WEBVTT

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When learning sculpting,

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you don’t just do sculpting.

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That wouldn’t be enough.

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When you are proficient

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in a craft,

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the next thing that you should consider

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is to

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cultivate your inner attainment.

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If your inner self

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is abundant,

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you’ll always have new inspirations.

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So that you can create new work of art

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that will be recognized by others.

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I inherit this career from my father,

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who was a master carpenter.

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When I was 15 or 16 years old.

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It so happened

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that

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my family needed helpers.

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Naturally,

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I joined the trade.

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I worked under my father

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up until I reached 34.

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There was an opportunity

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where I got to work independently.

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I was responsible in making

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this part where

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there are carved flowers.

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I attend to every single detail.

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For example, this lion pedestal

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is on top.

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Therefore, we have to carve

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from underneath.

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The first thing of carving

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is to know that in what height

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will this work

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be placed at.

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This is an ancestral hall.

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That is an ancestral tablet.

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Look closely,

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its carving work

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requires lots of effort.

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By standing here and looking at the qilin,

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that small qilin,

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you can see that its scales are delicate.

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It’s the ancestral hall of our family

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so, I thought

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I might spend even more effort

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to make it better

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without considering the costs.

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My father was also my master.

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He often told me that

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when learning a craft

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I have to use my own comprehension to learn

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instead of always relying on a master

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to teach me everything.

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What my father said

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had a great influence on me.

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So, I’ve always tried to

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improve my craftsmanship

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at every moment.

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Being a master,

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if you want to differentiate yourself from others

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there is only one thing that you can

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work on.

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That is,

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spending more time.

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I love buying books.

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To me,

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books are another kind of

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asset.

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The presentation of an art

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is not just from

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learning the carving craft itself.

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Since I’m eager to

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learn new knowledge

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it so happens that

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I bump into new knowledge

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in books.

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In 1982,

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I participated in an exhibition.

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At that year,

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the vice president,

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Mr. Hsieh Tung Min

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came visiting Lukang Longshan Temple.

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He suggested me that

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such a quality workmanship

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must be passed down.

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He also said that the volume of my works was too big,

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I should have made it

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into a smaller size,

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which will be convenient for people to collect.

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After the exhibition,

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I made my works

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smaller

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into

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the artwork you see now.

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Do I make a concave here?

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Yes. But do it the other way round.

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Poke it no more or it’ll collapse.

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To pass the craft down

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is my responsibility

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in this walk of life.

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It doesn’t matter what occupation you have,

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as long as you manage to stand out

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in your walk of life,

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you should look back

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to see if the trade is

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prominent because of your effort.

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This one is an old branch.

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You have to understand

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the traits of tree peony.

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Leaves don’t grow on old branches.

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And that

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when bud appears, it is going to blossom.

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In addition,

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this one is quite good.

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This one is fine.

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Good job.

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I remember that

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at the beginning of my new class,

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the first thing I’d tell students is:

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“Be dedicated.”

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It is the most basic requirement.

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Once a person

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becomes a carpenter

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and if he is always dedicated to the work

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his working attitudes

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will remain prudent all the time.

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That is because when you respect

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your clients

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or your own works,

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you’ll make effort

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you’ll make effort

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in carving.

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My father makes

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an all-out-effort

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when he is working.

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We often say that we want to ‘present work,’

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which means that we’d use our best effort.

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We will only stop doing our job

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when we don’t have the strength to do it anymore.

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I’d like to add one more thing.

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That is, interest is crucial.

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In fact, my biggest motivation

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is

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my interests in carving

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all this time.

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When I carve,

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I’m happy.

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When I’m accumulating carving works,

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I am in fact,

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creating my own happiness.

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Master Shi is already 75,

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but his craving for knowledge,

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his earnest attitudes,

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and his perseverance

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are still strong.

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I’ve always been happy.

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If a person,

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who spends his lifetime

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in realizing his dream

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and he succeeds in the end

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it would bring tremendous pleasure.