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- Speech summary
Lectures & talks · Lecture on The Love God and Great Love (Wuji)
The Art World of Hsu Poyih
A presentation of two artistic creations: The Love God and Great Love (Wuji).
Speech summary · Lecture on The Love God and Great Love (Wuji)
The Art World of Hsu Poyih
Internationally renowned cultural and creative arts master Hsu Poyih, hailing from Taiwan, embodies a blend of Eastern and Western cultures. For decades, he has traveled to over a hundred countries and cities worldwide, embracing diverse influences and exploring art to understand life. With the cool, analytical mind of an artist and profound human values, he has created many unique and exquisite works of art. His works have been invited to be exhibited in numerous countries and regions around the world for many years, widely loved and praised by the international public.
This presentation discusses Hsu Poyih’s two artistic creations: The Love God and Great Love (Wuji).
1. The Love God
Cherish human beings — “People enjoyed the resources but destroyed nature, like digging their own grave.” The artist uses different treasures and bones of various sizes to create an incarnate unity of god and ghost, wherein all objects are extracted from the earth and people’s living environment is threatened, eventually leading to wars. It is a warning to people that life is short: all things will be gone and turn into a pile of bones even if one is wearing gold and jade. For the descendants of generations, and to let human beings live forever, we have to stop destroying our earth. He hopes that “Endless Love” will awaken a greater sense of responsibility among humanity for world peace, advocate for transcending conflicts of interest and the destruction of Earth’s resources, and embody the spirit of boundless love.
2. Great Love (Wuji)
Master of intangible cultural heritage Hsu Poyih has been immersed in the long-standing Chinese cultural tradition throughout his life, deeply absorbing the essence of traditional humanistic philosophy and natural aesthetics. He has crafted the “Great Love (Boundless)” series of jewelry masterpieces with ingenuity. The works exhibit a broad and grand artistic vision, surveying the vast universe and expansive land, delicately interpreting the natural order of the rotation of heaven and earth and the endless vitality of all things. They depict a peaceful scene of human beings inhabiting the blue planet and coexisting harmoniously with all natural things, imbued with auspicious meanings of smooth sailing and success.
The vivid and colorful butterfly sets sail from Poyih Countryhouse, carrying auspicious charm and spreading pure and beautiful blessings to all corners of the world. The artwork integrates traditional auspicious cultural connotations, praying for prosperity, happiness, health, and success for all.
Meanwhile, the work takes time as its core, reflecting the preciousness of time through the natural cycle of seasons, and inspiring viewers to revere life and cherish the present moment. It advocates for people to cherish their fleeting youth, revere fresh and vibrant life, and protect our beautiful Earth home. It encourages people to embrace love, hold fast to beauty amidst the passage of time, and appreciate the true value of life and existence.
- 2024
Lectures & talks · Special lecture, Xiamen University
The Artistic Creation of Hsu Poyih and His World of Collections
A special lecture on the artist’s creative work and his collections.
- 2024
Lectures & talks · Keynote speech, Aoshan Forum, Shandong University
Traveling the World, Helping Others
A keynote on a life of travel and humanitarian service.
- 20–26 October 2017
Media coverage · European Times (歐洲時報), front page
Glory of Genesis: Master Hsu Poyih’s “Great Love Without Borders” unveiled in Florence
A front-page feature on the six works of the “Great Love Without Borders” series and The Love God at the Florence Biennale, illustrated with Tree of Life and the paintings Earth’s Original Face and Scorched Earth.
20–26 October 2017 · European Times (歐洲時報), front page
Glory of Genesis: Master Hsu Poyih’s “Great Love Without Borders” unveiled in Florence
English translation of the original Chinese article.
Internationally renowned cultural and creative arts master Hsu Poyih comes from Taiwan and unites Eastern and Western cultures. For decades he has travelled to more than a hundred countries and cities, embracing all influences, practising artistic exploration and reflecting on life. With an artist’s cool, analytical mind and simple human values, he has created many works of art that are unique in the world. His works have been invited for exhibition in many countries and regions over the years, widely loved and praised by the international public, and have received the honour of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In Hsu Poyih there is a sense of cultural awareness and responsibility. The state of humanity and of the Earth — the crisis of the present and the direction of the future — is the human question that concerns him most, and it appears throughout his work. In the “Great Love Without Borders” works recently shown at the 10th Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Italy, he masterfully placed natural gemstones and skeletal bones on a single platform, creating with an extraordinary conception a new work of art — The Love God — that calls on the world to cherish the Earth and cherish life. At the same time, it expresses the philosophy of “Great Love Without Borders” in his heart, giving every visitor much to reflect on; it was highly acclaimed and became the most remarked-upon highlight of the event.
The organisers of the Florence Biennale praised Hsu Poyih’s work highly, finding his personal style rich and his art full of boundless tension, his outstanding creations carrying profound reflections on life. Li Qiankuan of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History wrote a preface for the exhibition, praising the defining, inimitable quality of Hsu Poyih’s work as “unique”: what others never dared to imagine, he not only imagined but realised, elevating it into a new way of thinking — a bold and wonderfully inventive creativity.
The exhibition presented six works from the “Great Love Without Borders” series: Cherish the Earth, Cherish Humanity, Tree of Life, Great Love Without Borders, Peace and Perfection. Each work is linked to the next; above all, they convey the idea of world peace through the coexistence of humanity and the Earth, and reflect on the cycles of heaven and earth through simple human values. Hsu Poyih said he hoped the series would awaken humanity to stop fighting over conflicts of interest and destroying the Earth’s resources, and to show the spirit of world peace in boundless love. Finally, using his English name Hsu Po-Yih, he created the form “168” (一路發), wishing everyone fulfilment.
- Television and print
Media coverage · Phoenix TV and media in Taiwan and China
Hong Kong Phoenix TV and media coverage
His work has been widely reported by Hong Kong Phoenix TV Channel and other media from Taiwan and China.
- Festival catalogue
Catalogue essays · International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Catalogue entry: Poyih Hsu, Taiwan
Hsu Poyih’s artworks express his striving for a life in harmony with nature, conveying spiritual meaning through the beauty and “power” of precious stones.
Festival catalogue · International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Catalogue entry: Poyih Hsu, Taiwan
Hsu Poyih’s artworks express his striving for a life in harmony with nature. Back in years, his personal experience as a monk in Sri Lanka influenced his art, which conveys spiritual meaning through the beauty and “power” of precious stones. The “Tree of Life”, which he presented at the 3rd International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage as guest of honour, is an outstanding example of the artist’s poetics. Invited speaker at the 3rd International Festival of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Hsu Poyih won the gold medal at the 5th Arts & Business Awards in Taiwan. His work has been widely reported by Hong Kong Phoenix TV Channel and other media from Taiwan and China.
Tree of Life — Life Is Limited but Wisdom Is Infinite. Gold, silver, pearl, sapphire and other natural stones; each 33 × 20 cm; 2008.
- Exhibition catalogue
Catalogue essays · Glory of Genesis — Master Hsu’s Gemstone Design
Background & Objective of the Exhibition
“Treasure” can refer widely to precious objects or jewels from around the world. Each jewel stands for a condensation of the universe.
Exhibition catalogue · Glory of Genesis — Master Hsu’s Gemstone Design
Background & Objective of the Exhibition
“Treasure” can refer widely to precious objects or jewels from around the world. Not only does a jewel’s preciousness rely on its rarity and high price, but also, more importantly, it depends on the magnificence of time and space and on the nature of the universe in the shaping process. After having been nurtured in the earth for thousands of years, discovered through keen eyes, and meticulously cut and polished, jewels then become brilliant and shining. Each jewel stands for a condensation of the universe. Imagine one grain of sand of the Ganges as a world: all the sands of the Ganges are numerous worlds, the boundless universe. If the sands of the Ganges are the seven treasures of the world, the number of the seven treasures would be countless. However, if seven treasures equivalent to the sands of the Ganges were all used in the secular world, one day they would be used up and all would be gone. Therefore, the truth of the world needs to be widely spread by mouth and heart. The power of treasure can then last eternally.
Master Po-Yih Hsu, who has been a hermit in forests for many years, has engaged in self-cultivation and meditation and has trained his attention towards humanity-orientated thinking in Chinghuan College (his Country House, located in a green mountainous forest) for a period of some 20–30 years. He also stayed for a while in Australia and traveled in many countries (including Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambia, Colombia, Mexico, Cambodia, India, Russia, etc.) which produce jewels. Because of his travel experience, luck and opportunities, he has collected many kinds of precious stones. In his earlier years, he traveled to Sri Lanka and witnessed many poor people who were ill and could not afford a doctor. He wished to offer his help with a sincere heart. However, owing to local regulations of medical law, he had his hair shaved to become a monk. Then he begged for alms and practiced medicine at the same time in order to look after the poor and the sick. After giving up being a monk, he came back and still carried on living a simple, strict and ascetic life. Owing to the chain of cause and effect, he has carried on preaching the ideas of practicing mercy and wisdom and saving the world. For ten years, he himself made designs and polished the noble and graceful exotic stones (including diamonds, emeralds, opals, rubies, sapphire, topaz, etc.) that he had collected in the earlier years. He has also asked jewelry-making masters of 11 jewelry stores to make jewelry and shape them with their own hands. Nearly one hundred items of jewelry were thus made. As a result, brilliant, shining, delicate, spectacular, magnificent, eye-catching masterpieces with artistic and innovative design were created. The jewelries are also endowed with spiritual value.
He used an immense concept of the universe to create these works. His works can be represented according to categories as follows: the imagery ranges from the universe, the outer space, the stars, the moon, the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire and earth), the Earth, Taiwan, Chinghuan College (Po-Yih Country House), the submarine world, the life on the land, flowers and grasses, insects, heaven and earth, through mankind, the kings, the eternal moving of dharmacakra (the Wheel of the Law) and auspiciousness, until benevolence emerges in a satisfying way. All these emphasize the spaciousness of the universe, the harmony between the universe and human, the orderly relation between humans and nature and the search for coordination and satisfaction in the eternal movement of dharmacakra.
Supervised by Professor Ling-Gun Liu, who is a researcher in the Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, this exhibition displays over sixty pieces of jewelry that Master Po-Yih Hsu has designed and created. These works symbolize the shape-taking of the Chaos, the beginning of the world and perfection, and represent his wide vision and his transformation from rare treasures into art works with the involvement of all life experience, which also conveys the inseparable connection between the universe and human society. When spectators appreciate his designs and creation of jewelries, they also see the boundless universe in the brightly shining jewels. This exhibition is held first in the Kaohsiung City Museum of History. Then it will continue on a tour exhibition in Singapore, United States, Australia, China, etc. These designs will then be used to set up a charity foundation which can help to develop social education, in an aim to maintain a consistent spirit practiced by Po-Yih Country House, which is to make good friends all around and to carry on helping the society and the world.
- Exhibition catalogue
Catalogue essays · Glory of Genesis — Master Hsu’s Gemstone Design
The Gemstones — Searching for the New Master
How precious stones found their way to Master Hsu over 20 to 30 years of travel — and how a sapphire from Sri Lanka became the heart of The Great Perfection.
Exhibition catalogue · Glory of Genesis — Master Hsu’s Gemstone Design
The Gemstones — Searching for the New Master
Master Po-Yih Hsu is a legendary character. He had his own business in Kaohsiung, the big industrial city of southern Taiwan. Though his business was going well at the time, he suddenly withdrew from business. He secluded himself from the crowds and lived in his own “Po-Yih Country House” in Ciwei Mountain. He lived on fruits and vegetables in the natural environment. He spent time thinking and meditating. He had the company of a monkey. He was 38 in that year.
After getting out of his business, Master Po-Yih Hsu had more free time to do whatever he liked. Apart from his seclusion in the woods and mountains, over the past 20 to 30 years, he also traveled all around the world. From the east to the west, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, he visited many places before the boom period of world travel. He visited Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Uganda, Colombia, Cambodia, India, Russia and the so-called third world countries at that time. He reached these places where people hardly went and where there were reserves of precious stones. At that time there were not as many international jewelry companies as there are today. The locals knew already to find gold for exchanges of cash or food supplies. While Master Hsu traveled around these poor countries in the third world, he was very generous in giving relief. As a doctor, he treated and cured countless destitute patients without asking anything in return. He was so selfless to do things for free. Beyond expectations, he got precious stones instead.
In 1992, Master Hsu traveled to Sri Lanka and witnessed numerous poor people lacking medical assistance. He was very willing to help them. Owing to the local regulations of medical law, he decided to be a monk. Afterwards he practiced medicine to treat the sick and to take care of the poor. There he spent nearly a year as a monk with a bowl in hand, meditating on his life. During the year, many things like legends happened to him. Once, the son of a local Muslim imam got seriously ill and needed urgent medical treatment. Master Po-Yih Hsu, as a Buddhist, without a second thought rushed to help him. Because of the two men’s different religions, there might be some conflicts, and many local friends tried to stop him. However, he always liked to help those particularly in need, so he insisted on going to help the sick person in his Muslim community. In the end, Master Hsu cured the imam’s son and saved his life. To show appreciation of his help, Muslims from the villages brought several precious stones in return to express gratitude. Master Hsu couldn’t but accept their good will in the end. He picked a huge and beautiful sapphire. This sapphire, after so many years through his design work, is made into the centre piece (The Great Perfection) of the art works in this exhibition.
Master Hsu collected countless precious stones. This was not because he himself was a professional jewelry agent. In the past, he never intended to search for such stones. Unimaginably, it is because he has had so many chances in the places he went: he got precious stones either because the residents who lived in the reserves of precious stones needed cash or because the patients he treated gave precious stones as gifts. Over 20 to 30 years, unexpectedly, Master Hsu always happened to obtain precious stones. The huge numbers of precious stones have become his art works later, as he works on the design of jewelry.
Nothing here yet.