Sculpting Lovely Objects and Pouring Out Your Heart - Zeng Shuzhu, who carves a beautiful life

Zeng Shuzhu, who is beautiful and smiling, is hard to believe that she is the grandmother of five children. She was born in 1954. She should have been the age of Sun Xiangqingfu, but Zeng Shuzhu ended her 32 years two years ago. The marriage, start anew, and chisel out another spring of life with a carving knife.

Zeng Shuzhu, who grew up in Linnei Township, Yunlin County, has a lively and active nature. She always has a simple shadow of a rural family when she talks and laughs. When it comes to her childhood, she always has a load of fresh things she can't finish talking about, such as childhood fun, rural scenery, and Parent-child interaction, etc., have become the theme and source of inspiration for her carving under the knife.

After graduating from elementary school, Zeng Shuzhu did not continue to study, but stayed at home to help. She shuttled between the grocery store and farmland. She didn't leave her hometown with her ex-husband until she got married at the age of 18. The ex-husband who worked as an apprentice in carving statues in Houli, after he completed his studies, became his own businessman. The couple came to Sanyi to open a woodcarving factory.

At that time, the endless orders of woodcarvings made Zeng Shuzhu capable of all the eighteen martial arts. In addition to taking care of the heavy housework and taking care of children, he was also the accountant and cashier of the factory. Bad, the villagers' impression of Zeng Shuzhu at that time was "a certain wife who is busy with her children on a bicycle".

The days of supporting husbands and children, and supporting both internally and externally have flown by, and personnel have gradually changed. Sanyi's woodcarving business has been affected by the massive export of woodcarvings from the mainland, and factory orders have also been relatively reduced. The grandson made a toy, without a draft, just with a sense of interest, he carved the first work: the scene of three lively fish jumping out of the fish basket, which is still kept by his side as a souvenir.

One has two, Zeng Meizhu started her self-taught sculpting method, and after groping for more than half a year, Zeng Meizhu found her own direction, "I want to start carving from the scenery I am most familiar with, the rural life and scenery in my childhood, It became my theme.”

When Zeng Meizhu named her works, she often inadvertently showed a naughty and innocent heart: for example, the work titled "Continuation" depicts a farmer holding a breeding pig and is about to go to the pig farmer's "Brother Pig"; Wearing a child, he is secretly picking mangoes in cooperation with each other, which is called "two benefits together", which can't help but let out a knowing smile.

Huangtian pays off. In 1995, Zeng Meizhu's work was shortlisted for the Taiwan Woodcarving Creation Competition. Although she did not win the prize, it caused a sensation in the whole village, and all the villagers looked at her differently.

Zeng Meizhu's works have always been equal to her "inner world". She remembers that after she was recognized as a finalist, she thought that she must win the prize next time, and then used the prize money to buy a camera to take pictures of her works and archive them. When materialistic desires enter the heart, what is engraved becomes out of shape.”

Since then, Zeng Meizhu has decided to stay true to herself and no longer care about the results of the competition. As a result, her sculptor has improved more and more. Her works have been well received in some gallery exhibitions, allowing her to make money for the first time and taste the taste of success.

The economic shock in recent years and a serious illness that has entered menopause have caused Zeng Meizhu to almost stop creating. She joked that last year's "Hakka Women's Life Video Exhibition" was the biggest motivation for her to return to the arena, and she started to create again.

Life has a purpose, and life is practical. Zeng Meizhu has always hoped to resolve the property dispute with her ex-husband as soon as possible, and then built a small wooden house on a nearby mountain and built a showroom. Usually, she concentrates on her creations from Monday to Friday, and is open to tourists on weekends. By the way, they also sell some coffee and fruit tea, so that the people who come to visit have an extra place to rest. If they like works, they can also buy and sell them on the spot. This is Zeng Meizhu's biggest dream.

Zeng Meizhu, who talked about her ideals, smiled like a flower, her eyes flashed with love and light, and life is indeed the most beautiful dream. (This article was originally published on the Hakka Cloud website)