楊鄂西

Yang O-hsi (b. 1943), whose ancestral home is Dazhu, Sichuan, was born in Hubei during the victory of the Battle of Western Hubei in the Second Sino-Japanese War; her given name, O-hsi (“Western Hubei”), commemorates this historical event. Relocating to Taiwan after World War II, she graduated from the Western Painting Section of the National Academy of Arts’ Fine Arts Department (now the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan University of Arts) and the Chinese Painting Section of the Department of Fine Arts at Chinese Culture University. She later earned a master’s degree in education from Barry University in Florida, USA, before returning to teach as an associate professor in the Department of Fine Arts at her alma mater. Yang’s creative oeuvre seamlessly integrates Chinese and Western artistic traditions, with exceptional mastery in bird-and-flower as well as animal subjects. She earned first prize at the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition (a predecessor of today’s National Art Exhibition R.O.C.) and has exhibited widely across Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the United States. In 1981, her artwork at an exhibition hosted by the Sichuan-Xikang-Chongqing Native Place Association caught the eye of master Chang Dai-chien, who subsequently mentored her in painting. Though no formal discipleship ceremony was held, they shared a deep bond as teacher and student. Chang personally inscribed her name and exhibition titles in his own calligraphy—a testament to his profound encouragement and high expectations for her artistic career. In 1999, she participated in NMH’s “Exhibition of One Hundred Masters Celebrating the Centenary of Senior Advisor Chen Li-fu.”