Chen Chi-nan (; born 29 October 1947) is a Taiwanese anthropologist. He led the Council of Cultural Affairs from 2004 to 2006. He was named

Director of National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a southern branch i ...

in 2018 and served until 2019.

Early life and education

Chen was born in

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county ...

in 1947. He graduated from

National Taiwan Normal University National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is a National university, national comprehensive university in Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university enrolls approximately 17,000 students each year. Approximately 1,600 students are Intern ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(B.A.) in geography in 1970 and obtained a master's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

in 1975. Chen then pursued further graduate studies in the United States at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(M.A.) in anthropology in 1978 and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in the subject in 1984. Chen then worked as a researcher at the

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

and taught anthropology at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. After returning to Taiwan, Chen joined the college of humanities and social sciences at

National Chiao Tung University National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) was a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After the Chinese ...

, where he later became dean.

Political career

Chen was named the vice chairman of the

Council for Cultural Affairs A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

from 1994 to 1997. In January 2002, he was appointed a minister without portfolio in charge of education and culture. Chen became chairman of the Council of Cultural Affairs in May 2004. He and all members of the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

led by

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney who served as Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan from 2016 to 2024. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City ...

resigned en masse on 24 January 2006. In 2014, Chen helped

Ko Wen-je Ko Wen-je ( zh, c=柯文哲; born 6 August 1959), also known by his nickname, Ko P, is a Taiwanese politician and physician who served as the Mayor of Taipei, mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022. He founded the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in 201 ...

select the head of Taipei's Department of Cultural Affairs. In July 2018, Chen was named

, succeeding Lin Jeng-yi. Upon taking office, Chen stated that he would pursue

Taiwanization Taiwanization ( zh, t=臺灣本土化運動), also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a conceptual term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a Taiwanese culture, society, economy, nationality, and identity rather than ...

of the museum. He mentioned that the museum had not worked to include other cultures present on Taiwan, namely the

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

present long before Han immigration to Taiwan, and that he would try to diversify the museum's holdings and displays. He left the job in January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chi-nan Living people Taiwanese anthropologists National Taiwan University alumni Academic staff of the Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Virginia faculty Academic staff of the National Chiao Tung University Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 1947 births Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Pingtung County Ministers of culture of Taiwan Directors of National Palace Museum National Taiwan Normal University alumni Taiwanese university and college faculty deans