Miao Chan

TAIWAN, Hsinchu

Miao Chan was a monk, architect, sculptor, painter, and calligrapher who studied ink painting under the renowned calligrapher and painter, Chang Tsai-Hsiang. During his early years, he immersed himself in Confucian teachings, and when he was around 20 years old, he renounced under monk Liangda at Houguo Temple in Fujian.
Miao Chan mastered temple construction through self-learning, and subsequently built numerous temples including Baojue Temple in Taichung, as well as several others around Hsinchu, such as Jingang Temple, Fengshan Temple, and the Water Curtain Cave, which was a temple built on rocks. His architectural design of the Liberation Gate, the calligraphy he scripted on the door of the gate, and the statues of Sakyamuni Buddha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva can still be seen at Jingang Temple today. Additionally, many of his other calligraphic works and Buddhist sculptures can be observed at various temples around Taiwan, such as the Amitabha Buddha Triad in Fuhui Pagoda at Yuan Kuang Chan Monastery.
Miao Chan was also skilled in music, chess, and medical theory. He was equally adept in teaching and propagating the Dharma, and traveled widely in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia to do so. As a painter, he was skilled in the depiction of flowers, birds, and figures. During his old age, he focused on Chan paintings of East Asia and was able to portray the essence of Chan in just a few simple brush strokes. His Buddhist paintings, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Lotus is the Flower of Flowers, are kept at Zhai Ming Temple in Taoyuan. His ink paintings, Orchids and Bodhidharma, are kept at Fayuan Monastery in Hsinchu. He is mentioned in An Overview of Modern Taiwan Calligraphy and Painting, and more than 80 pieces of his calligraphy and paintings have been compiled by the Hsinchu County Cultural Relics Association and published in the Album of Monk Miao Chan’s Calligraphy and Paintings.