30-Second Overview: Li Mei-shu was not merely an award-winning painter of the Taiwan Art Exhibition; he was the only artist in Taiwan to lead the reconstruction of a traditional temple using academic aesthetics. Starting in 1947, he spent 36 years presiding over the reconstruction of the Sanxia Zushi Temple, creating an unprecedented spectacle of "using Western learning for Eastern purposes," earning this rural temple the reputation of an "Oriental Palace of Art."
On a certain day in 1947, Li Mei-shu—an artist who had returned to Taiwan from Japan three years prior—happened upon a fortune slip while discussing restoration matters within the Sanxia Zushi Temple: "A true person shall appear, just like the Jade Qilin; the Heavenly Flower Dragon breathes water, and atop it sits a branch of spring." This 45-year-old painter, having received full training in a Western fine arts academy, decided to regard this as a divine instruction and accepted the villagers' commission to lead the reconstruction of the Zushi Temple.
This decision rewrote the history of Taiwanese art.
From Primary School Teacher to Taiwan Art Exhibition Laureate
Li Mei-shu (1<0xA0>1902–1983) was born into a grain merchant family in Sanxia; at age 17, he launched a school-wide art exhibition at Taipei Normal School. In 1920, when the sculptor Huang Tu-shui became the first Taiwanese artist to be selected for the "Imperial Art Exhibition" (Teiten) with his work Mountain Shepherd, young artists including Li Mei-shu were deeply shaken.
After graduating from normal school in 1922, Li Mei-shu went to teach at Ruifang Public School. He originally intended to study art in Japan, but his father opposed the idea. In 1924, he joined the "Summer Art Workshop" organized by Ishikawa Kin'ichirō, where he met artists such as Ni Chiang-huai, Chen Chih-chi, Li Shih-chiao, and Chen Cheng-po.
In 1927, Li Mei-shu was selected in the first Taiwan Art Exhibition (Taiwan Bijutsu Tenrankai) with Still Life, and was selected again the following year with Sanxia Back Street. This consecutive recognition forced his family to acknowledge his painting talent; his elder brother, the physician Liu Ching-kang, even went against opposition to fund all of his study abroad expenses.
In November 1928, Li Mei-shu traveled to Japan on the same ship as Chen Cheng-po, entering the Kawasui Art School and practicing sketching at the Shinjuku Doshusha to prepare for the entrance examination of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. In March 1929, he passed the entrance exam for the Western Painting Department on his first attempt, studying under masters such as Cho Gen-kotaro, Kobayashi Man-go, and Okada Saburosuke.
💡 Did You Know?
In 1935, Li Mei-shu won first prize at the Taiwan Art Exhibition with Girl Taking a Break; the protagonist of the painting is his niece-in-law, Liu Tseng-mei. This painting remains a representative work of the Plein Air realism movement in Taiwan.
After graduating and returning to Taiwan in 1934, Li Mei-shu not only continued his creative work but also co-founded the "Taiyo Art Association" with artists like Yang San-lang. However, unlike pure painters, he simultaneously participated in local politics—serving successively as a member of the Sanxia Village Council, Street Chief, Chairman of the Township Representative Council, Chairman of the Farmers' Association, and Taipei County Councilor.
An Unprecedented Experiment: Using Western Learning for Eastern Purposes
In 1946, the post-war Sanxia Zushi Temple required urgent repairs due to damage from bombing. At the time, Li Mei-shu, serving as the acting Street Chief of Sanxia, was elected to lead the reconstruction. While local residents originally intended only a two-to-three-year "renovation," under Li's leadership, the Zushi Temple underwent a large-scale reconstruction, planned to be completed over 24 years.
This project ultimately lasted 36 years, and was still not officially completed at the time of Li Mei-shu's death in 1983.
By leading the reconstruction of a traditional temple with his background in Western fine arts education, Li Mei-shu set a precedent in Taiwan's art history. He divided the decorations of the Zushi Temple into three categories: first, works he designed and were carved by traditional craftsmen; second, sketches provided by friends from the art world; and third, works produced by students of the National Institute of Arts under his guidance.
The most famous feature is the "Hundred Birds Greeting the Plum" stone pillars in the Middle Hall. Li Mei．Meishu abandoned the traditional dragon pillar format, requiring craftsmen to redesign them; each pillar features 50 birds of varying species, using ornithological guides as a reference. Craftsman Chen Tian recalled: "Teacher Li required us to move away from traditional pattern books and use a sketching method to carve every bird."
📝 Curator's Note
This was a turning point in Taiwan's history of craftsmanship—for the first time, traditional craftsmen, under the guidance of an academic artist, shifted from "copying ancient methods" toward "observational realism." Li Mei-shu indirectly introduced Western sketching concepts into folk crafts.
Li Mei-shu also invited contemporary painters such as Lin Yu-shan, Kuo Hsueh-hu, Chen Chin, and Chen Hui-kun to provide sketches for the temple, which were then produced as stone relief carvings. This collection of works presents a complete cross-section of the Taiwanese ink wash painting scene from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Even more innovatively, he brought students from the Sculpture Department of the National Institute of Arts into the temple to create reliefs and round sculptures of deities. Reliefs such as Confucius Asking about Rites from Laozi and Yue Fei's Devotion to His Country, created by students including He Heng-xiong, Huang Chin-chung, and Lin Wen-de, presented traditional themes through realistic techniques, becoming the most distinctive feature of the Zushi Temple.
The Tug-of-War Between Aesthetic Idealism and Reality
Li Mei-shu's persistence regarding the Zushi Temple bordered on obsession. He personally drew the design blueprints and insisted on pursuing perfection, preferring slow progress over compromising quality. Former Director of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Huang Tsai-lang, compared it: "The passion and perseverance Li Mei-shue poured into this was like Michelangelo building the Sistine Chapel."
However, this obsession also brought controversy. As construction delays mounted and funding was repeatedly increased, local residents shifted from support to skepticism. In 1982, the Sanxia Township Office planned to build a bridge in front of the temple courtyard to solve traffic issues; Li Mei-shu resolutely opposed it, believing the bridge would ruin the temple's scenery. Scholars such as Li Ch'ien-lang went to support him, and eventually, the township office changed the vehicular bridge to a pedestrian bridge.
After Li Mei-shu's death, the Zushi Temple Management Committee began purchasing imported stone pillars from China, leading to the coexistence of two different carving styles within the same temple, and controversy also arose regarding the installation of imported stone railings.
An Artistic Legacy Across Eras
The Sanxia Zushi Temple, reconstructed under Li Mei-shu's leadership, has become Taiwan's only traditional temple led by an academic artist; it is neither a traditional structure led by master carpenters nor a modern cement temple mixed with Western construction methods, forming a unique existence.
✦ "This is not just a temple; it is an unprecedented experimental ground in Taiwan's art history—how to fuse tradition and modernity upon the foundation of local faith."
Li Mei-shu's painting style can be divided into three periods: the early "Plein Air period" (1924–1948), depicting Taiwanese landscapes with works like Girl Taking a Break and Knitting; the middle "Taiwanese Local period," returning to authentic visual experience; and the late "Return to Nature period," emphasizing the harmony of light and color.
In his later years, he taught at the National Institute of Arts, founding the Sculpture Department in 1967 and serving as its director, integrating academic education with folk crafts. Student Huang Yuan-lung recalled: "Teacher Li's requirements were extremely strict; he expected us to become independent artists rather than unthinking craftsmen."
On February 6, 1983, Li Mei-shu passed away at National Taiwan University Hospital due to chronic obstructive pneumonia at the age of 80. Today, Sanxia hosts the Li Mei-shu Memorial Hall (established in 1990) and the annual "Plum Blossom Month" arts festival held every March, continuing his artistic spirit.
Li Mei-shu proved throughout his life that an artist does not need to remain distanced from society. He participated in his era through his brush and transformed faith through aesthetics, leaving behind an "Oriental Palace of Art" that can never be replicated.
References
- Li Mei-shu - Wikipedia
- Li Mei-shue Memorial Hall
- Sanxia Zushi Temple - Taiwan Religious Culture Map
- National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts - Taiwan Art Knowledge Base
- Tang Huang-chen, Sanxia: Realism, Li Mei-shu, Unitas Books, 1998
- Chuang Po-ho, "The Stone Carving Art of Sanxia Zushi Temple," Unitas Art, Issue 107, 1980