Life is full of surprises for a 71-year-old formerly illiterate woman who signed up for a Chinese course at the Stella Matutina Evergreen College in 2005 and has become a painter and an author.
Wang Su-ying (王素英) had to drop out of elementary school after her second year because her family could no longer afford to send her. Like many people, she only had time to continue her education when her children had grown up and she was free from financial worries.
For Wang, learning to read and write also allowed her to learn how to drive. She passed her driving test at age 65, which then allowed her to drive to college four days a week.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
In addition to the Chinese course, she studied sketching with art teacher Hu Chih-chiang, who has now helped Wang publish a picture book titled Live Out the Color of Life — Grandma’s Color Mixing Plate.
During art class, when Wang finished a piece, she would share the story behind her creation and Hu would write the story down. They became close friends and Hu, who said she was deeply moved by Wang’s lively spirit and life view, came up with the idea three years ago of compiling the paintings and stories into a book.
The book was released on Wednesday and at the book launch, Wang displayed one of her crayon sketches, which she said she had copied from an old photograph taken 40 years ago.
The sketch, which shows herself and another woman rowing a boat, was a reflection of her youth, Wang said, adding that she was 28-years-old at the time, and the park outing was a wonderful memory. The other woman wore a purple sweater, a color that stands for eternal friendship, Wang said.
Wang’s 35-year-old daughter Chu Chia-feng (屈佳峰) said her mother was a very talented artist and a highly motivated student.
“My mother told the art teacher that she wanted to paint because she wanted to remember every moment of her life through paintings,” Chu said.
“She always told me not to give up on anything,” Chu said. “Life-long learning is the greatest inspiration I have found from her.”
The book contains 42 paintings and was translated into Japanese and English so it could inspire and encourage other elderly people at the college who are studying languages, a course coordinator surnamed Yang (楊) said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS