Chen Cheng-po
Taiwanese artist (1895–1947)

Chen Cheng-po (Chinese: 陳澄波; pinyin: Chén Chéngbō; Wade–Giles: Chʻen2 Chʻeng2-po1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Têng-pho; 2 February 1895 – 25 March 1947), was a Taiwanese painter and politician. In 1926, his oil painting Street of Chiayi was featured in the seventh Teiten (Imperial Arts Exhibition) in Japan, which was the first time a Taiwanese artist's work could be displayed at the exhibition. Chen devoted his life to education and creation, and was greatly concerned about the development of humanist culture in Taiwan. He was not only devoted to the improvement of his own painting, but also to the promotion of the aesthetic education of the Taiwanese people. He was killed as a result of the February 28 Incident, a 1947 uprising in Taiwan which was repressed by the Kuomintang (KMT).
Early life
Chen was born in Kagi (now known as Chiayi), a few months before the Japanese colonial period, into a poor family that could not invest in his artist talents. After attending college in Taihoku, he returned to his hometown to work as a teacher, a job he held for seven years. Chen then earned enough money to attend the Tokyo University of the Arts, and graduated in 1929. Upon graduation, he moved to Shanghai for four years, where he taught art. Chen returned to Kagi in 1933, and joined the city's Preparatory Committee to Welcome the National Government in 1945.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chen Cheng-po” is taiwanese artist (1895–1947). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chen, Cheng-po and Taiwanese, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “taiwanese artist (1895–1947)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q707301. VIAF identifies the subject as 16084447. The Library of Congress control number is n81008703. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1947, 1926 and 1929.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chen Cheng-po”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chen Cheng-po primary sources, Chen Cheng-po archive and Chen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chen Cheng-po”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chen Cheng-po” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.