times. Three ants are being pinched between a thumb and index finger. The ants are being compressed and half an ant is sticking out of the second joint of the index finger, but there is no crack at the point where it is sticking out. The finger and ant are linked together in symbiosis as a symbiotic entity, casting doubt on mankind’s endless occupation and destruction of the natural ecology. If the earth only had human beings, could we continue to survive?
All things in the universe are an inseparable symbiotic entity.
The concave blood vessels of the hand and the lines on its skin, as well as the hair pores were all carved. Where the finger was cut, the bone, large and small blood vessels, tendon, fat and skin were all carved. This surface effect startled observers and made them think.
2. That year, the ROC’s National Palace Museum exhibited some works at San Francisco’s Pacific Heritage Museum for 10 months. On display were paintings, slides, porcelain ware, copperware and modern industrial art, 54 works in total. Among the woodcarvings Wu Ching’s precision-sculpted and minutely carved art appeared on an international art stage and drew attention.
1.2. Creative works during that period incorporated an immersion in Buddhist reasoning and philosophy. Completed works include:
“Sublimation”; boxwood; 6 x 6x 53 cm
“A Close Couple Fly Off in Unison”; boxwood; 51 x 8 x 14 cm
“Symbiotic Connection”; satinwood; 32 x 12 x 41 cm
“Freely Going with the Flow”; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 66 cm
“Dreaming of Butterflies”; boxwood; 23 x 23 x 100 cm
During this period, creating with a quiet concentrated mind served as another form of Buddhist practice. Completed works include:
“Butterfly Orchid”; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Wild Vine”; boxwood; 26 x 26 x 59 cm
“Mother and Child”; boxwood; 70 x 55 x 35 cm
“Unhindered”; boxwood; 18 x 18 x 28 cm; Created after engaging in Zen meditation and reading the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (Heart Sutra) six years before
“Parental Love”; silver; 9 x 8 x 7 cm
The major works exhibited during this period at the National Palace Museum in Taipei:
“Cicada”; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Zen”; boxwood; 11 x 11 x 22 cm
During this period, the ecological works were more and more involved with philosophy and conveying inner spiritual significance. Completed works include:
“Comings and Goings”; boxwood; 66 x 5 xx 77 cm
“Rustle of Grass in the Wind”; boxwood; 25 8 42 cm (grass portion damaged, repaired)
“Water Play”; boxwood; 59 x 11 9 cm
“Life Entity”; boxwood; 12 x 12 x 18 cm
“Transfigured Hairy Crab” I; boxwood 20 x 9 x 8 cm
“Transfigured Hairy Crab” II; boxwood 32 x 12 x 9 cm
“Zen”; boxwood; 11 x 11 x 22 cm; After 3 months of arduous thought, a work demonstrating a self challenge breakthrough of Zen thought
1. With the powerful support of then Governor of Taiwan Province Lee Teng-hui, Wu Ching was able to successfully mount his “Wood Sculpture of Ants Individual Exhibition”in various cultural centers around Taiwan province. For the “Wood Sculpture of Ants Individual Exhibition” in Kaohsiung city, the mayor at the time Hsu Shui-teh personally presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Even then President Chiang Ching-kuo demonstrated his concern sending personnel to discuss preparations for arranging an overseas exhibition in the name of the nation. It is a pity that since I was young then, I did not understand the importance of this and never responded.
The works completed during this period center on ecological observations. Completed works include:
“Xie”; boxwood; 11 x 15 x 51 cm (incomplete)
“Cicada Crude Prototype Process”; boxwood; 60 x 16 x 33 cm (damaged)
“Chick tugging at an Earthworm”; boxwood; 14 x 12 x 8 cm (1986 Chang Kuo-chu collection)
“Two Chicks tugging at an Earthworm”; boxwood; 11 x 10 x 24 cm (1986 Tsai Chen-yang collection)
“Small Duck Catching a Loach”; boxwood; 8 x 7 x 10 cm (1986 Chang Kuo-chu collection; sold for five times the price to the Lin Shan-fu collection in 1993)
“Bitter Gourd”; boxwood; 17 x 14 x 26 cm; (1987 Huang Chin-yuan collection)
“Fruit”; boxwood; 23 x 23 x 36 cm
“United Collaborating Ants”; Silver (creatures); copper (colony hole) (Science Education Center Collection)
1. The first time that the curator of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum agreed to accept an individual exhibition. After the “Wood Sculpted Ants Individual Exhibition” was mounted, public reaction was welcoming and sensational.
3. During the Kariya City Art Museum exhibition, Wu Ching expressed gratitude for the support of two teachers, Ko Chuan and Ou Hao, who had passed away. He specially prepared 25 ant woodcarving works for exhibition in Japan and embarked on a 20-day cultural journey. He went on to thank one of Nagoya’s prominent painters of the older generation for the reception and arrangement of the exhibition.
1.2.3. During this period, Wu Ching experimented with the possibilities presented by many different kinds of wood, using the natural properties of each kind of wood to bring the natural gift of life in each creative work. Completed works include:
“Struggling to Break Free” (Large version); Chinese cypress; 31 x 31 x 380 cm
“Pushing”; Chinese cypress; 108 x 94 x 110 cm
“Elephant and Ant”; ivory; 3 x 2 x 4 (damaged, not preserved)
“Parental Love”; boxwood, 8 x 8 x 7 cm
“Breaking Free”; boxwood; 10 x 15 x 42 cm; (1984 Sculptor Chang Ching collection)
“Block Ants”; ironwood; 60 x 16 x 21 cm; 11 x 14 x 21 cm
“Play” I; boxwood
“Play” II; boxwood
“Legends”; boxwood (incomplete)
“Dancing Mantis”; satinwood; 18 x 20 x 28 cm (incomplete)
“Cicada”; boxwood; 15 x 15 x 32 cm
“Joining Forces to Push Steep”; ironwood; 90 x 90 x 135 cm (1985 presented to President Chiang Ching-kuo)
“Process of Life”; ironwood; 84 x 13 x 59 cm
“Magic Metamorphosis of Life”; ironwood; 36 x 30 x 11 cm
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm (1993 Lin Shan-fu collection)
Wu Ching is extremely grateful for the first patron of his life, the curator at the time of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Su Jui-ping.
Since he could not find an exhibition venue, a photo journalist friend Kao Chong-li encouraged Wu Ching to consider the Dedicatory United Exhibition of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum as an opportunity and call up the museum curator, Su Jui-ping.
The curator invited Wu to bring “Struggling to Break Free” to the museum, where Curator Su and the project coordinator, Lin Ching-lung, after looking at it, asked if he had any other works. Wu replied that there were many at his studio, so there after Lin Ching-lung paid Wu’s studio a visit and additionally chose “Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice” to go to the museum.
Although these were only two major works to appear in this exhibition, it was sufficient to elicit a high degree of discussion in the art world.
“Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice”; ironwood; 273 x 28 x 18
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm
The works completed during this period, from single scenes to narrative stories have limitless imagination. They include:
“Group of Ants Moving a Grain of Rice”; Ironwood; 273 x 28 x 18; required 4015 working hours to complete
“Struggling to Break Free” (Small version); ironwood; 14 x 16 x 105 cm;
“Struggling to Break Free” (Large version); Chinese cypress; 31 x 31 x 380 cm
These woodcarvings of ants are unprecedented in the history of the field for their realism and fine detail. They are easily broken, cracked or damaged, so when Wu Ching began reading the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (Heart Sutra) and engaging in Zen meditation, his heart began to calm down, which helped him greatly while carving. As he began to gain enlightenment and understanding of the myriad phenomena of the universe, this laid the foundation for the creative energy of the enlightenment series of works.
The works completed during this period tend to favor use of woodcarving to depict the mental state of seeking breakthroughs. They include:
“Breeding”; boxwood; (1987 Lee Teng-hui Vice Presidential Collection)
“Broken Cocoon” I; boxwood; 18 x 8 x 11 cm
“Broken Cocoon” II; boxwood; 18 x 15 x 11 cm
“Broken Cocoon” III; boxwood; 16 x 18 x 4 cm; (1987 Keelung Municipal Culture Center collection)
“Broken Cocoon” IV; boxwood; 24 x 22 x 16 cm
“Drawing Off” I; boxwood; 15 x 13 x 15 cm; (1984 Chang Ming-jen collection)
“Drawing Off” II; ironwood; 14 x 13 x 14 cm; (1987 Keelung Municipal Culture Center collection)
“Drawing Off” III; boxwood; 13 x 13 x 13.5 cm; (1984 Chang Ming-jen collection)
The works completed during this period gradually shifted from being purely realistic to adding conveyance of his thought. They include:
“Survival and Struggle”; Selected for the 9th National Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; Selected for the 34th Provincial Art Exhibition
“Goddess of Mercy”; camphor wood; 24 x 26 x 49 cm; first pious attempt to sculpt a religious image (not preserved).
“Fascinating”; ironwood; 14 x 14 x 18; (1984 Kuomintang Taiwan Province Party Headquarters Collection)
“Greeting Sunshine”; ironwood; 20 x 17 x 10 cm (damaged)
“Digging a Hole”; ironwood; 54 x 21 x 10 cm
“Winter Plum Delights the Sparrow”; camphor wood; 16 x 20 x 4 cm; From insects to flowers and birds this was an experiment with another kind of realistic depiction (damaged; not preserved)
“Mutually Predating”; ironwood; 19 x 18 x 63 cm; two ants and a fly-feeding spider in a showdown
“Protected Cocoon”; ironwood; 26 x 26 x 50 cm
He was discharged from military service on August 19, and helped out at the photo studio of an old Xingang friend, Ho Chuan-san while working on his creations in the attic of the studio. He used four month to complete his “Survival and Struggle” work not finished during his military tour of duty. Afterward, he spent six months completing another work “An Idea Gels”, which was part of an island-wide art exhibition.
The works completed during this period all involved highly difficult techniques to master the art of realism. They include:
“Survival and Struggle”; Ironwood; 14 x 14 9 cm; Selected as an original woodcarving composition for the 9th National Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; teak; 33 x 27 x 21 cm; Selected as an original woodcarving composition for the 34th Provincial Art Exhibition
“An Idea Gels”; ironwood; 10 x 8 x 6 cm; Work completed at that time.
The works completed during this period experimented with the extreme challenge of precise detail. They include:
“Ant”; ironwood; 8 x 8 x 6 cm; (First completed ant) Treasured collection of first intention; decided to make art his life.
“Soar and Roar I”; ironwood; 12 x 12 x 14 cm; Small ants can use determination to exert enormous amounts of energy (damaged, not preserved)
“Soar and Roar II”; ironwood; 13 x 13 x 18 cm; (damaged, not preserved)
“Soar and Roar III”; boxwood; 9 x 10 x 24 cm
1) Began making wood carvings of ants; building the foundation of Wu Ching’s realism technique, heading toward delicate woodcarving 2) Began reading western art books and absorbing the philosophy and trends of world art development
1.2. While in the basic level platoon, Wu Ching often used his time to seek wood with the help of friends and try studying ant woodcarving creations. He also loved to read books on religion and philosophy, and books and magazines pertaining to art. After reading voluminously, absorbing the philosophy and trends of world art development, and the latest developmental trends in art, he found his own creative direction. The most concrete influence was super realism. This extremely realistic and virtually lifelike technique allowed Wu Ching thereafter to head toward minute wood carving and even due to this, to become a prominent artist, finding the ultimate core dialogue relationship with his works.
When one reached the age of obligatory military service back then, you waited to draw lots and receive your orders as to which branch of the armed forces one would serve. Most drafted men feared drawing the lot of serving in the Marines because they feared the hellish boot camp training, and during that era of tense standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, there was considerable risk of war. However, Wu Ching, who by nature was rebellious and loved the thrill of a challenge, prayed to the Goddess Matsu to protect him and allow him to draw a lot to serve as “a proud Marine.” With a first-class physique, he got his wish and drew down the ace lot, and began his three years of military service in August.
While apprenticing at a rosewood shop in Beitou, he went for a stroll along a riverbank one afternoon after getting off work and sat down to rest. Then he discovered a two-meter high earthen wall ahead with a white spot moving. He walked over to take a look and was startled to see that it was several ants pushing a gecko egg right up the slope at a 90 degree angle. He noted that the ants were nowhere near the size of the egg, but nevertheless could move an egg several times larger than their own bodies. Surprised and moved, he materialized this vision in his "Ants" series of creative work and developed a solid realistic technique.
He first encountered carving at age 17 and developed his rudimentary technique from carving wood furniture, but before long, he quit the job. Without any formal training or schooling, he had his own unique style. Right up to when he did his military service, Wu Ching roamed Taiwan three years learning carving techniques, observing the technique and tools used by each shop to carve different types of materials. This laid the foundation after his discharge from the military for his open-minded outlook when engaging in wood sculpture creation.
The first time he went to the National Palace Museum and saw the jade carving of cabbage, ivory balls within balls and a walnut shell carving, he was astonished and thought to himself that if in this lifetime one of his carvings could be added to the NPM collection, he would be fulfilled. Hoping that his creations would be collected by the NPR became his continual motivation thereafter, but he never would have imagined at the time that this dream would come true!
Wu Ching was born into a simple farming family of Chiayi, Taiwan in 1956. The only word to describe his youth is “wild.”
He was never interested in studying, and often skipped going to school, heading off into the fields to catch insects and steal fruit. On the banks of a creek he would catch crab or take a bamboo rod to stir up bees nests. He also loved to wander about the streets of Xingang, going to comic book stores to read comic books, and even went gambling. This greatly vexed his teachers and family. Since he was the youngest child, he as spoiled by his entire family, old and young. Even when he got into unnecessary trouble or was so naughty as to get into big trouble, he as virtually never severely punished. Only one time was he beaten by his father. That was when he was 13 and ran away from home with a partner, who planned to seek their fortune in Tainan. When the partner was caught and taken back home, all he could do was shrug his shoulders and head back home.
He only actually completed a middle school education, but anyone who has met Wu Ching would find it difficult to imagine that this sort of eloquence and poise could be so different than the person he was in his childhood. Most of the credit for this goes to his hard work at educating himself and his referent learning about Buddhism.
Even though is childhood life was wide and rebellious, Wu Ching never took a wrong turn. Farming village life was pretty simple, giving him a most unfettered childhood free and self assured, and a far more genuine and precious experience of life than most. Especially since his wandering amidst an abundant natural environment and ardent and steady interest in art cultivated a strong affection for nature, deep love of life and keen sense of observation that became the firm basis of his art.
After graduating from middle school, Wu Ching headed north and spent a year as an itinerant part-time worker. The next year, he decided to return home and go back to school, preparing to sit for the entrance exam to the National Academy of Arts (today’s National Taiwan University of Arts). Then back home he got into a fight that resulted in his father to have to recompense the other party for several thousands of NT dollars of medical expenses, so his dream of a higher education ended there, leading to a life of pursuing his own self education.
Ex-director Taipei National Palace Museum
Buddhist Master
