Chiang Hsun

Author, art historian

Chiang Hsun is a Taiwanese author and art historian. After graduating from Department of History and Graduate School of Arts of Chinese Culture University, he furthered his studies in arts in Paris. After returning to Taiwan in 1976, he was the chief editor of the Lion Art Monthly published in Taiwan. He also taught in Chinese Culture University, Fu Jen Catholic University, National Taiwan University, and Tamkang University. He has written poems, novels, and essays, and is author of Six Lectures About Loneliness.

People wearing face masks walk along a shopping centre in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on 1 January 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP)
Culture

'Perhaps we are from the same hometown?': A reflection on human relations throughout Chinese history

By Chiang Hsun 15 Jan 2021
In this life, are we journeying together or just passing ships in the night? Chiang Hsun ponders the degrees of separation between people who share the same earth. What keeps us walking in parallel, never breaking down customary barriers?
People cross a street during morning rush hour in Beijing, China, 15 December 2020. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Culture

Would Confucius have approved of the death penalty?

By Chiang Hsun 18 Dec 2020
A Confucius saying goes: “When the wind blows, the grass bends.” Therefore fault not the common man, says Chiang Hsun, but the decision-makers at the top. But taking a step further back, who are we to cast the first stone at anyone?
Train stations are part of the collective memory of generations of commuters who used them. (iStock)
Culture

History, collective memory and the beauty of Taiwan's old train stations

By Chiang Hsun 11 Dec 2020
Like a song, a place can trigger a memory, an emotion. Preserving little landmarks is akin to preserving the collective memory of a city, says Chiang Hsun. Shared memories, more than any loud declaration, are the cornerstone of a people’s culture, heritage and sense of belonging.
This photo taken on 21 October 2020 shows tourists passing a wall with a slogan that says "Grand Alliance for China's Reunification under the Three Principles of the People", on Taiwan's Kinmen islands. (Sam Yeh/AFP)
Culture

Are Cold War-era slogans making a return in the internet age?

By Chiang Hsun 27 Nov 2020
Having lived through the Cold War era when people were misled by empty slogans and labels, Taiwanese writer Chiang Hsun cautions that we may once again find ourselves under the influence of such meaningless words in the noisy internet age. Have we lost our basic cognitive skills to observe and contemplate in solitude? 
A humble plate of scallion pancake with chive sauce. (Facebook/蔣勳)
Culture

The simple beauty of Taiwan in a heavenly scallion pancake with chive sauce 

By Chiang Hsun 13 Nov 2020
Chiang Hsun marvels at the way a chive sauce made with Taiwan-grown produce brings out the flavours of a street stall scallion pancake so well. No question about it — this dish would win hands down against any Michelin-starred restaurant’s version. When will we learn to appreciate the natural and the down-to-earth, and eschew the shiny bright lights of the material and the shallow?
People wearing face masks on the Bund along the Huangpu River look at the light show seen in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on 2 November 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP)
Culture

In the digital age, how is humanity to save its own heart?

By Chiang Hsun 06 Nov 2020
Plucking the hairs off pork belly skins teaches patience, perseverance and taking pride in one’s work. In the modern frenetic lives we live, how many of us are willing to slow down to learn those lessons?
This aerial file photo taken on 21 June 2020 shows graves in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus, Brazil. (Michael Dantas/AFP)
Society

How can we survive this catastrophe?

By Chiang Hsun 16 Oct 2020
If more than a million coronavirus deaths around the world have yet to humble us, maybe the unassuming turtle dove can teach us a thing or two.
The tall and unassuming tree in the wilderness. (Facebook/蔣勳)
Culture

A tree can be like Buddha

By Chiang Hsun 09 Oct 2020
Art historian Chiang Hsun stays awhile with a comforting big tree in the wilderness. He admires its steadfastness, its sturdiness, its generosity. He takes heart as his unassuming friend shows us that we all have it in us, whatever our beliefs, to be the bigger person, to give shade, to give rest to those around us.
The clean and pure Chinese snowball flower. (Facebook/蔣勳)
Culture

As pure as the driven snow, in a virtual and surreal world

By Chiang Hsun 02 Oct 2020
Art historian Chiang Hsun remembers a lone Chinese snowball flower from his many overseas trips. Its pristine beauty was its allure. In this world where fakes abound, this image, lodged deep in his memory, is proof that authenticity exists.