Wang says that inspiration for his work is derived mostly from his own life. "I can never do anything that is exotic or foreign to me. I just don't feel that it's part of me."

He has carved away at stone for more than thirty years in a place halfway up Yangming Mountain in the suburbs of Taipei, where his family had lived and farmed for several generations until he turned it into a workshop and park for his stone sculptures.

As an artist, Wang is fortunate to have the support of his family. "Maybe because my parents were illiterate, they gave me a lot of freedom in choosing what I wanted to do."

He said that when he was young, his father did not even insist that he go to school. "My father used to say to me, 'It's alright if you don't want to stay in school. We have a large stretch of land on the mountain waiting for you to farm.'"

These words were enough to make him stay in school. Being a farmer's son, he knew very well the hardship of a farmer's life. Along with his six siblings, he had to help out a lot on the farm. "Long hours of labor under the scorching sun, the bitter cold nipping your hands when you pick fruit in winter, trudging down the hill to deliver fruit to the fruit dealers...," reminisced Wang. "Unless you've been through it, it's hard to imagine the harshness of such a life."

Nevertheless, after he became a sculptor his early life and experiences provided him with a lot of inspiration for his artistic creation. Even the toilsome labor on the farm served him well because it enabled him to cope with the physical demands of stone sculpting. "When sweat pours down my body while I chisel something out of the rock, I'm especially grateful for the training I got in those early years."

Carving out a career

Sculpture, including stone sculpture, was seldom treated as an "intellectual" art in the Chinese artistic tradition; instead, it was seen as a craft. Only quite recently has it been accepted as one of the fine arts. Thirty years ago, when Wang became a sculptor, not many people in Taiwan understood what sculpture was. He often joked that sculpture meant making bronze statues of the presidents of our country--bronze statues of political figures could be found everywhere in parks, schools or other public venues during the reigns of those strongmen on the island.

Wang said that he did not exactly choose to become a sculptor. Instead, fate chose for him. "I took the entrance examination for the National College of the Arts [now the National Institute of the Arts] in Taipei, and my score was only high enough for me to enroll in the sculpture department," said Wang frankly with a broad smile. "Sculpture, compared with painting, was very unpopular back then."

Since he was a child, he had shown a talent for art. Although he was not good at studying, he excelled at painting and gymnastics at school. It was a great pleasure for him to be able to paint to his heart's content what he saw and felt. "Because I could draw quickly and well, I often did art assignments for my classmates. Sometimes I had to paint more than ten pictures in one sitting." His art teacher, Lin Wei-chen, finally found out what he had secretly been doing for his classmates. But instead of punishing him, Lin praised him for his artistic talent. From then on, the teacher paid him special attention and gave him guidance and direction in art. "Were it not for the encouragement of Mr. Lin, I may not have become what I am today."

His aptitude and love for art pushed him to pursue further artistic studies after he graduated from high school. At the age of nineteen, he entered the National College of the Arts. In the sculpture class, his teacher asked him and other students to choose a material to work with. Being a man close to nature, Wang naturally thought of stone. "I felt a special affinity for stone. When I was small, I used to look at pebbles or rocks and imagine them into people or animals," said the sculptor. "Besides, all artists hope that their works can be preserved for eternity. Stone possesses that everlasting quality that can help fulfill the dream."

Talent and hard work made Wang an outstanding student in the college. Many of his stone pieces were prize-winners. Later on, he had a chance to help Professor Li Mei-shu, one of the forerunners of modern Taiwanese art, to create stone carvings on temple pillars for the renovation of the famous Tsushih Temple. There he was influenced by the work attitude of Professor Li, who pursued perfection in every detail. Absorbed in the work of engraving and chiseling, he became even more fascinated by the lines, flow of grain, and texture of the stone. "Stone, a substance that has been formed by the pressures of earth over thousands of years, displays nature's infinite wonders. It is fascinating to be able to give a chunk of stone new life." His ever-increasing passion for stone strengthened his determination to dedicate the rest of his life to stone sculpture.

Financing his career, however, was difficult at first. He found that he had to accept commissions to support his family, and could not concentrate on artistic creation. During that period of time, his parents gave him a lot of support. Afraid that he was working late into the night, they often visited him in his studio. When his father saw that he often had to wrack his brains to portray a posture, he volunteered to pose for him. Many of his works created during this period were based on his father as a model. "My parents were really supportive. They used to say it was good that I had chosen to become a stone sculptor. They said stone sculptures would neither rot nor decay. If I couldn't sell them, they'd just keep them as long as they liked."

In 1984, Wang submitted a piece entitled Keeping Watch to the annual Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition and won first place. His parents were so delighted that they held a banquet to celebrate. For several consecutive years after that, he continually won awards at important art contests. His works, depicting farming and bucolic scenes, won him the appellation of "the Grass-Roots Stone Sculptor." Wang's career reached a climax in 1990, when he won an award conferred by the Sun Yat-sen Culture Foundation, an important prize honoring outstanding writers and artists in Taiwan. His talent gained recognition as one solo exhibition after another was staged to showcase his works, and he gradually reached prominence in the local art community.

Working an idea into stone

There are generally six steps in transforming a rough block of stone into a piece of sculpture worthy of people's admiration: finding a suitable piece of stone (with a shape or color pattern that suggests sculptural forms), laying out a design, rough-cutting, defining the forms, finishing, and polishing.

Usually, before working on a piece of stone, Wang first molds his idea in clay. He adds and removes material and bends and twists the forms around until he comes up with a satisfactory design. "Stone is a rather expensive material, as some of it is imported from Italy or other foreign countries. Working in this way helps me to develop an idea without having to worry about removing a chunk of stone that, as my idea evolves, I might need."

But sometimes he also enjoys developing ideas spontaneously by carving directly into the stone without a preconceived notion of what to carve. "If you carve too much you cannot remake the piece, and that's where the challenge lies."

Wang says that different kinds of stone possess different characteristics. Unless one has spent some time with them, it is quite impossible to bring out the beautiful rhythm and flow inherent in the stone. "When I first started stone sculpture, the hardness and unyielding nature of the material always made me feel like I was 'conquering' or 'bending' it," said the artist. "But gradually I came to understand that instead of treating stone as if it were my enemy, I should make friends with it." He changed his attitude towards stone, and now when he works he tries to "communicate" with it as if it were a close friend. In order to fully integrate stone into his life, he uses stone tables, chairs, cups and bowls in his daily life. He seems to have created a bond with stone, and he is better able to carve out his ideas with ease.

It is apparent upon seeing Wang's sculptures that his understanding of different kinds of stone together with his carving skill have lent his work vitality and strength, emphasized sometimes by simplified forms, subtle curves, and flowing lines. He has fully mastered the mechanics of stone carving and is able to bring his imagination and originality into full play.

In his opinion, to be a good sculptor, one first needs to hone one's skill to perfection, and then find a unique voice and creative style. "Art is the combination of technique and creativity. Without technique, you cannot turn your idea into reality. Without creativity, you are no more than a craftsman. To excel as a sculptor, a masterful combination of these two elements is indispensable."

Sculpture that brings happiness to people

In addition to works which were inspired by rural village life and are redolent of local flavor, Wang is also famous for sculptures of babies and nude women. "Babies are like angels sent to us by heaven. Their innocence and naivete inspire love in us. Women, in my opinion, are inseparable from the image of Mother Earth. They give birth to and nurture babies. The beautiful images of babies and women often spur me to create."

His work has undergone many evolutions. During the early period of his artistic career, he tended to create exquisitely realistic sculptures. After that he also tried his hand at abstract and semi-abstract pieces. "If you want to get a foothold in the field of artistic creation, you need to keep improving your techniques and coming up with new ideas."

Wang's works are delightful to the eye and accessible to the general public. But he has been criticized for always creating works that cater to the taste of the public. He responds to such criticism by saying that he focuses on the beauty and bright side of life because he hopes his sculptures will inspire goodness and love in people. "I hope that people can feel happy and joyful when looking at my creations. The hectic tempo of modern city life creates a lot of tension between people and alienates them from each other. If we can be more caring and sincere in treating each other, our society will surely improve. And that's what I hope my sculpture can help to achieve."

Upon meeting Wang and seeing his work, one finds that the two of them mesh very well together. The sculptor has an engaging presence that is inviting and friendly and, like his art, welcomes one to take a closer look and gain some insight. Always with a broad smile on his face, Wang, like his sculptures, brings happiness to people.

"I was brought up to be a rather optimistic person, and maybe that's also why I tend to focus on the goodness in the world," added the artist. "After all, art is an expression of what is inside the person who produces it."

A close look at his work tells us that he creates his art to pay tribute to life, to the earth that nurtures us, and to that space in our hearts which longs for the good and the beautiful. Maybe because there is abundant beauty and goodness in his heart, the sculptures he creates are full of countless beautiful images. "Actually, an artist need not say much about his work. People and time will be its most severe judge."