Chen Cheng-po

Who is Chen Cheng-po?

Chen Cheng-po was born in Chiayi during the Japanese colonial period and studied Western-style oil painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. In 1926 he became the first Taiwanese artist to have an oil painting, "Outside Chiayi Street," selected for Japan's prestigious Imperial Art Exhibition, a milestone that brought early international recognition to Taiwanese fine art. He went on to teach and paint in Shanghai before returning to Taiwan, where he became a founding member of the Taiyang Art Society and a central figure of the island's early modern oil-painting movement, known for vivid, texture-rich depictions of Taiwanese streets, landscapes, and daily life that fused Western post-impressionist technique with local subject matter. In March 1947, during the unrest of the 228 Incident, Chen served on a citizens' delegation in Chiayi attempting to mediate between armed residents and the Nationalist military. He was arrested during the negotiation and, on March 25, 1947, publicly executed without trial near Chiayi's railway station. His death made him one of the best-known artistic victims of the White Terror era, and his surviving paintings are today counted among Taiwan's most treasured cultural works.

Sources: Chiayi City Chen Cheng-po Cultural Foundation records · Taipei Times, "Life and death on the streets of Chiayi" (2016) · Ocula Artist, "Chen Cheng-Po" profile