Despite the temperature with as low as nearly 10 degrees Celsuis and drizzle in Tamsui, the crowd of people who love the works of master painter and calligrapher Chang Dai-chien still flowed into the Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center in droves to see the rare masterpieces. On December 15, the Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center and the Cross-Strait Cultural Heritage Exchange Association jointly held the “Shining Past and Present – A Special Exhibition of Painting and Calligraphy by Chang Dai-chien”. The opening ceremony and keynote speech were held at 10 a.m. in Ching-sheng International Conference Hall, with simultaneous video in Carrie Chang Music Hall. More than 400 people, including Chairperson Flora Chia-I Chang, President Huan-Chao Keh, Former Vice President of Legislation Yuan, Jung-Chi Chung, Former Administrative Vice Minister of National Science and Technology Council, Der-Shin Chen, Executive of Tamsui District, Arthur Tsung-Jen Wu, first- and second-level supervisors of TKU, painting and calligraphy artists, and art enthusiasts participated in the event.

Chairperson Flora Chia-I Chang said in her speech that the Founder, Dr. Clement C.P. Chang promoted “artistic campus” and established the Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center at the 50th anniversary of the university in order to cultivate the artistic connotation of Tamkang people. She particularly thanked Ben-Hang Chang, Director of Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center, for his diligent management of the Center over the years, which has aligned with the Fifth Wave of “The Transcending” spirit of the school in recent years by holding exhibitions of Yu Youren, Pu Xinyu, and Chang Dai-chien, allowing all faculty, students, and staff to see the works of the masters up close. President Keh further explained that the art education at the university has recently been combined with the school’s development mission of “AI+SDGs=∞”, with e-Pen painting technology currently being developed in the direction of “Intelligent e-Pen”, and art education also aligns with SDG11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, particularly Target 11.4 “strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage”, allowing students’ artistic literacy to continue to keep up with the times. The President of the Cross-Strait Cultural Heritage Exchange Association and Consultative Committee Member of TKU, Shuizhong Wang, said that the previously co-organized "The Soughing of Pines and the Reflection of Moonlight on the Water (松風水月)- A Special Exhibition of Painting and Calligraphy by Pu Xinyu " was well received, and this time they cooperate with TKU again to co-organize the Chang Dai-chien painting and calligraphy exhibition, hoping to cause another resonance. He believes that good art can purify the mind and especially thanks the school for its emphasis on the development of humanities and arts, as well as the collectors' generous lending, and also hopes that everyone will take the time to appreciate the works of the masters.

The keynote speech was given by Guang-Nan Huang, Former President of National Taiwan University of Arts and Consultative Committee Member of TKU, with the theme “Chang Dai-chien’s Painting and Calligraphy Art: A Few Things to Supplement”. He shared about Chang Dai-chien's travels around the world, the differences between "South North Zhang Pu(南張北溥)," the presentation of his style, the establishment of the "literati connotation" and "modern expression" style, etc. "People often praise Master Zhang's artistic achievements as "one of the greatest in 500 years," but personally I believe he is the most amazing artist since the Song Dynasty and should be praised as "one of the greatest in a thousand years." The academic forum in the afternoon was hosted by Yao-Ching Tsai, researcher at the National Museum of History, and Assistant Professor Hua-yuang Huang from National Taiwan University of Arts, Jia-cheng Liu, and resident artist Jhen Shen and Jin-ta Yuan at Tamkang University were invited to be panelists, discussing topics such as "Chang Dai-chien's Splashing Ink Style in Taiwan Art," "After Gaining Honey from a Hundred Flowers - A Brief Introduction to the Formation of Chang Dai-chien's Style of Regular Script," "A Talent of a Thousand Years - An Analysis of Chang Dai-chien's Figurative Painting Merits and Demerits," and "Analysis of the Formation of Chang Dai-chien's Splashing Ink Style," explaining the distinctive features of Master Zhang’s landscape creations, his ink splashing world, calligraphy expression, figure paintings, and the significance of his work in different historical periods.

Curator Ben-Hang Chang introduced that this exhibition features a variety of paintings of landscapes, flowers, idols and figures, calligraphy works, and fan paintings by Master Chang Dai-chien, as well as more than 100 items from his study. One of the most special pieces on display is a hand-painted lotus flower on a silk cheongsam worn by Chang Dai-chien's wife, Xu Wenbo, which is an exceptionally rare and impressive work. The cheongsam is made of silk, and the lotus leaves and flowers are vividly portrayed, making it a rare and valuable work of art that is impressive to behold. The exhibition will be open from 9 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays and January 2nd, until January 12th, 2023. Staff and students who are interested are welcome to come and visit.