beside the entrance of Cheng-Hsing Auditorium, Cheng-Hsing Campus.

The bronze sculpture Inviting a Baby Brother into a Family consists of a mother-daughter pair and a wall engraved with the names of the mother’s four daughters. A naughty but innocent little girl, named Zhaodi (as implied by the English title of this work), stands in the corner and calls to her mother affectionately. The young mother, who appears to be heavily pregnant, stands at an irregular-shaped opening of the wall, gazing gently at her daughter. The loving mother stands firmly in her pregnancy, showing the profound maternal love and the ardent expectation of having a baby boy. The little girl is yearning for frequent interaction with her mother, yet the latter is physically prevented from responding due to the heavy wall representing rigid social conventions and ethics which remind the mother to pay attention to her unborn child. Zhaodi is a common name in traditional Taiwanese society, declaring the intention to bring a baby boy into a family. This work embodies a general expectation of Taiwanese people in traditional agricultural society; that is, having a boy to perpetuate the family line. Such a heavy burden becomes a common fate which lies in store for each woman therein. They shoulder the burden of sustaining the family line and conforming to convention, making having a baby boy the most important task of their lives. They have no way of flying over the high wall built on societal conventions. The innocent and simple composition of this bronze sculpture not only keeps the artist’s childhood memories alive, but also vividly recounts his personal heartwarming stories. The mother-daughter pair is deep gray in color with a hint of emerald green. It has been placed at the front gate of the Cheng-Hsing Campus where the College of Medicine is located. The sculpture tends to rekindle visitors’ memories by allowing them to touch the mother’s smooth and bright belly and the girl’s round and smooth head. Text/ Hsiang-Hsiu Liou Translator/ Sheng-Chih Wang