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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 17th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2014> Hsu Tsung-Huan—The Paralyzed Ceramicist
 [Defeat Paralysis‧Pass Down Love Through Ceramics]

I overcame the pain of spinal injury and life on a wheelchair. Nearly 30 years on wheelchair has given me the opportunity to absorb knowledge like a sponge, to learn how to live in humbleness and happiness, and to build a fulfilling life.
—Hsu Tsung-Huan
 
Reborn Through Clay Sculpture
Hsu Tsung-Huan, the world’s first paralyzed ceramist, was once an auto mechanics. His spine was injured by a dropping jack at work in1985 and was paralyzed from the waist down. Suffered from anger, agony, and despair, painting helped him through the pain, and he then fell in love with ceramics. 
 
He shared his experience from a paralyzed mechanic to an artist. “Jiggering was the most difficult for a paralyzed person. Once, I had to lean on my wheelchair for the constant pain and try so many times till my elbow bled to finish a work.”
 
Finding Hope
 “Clay has given me the strength to build a new life!” Clay endures external pressure and reshapes through fire. That the characteristics that Hsu wishes for himself and others.
 
Hsu won the first prize of “National Skills Competition” in 1991, earned a distinguished award in the “3rd Vocational Skills Competition of International Abilympic”on behalf of R.O.C., and was listed in the “Craft House” by the Council for Cultural Affairs in 2008.
 
His “Ceramic Workshop” is his contribution to society. He gives free ceramics lessons to young students, school dropouts, elder people and the disabled for over 20 years. The paralyzed ceramist has defeated his condition and spread his love through ceramics. Therefore, he stood out from 2239 candidates around the world and was awarded the “17th Global Love of Life Medals” in 2014 by Chou, Ta Kuan Foundation.
 
Auto Mechanic No More 
Hsu Tsung-Huan, who had always wanted to be an auto mechanic, was born in Chainghua on April 8th, 1965. 
 
In 1985, when Hsu was especially busy due to the coming Chinese New Year, a careless coworker accidentally touched the valve of the jack holding the car he was working under. It was already too late when he realized that the car is dropping. When he was pulled out, he could longer feel his legs. He had a spinal injury and was paralyzed from the waist down. It was like a lifelong sentence.
 
A full grown 20-year-old became an infant that his mother had to care for. Yet she had never shed a tear. He thought it was because she was a strong woman, but the director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the National Taiwan University Hospital then told him: “I am really afraid to see your mother because she’s always crying…” 
 
Hsu then realized his mother was not without fragility. She only concealed it in front of her child while she herself experienced from indescribable pain.
 
When Hsu was released from the hospital, he often sat in the garden absentmindedly since the outside world no longer had anything to do with him. The garden became his world. He was like a gull left without wins. Couldn’t see or fly far but cry silently. During this time of self-exile, painting became the only consolation for his sorrowful and hollow heart.  
 
Perseverance and a Second Chance
2 years after the injury, Hsu finally went out the and took a vocational training in making ceramics at the Catholic Non-Profit Tsz-Ai Mercy Hospice(慈爱之家). At that time, he didn’t know anything about ceramics except the distant memory of the Painted Pottery Culture and Black Pottery Culture from history books.
 
On the day of registration, his elder bother asked if he really wanted to stay at the facility. He hesitated but decided to stay, and the teacher led them to the dorm. His brother and mother helped him unpack and then left with tear in their eyes. Watching them go made Hsu burst into tears as well. This was his first time away from home after the injury, and he couldn’t fall asleep that night.
 
At the beginning, making ceramics wasn’t what he wanted to do. What he really wanted to learn was painting. During the training in the day, however, he couldn’t find time for painting. So he sacrificed his leisure time by the TV. Sometimes, it was really tempting to take a break and enjoy the shows with others in the training program, but his ration wouldn’t allow his practice hindered by entertainment. Hsu also took a ceramic course in Chainghua Cultural Center to receive proper training.
 
Looking back, Hsu believes that it was that perseverance that gave him the second chance and made his achievement today.
 
The Thrill of the First Salary after Paralysis
A year past and Hsu finished the training with the best performance in class and stayed at the hospice as a teaching assistance. Tear came to his eyes when he received his first salary after the injury. Although it was only several thousand NT dollars, it made him feel independent and his heart filled with joy.
 
The first “Perseverance Award” by the Social Department of Taiwan Provincial Government was held in 1986. He was touched each time he watched the honorees with disabilities go up the stage and receive the award. They had conquered their disabilities.
 
At the night of the 3rd award, he said to his coworker, Hsieh, sitting next to him: “It must be a real honor for people with disabilities to receive the Perseverance Award. How great it would be if I get to be on that stage!” Then he said jokingly: “How about we set a goal and see how long it takes to reach it?” Hsieh replied: “I don’t ask too much of myself. It would be marvelous to have accomplished my goal within 10 years.” Hsu made up his mind to be on that stage in 5 years.
 
As it turned out, after 3 years of hard work, Hsu earned the 6th “Perseverance Award” in 1992. His entire family was there to share his joy. He couldn’t hold his tears back when he went up the stage and gave a speech for the first time. He touched the heart of many audiences andd successfully reached his first 5-year goal.
 
Challenge Oneself and Honor for the Country
The first prize in 1991 and the later distinguished award, where he competed with contestants from 57 countries, gave him enormous encouragement. 
 
Before the injury, he had dreamt of taking a plane and traveling abroad but had never gotten the chance. After the injury, he often stared at the sky alone late at night, looking at the lights from the planes going back and forth in the limitless universe. He never thought he would get the chance to fulfill this seemly impossible dream because of clay.
 
When the plane to Hong Kong ascended through the cloud, he was amazed by the beautiful blue sky, realizing that before you see something magnificent, you need to go through obstacles. 
 
There was honor and applause for the prize as well as frustration and criticisms for the failures. Each represented a valuable creating experience. Improvement comes always with hardship since trial and failure is unavoidable. Failure, however gives opportunity to improvement and this process will enrich your creativity.
 
Creating New Lives
Due to lack of experience at the beginning of his career, many pieces of work that Hsu had spent a lot of time on couldn’t survive the test of fire. 
 
The beauty of ceramic is in its uncertainty. Making ceramics is unlike creating graphic art, in which you know the result the moment it is finished.
 
Making ceramics is like giving birth. The baby is carried and cautiously cared for 10 months, but before it leaves the labor room, no one knows for sure that it is safe and healthy.
 
The same applies to making ceramics. That’s why a ceramic in the kiln is like a baby in the labor room. The result could be exciting success or disheartening failure.
 
It’s especially hard to promote ceramic art in the countryside. For people living in the country, there isn’t much difference between the tea made with a 300NT-dollar and 3000NT-dollar teapot.
 
But why the prices vary so much? There’s a fine line between a commercial product and an art work. It all depends on what the teapot means to you.
 
An old saying goes: “it takes the right timing, opportunity, material and craftsman to make a good piece.” The artist needs to have creativity, skill and the ability to bring life into his work. This process, however, is usually lonely.  
 
Although there has been roadblocks in promoting ceramics in the coast region, but Hsu was grateful for the many principals who have invited him to exhibit his work on school anniversaries, which allows students to learn about the beauty of ceramics early on. 
 
Our education policies focus too much on credentialism, and too less on aesthetics. This is an issue needed to be addressed.
 
Therefore, for more than 20 years, Hsu has been teaching at schools, educational facilities and student clubs for free. The point is not about how much the students have learnt, but about planting the seed of ceramic in their heart. In time, they may become ceramic lovers and even pass down the love.
 
Life and Dream as an Artist
Before 20, Hsu Tsung-Huan was a lively young man full of dreams. After 20, he was put to the test by the reality and the environment on the wheelchair. The wheelchair had brought him inconvenience, but also a different life.
 
Art soothed his pain when his life was at the bottom and gave him direction when he was most lost. It has been a rough path but he has not been alone. 
 
When Hsu first entered the art world, he often pushed his wheelchair to cultural centers and look at different types of art works by great artists to learn from the best. If you had seen someone on a wheelchair like that, it could had been him.
 
After his studio was opened, Hsu set the second 5-year plan. He would focus on making ceramics and holding exhibitions to display his work. His first stop was Chainghua Cultural Center. His first personal exhibition was in 1997, which gave him the courage to face future challenges.
 
By 2013, it had been 28 years since his injury. Hsu had gone through countless struggles from denial to acceptance, and to turning obstacles into opportunities. His mother has always supported him on the way and helped his work to be recognized.
 
Beside the “Perseverance Award”, Hsu was also honored with the 2nd “Golden Eagle Award” on distinguished artists with disabilities, the 2nd “True Courage Award”, and the “Youth Medal” by China Youth Corps, as well as acknowledged 5 times by the President and Vice President. His accomplishments were built on the love from his family and friends, and he has strived to live a fulfilling life to repay this love to society. 
 
1 Million NT Dollar Donation in Memory of His Mother 
Hsu’s mother walked him through the worst part of his life, but she died of sudden myocardial infarction in October 2011. To memorize his mother, he donated her legacy for him, 1 million NT dollars, to his school with the consent of his family. Principal Tsai Chien-Chung of Meifeng Elementary School accepted the donation.
 
According to the principal, Hsu’s family is not wealthy, and yet he is fully dedicated to teaching the students and faculty, making the school one of the 100 excellent schools listed by the Ministry of Education because if ceramics. The donation will surely create many young ceramists, passing on Hsu and his mothers’ love.
 
Hsu said that after the injury, his mother remained firm. She seldom complained and never gave up. She inspired him to be strong, independent, and help those in worse situations. To those struggling with life, therefore, he quotes his mother: “be optimistic and passionate even in the rough patch.” 
 
To See a World in a Pot
There is a line from an ad: “some use ceramics for tea, some for appreciation, and still others for building decoration.” Indeed, while some people keep track of their lives with pen and paper, Hsu uses clay.
 
Clay does not have much value in itself, but is highly glutinous, ductile and bears pressure. As a ceramist, to breathe life into clay has always been Hsu’s pursuit.
 
If the jiggering-made Zodiac Pot Series is Hsu’s most representative work, the handmade pots would be his self-breakthrough, in which he experimented with shapes other than round. He took inspiration from nature, capturing the spirit of withered trees, bamboos, fruits and vegetables. His creating process is no longer confined to the studio. With a clot of clay, he can create anywhere in the world. With ceramic, he can see a world in a pot.