Geng Dian-dong (1922-1995) was born on Oct. 15, 1922, in Huantai County, Shandong Province, China. In his 73 years, Geng climbed to the heights of both medicine and photography.
After graduating from Shangdong Provincial Medical College, Geng continued his medical studies at Yamaguchi University in Japan, earning a doctorate. This was right around the time of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II and its subsequent withdrawal from in Taiwan that saw the head physician at Taihoku Imperial University (TIU), present-day National Taiwan University (NTU), return to Japan. Seeking to further his medical practice, NTU Hospital's first director of surgery, Hsu Pang-hsing, recruited TIU graduates and bright young physicians returning to Taiwan from their studies in Japan, including Geng. This opportunity made him part of the first generation of Taiwan-produced surgeons and a force in surgical medicine at the time.
Grateful to Hsu for his help early in his career, Geng followed him when Hsu left NTU Hospital to start his own surgery practice, becoming its vice director. He also took a teaching position at Chungshan Medical College, present-day Chungshan Medical University, and in 1974 received the Department of Health's Excellent Doctor Award.
In addition to his work in medicine, Geng was a lover of nature and a talented self-taught photographer. His early work mainly consisted of black-and-white images recording the everyday lives of ordinary Taiwanese, but he would later travel overseas in search of new subject matter, photographing mountain scenery and rock formations, old buildings and plants. In his images, Geng emphasized the viewer's emotive engagement with the subject matter, using his unique vision to capture the spirit of the life and landscapes photographed through his lens. Geng sought original subjects and dynamic compositions that focused attention on the main elements, capturing the beauty of the scene in-camera rather than relying on narrative or darkroom techniques. In this way, he was able to draw the viewer in, to make them feel that they were within the scene.
Geng brought an original approach to architectural photography with his uniquely personal observation of traditional architectural details such as columns, arches, eaves and grates in temples, residences and gardens. Beyond merely recording their formal beauty, Geng would also impose his subjective response to the structures to form a holistic interpretation, leaving behind a valuable record of classical Chinese architecture in Taiwan.
Geng has held numerous exhibitions in Taiwan and overseas, starting from a first solo exhibition in Taiwan in 1968 at the Taipei Armed Forces Cultural Center and a second in 1975 in Costa Rica on the invitation of the Costa Rican North American Cultural Center. He was also awarded a number of accolades, including the Ministry of Education Arts Award for Photography in 1969 and the Chinese Writers' & Artists' Association Photography Award in 1987. In 1976, the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique (FIAP) accorded him the title Excellence FIAP, kickstarting the flood of awards to come.
From 1978 on, several collections of Geng's work were published, including Photography by Geng Dian-dong: An Album of the Lotus; Photography by Geng Dian-dong (second edition); Photography by Geng Dian-dong: An Album of Flowers; An Album of Traditional Chinese Architecture; and the exhibition catalog Geng Dian-dong: Rugged Landscapes, adding photography to his long list of life achievements.
Shortly afterward, Geng was invited to submit 100 works for a solo exhibition on the lotus, marking the beginning of the museum's longstanding relationship with the photographer.
In 1978, Geng joined six other photographers for a group exhibition at the NMH, and in 1981 he held a show titled "An Exhibition of the Photography of Geng Dian-dong" and gave a lecture on photography appreciation at the Kaohsiung Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center (present-day Kaohsiung Cultural Center) in an event jointly organized with the NMH. In 1983, he held a themed exhibition, "Chinese Traditional Architectural Photography," in the museum's National Gallery, and in the same year received an honorary medal and certificate from the museum. Two years later, he held an exhibition of his flower photography, again in the National Gallery, and in 1992 took a touring exhibition of his architectural photography to Panama, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala, providing residents of the Central and South American nations a comprehensive introduction to traditional Chinese architecture in Taiwan. The NMH has 158 of Geng's architectural photographs in its collection, donated after the 1983 exhibition.
