Yue Lao's tablet, Guan Yu's scooter
A father and son at Taichung's Chen's Wood give familiar gods contemporary tools. Walk from the station into the old city to meet a carving workshop founded in 1926.
Buddy Lien · Old Taichung
New equipment for familiar gods
陳文才 and 陳希彥, Chen's Wood · 2026 · Woodcarving
Work: 陳文才 and 陳希彥, Chen's Wood. Photograph: 樸實創意, published by MOT TIMES, July 2026. Editorial use.
Editorial useView source ↗
Wooden gods with the tools of everyday Taiwanese life.
Yue Lao, the god of matchmaking, wears glasses and carries a tablet. Nezha rides a dragon-shaped skateboard; Guan Yu leans into a scooter. The three carvings rest on a wooden work surface scattered with chips. Their contemporary equipment still bears the cuts of the carving knife.
Father 陳文才 and son 陳希彥 made the five-god series together. Its other figures are the God of Wealth with a cash gun and Zhong Kui. Published in July 2026, this photograph comes from the workshop's centenary exhibition, with credit to 樸實創意. Familiar blessings travel with new equipment: matchmaking gains a screen, and Guan Yu's ride gains a battery.
Chen's Wood began with founder 陳珍's carving knife in 1926. The family workshop made deity figures, plaques, altar tables and carved window panels; its third generation also works with designers and everyday objects. Find the shop on Renai Street in Taichung's old centre, about twenty minutes on foot from the railway station.
Get there
Public transport
About 1.4 km, twenty minutes on foot from Taichung Station's front side to Renai Street in the old city. Directions point to the workshop.
Sources
- Chen's Wood ↗ — Address, regular visiting hours and carving practice
- MOT TIMES: a century of woodcarving ↗ — Family history, father-and-son collaboration and photographs
- Workshop's October 24–25 programme ↗ — The modern god figures and October event