Xing guo jia yuan: Qiu Deyun she ying dian cang jing xuan = Homeward journey : a selection of photographic works by Chiu De-yun

Abstract

"Chiu De-yun's photographic journey began in the 1960s. He traveled through Miaoli's Hakka villages, farmhouses, fishing villages, and urban streets, using his camera to document the rural landscapes and laborers gradually fading from view. Through black and white photography, he portrayed the ' hard-neck' (persistence) spirit of Hakka culture. Chiu spent his entire life racing against time, fully committed to capturing the gradually vanishing people and things. His perseverance and sense of mission left a testament to the cultural heritage of the Hakka people. Chiu passed away in 2014 due to lung adenocarcinoma. During the investigation process of the Photographic Cultural Resources Investigation Project, his family identified with the mission and ideals of the NCPI in organizing and preserving Taiwan's photographic assets. In 2017, they generously donated a substantial number of photographic works and artifacts. This book invites Ms. Chen Shu-hua, who has been deeply involved in the research and writing about Chiu's photography, to contribute an article. Using rich data accumulated through oral interviews, she guides readers to a deep understanding of how the photographer's works are composed, the perspectives he unfolds, and the beliefs he conveys. Additionally, the book includes writings and records by two staffs from the NCPI, one providing an analysis of the unique photographic perspectives and the language of darkness in Chiu's works. The other article provides a detailed account of the practical work involved in cleaning, protecting, and archiving the works"-- Foreword from the director of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (page 7).