台灣是深受儒家文化影響的東亞國家之一，儒家思想主導了人們的倫理、道德與規範，具體實踐為我們的文化。儒家以男性為尊的思維，更是建構了我們對於性別角色的期待與價值觀。然而，通俗的儒家思想，常民的價值與信念，是從何而來，又是如何形成的？
「家訓」是儒家文化家庭中，治家立身，用以垂訓子孫之言。「家訓」是家庭中的規則，家族中長輩教導晚輩之方針，訓誡子孫做人處事之道。從歷代家訓可以看見其中蘊含的儒家思想，透過家庭教育，一代傳一代，造就長幼有序、夫婦有別的家庭倫理，並延伸至君臣有義、朋友有信的處事之道。在現代，知識的教育由學校傳承，儒家文化的古籍經典由學校教授，成為學生們在學校必讀知識與用詞，透過語言的交流，知識的學習，儒家思想內化為集體意識部分。
《家—訓》藝術計畫搜尋《教育部國語辭典》中，關於儒家家訓中對於性別角色的經典詞語，其中蘊含對女性的規範與男性的期待，且已在生活中成為通俗用語或概念的經典詞彙。藝術計畫將這些經典詞彙從女到男分類，從長到幼排序，虛構了一個家族故事，每一個經典詞語繫著一位家族成員，每一位家族成員都有自己的故事。
《家—訓》拍攝此虛構的家族的合照，不是傳統家族大於個人的排排站大合照，而是家族成員每個人的獨照。每張獨照的上方有一幅字畫，字畫的內容是家訓經典詞語，虛構的家族敘事連結的是我們對於人與人的關係―倫理的記憶，這個成員可能很像我們的家人、親戚、鄰居、或朋友、或同事、或師長。經典詞語中蘊含集體的性別想像，即使我們知道不合時宜，但仍是我們紹承的文化與字詞。透過虛構，辭典中的經典詞語可以成為一個家族，虛構的是關於集體意識。
Taiwan is one of the East Asian countries deeply influenced by Confucian culture, where Confucian thoughts dominate ethical, moral, and normative aspects, concretely materializing as our culture. Confucianism, with its male-centered ideology, further shapes our expectations and values regarding gender roles. However, where do popular Confucian thoughts, common values, and beliefs among the general populace originate from, and how were they formed?
“Family Precepts” within Confucian culture emphasize household governance and personal conduct, aimed at imparting guidance to future generations. It stands as the family’s code of conduct, whereby elders impart principles to guide younger family members in navigating life. Analyzing the family precepts handed down over generations reveals embedded Confucian ideology. Through family education, this tradition has fostered structured intergenerational relationships, defined spousal roles, and provided ethical guidelines for relationships such as loyalty among rulers and subjects or trust between friends. In modern times, academic institutions transmit scholarly knowledge, including classical Confucian texts, becoming foundational knowledge for students. Through linguistic exchange and knowledge acquisition, Confucian principles have become an integral part of our collective consciousness.”
The ‘Family Precepts’ Art Project explores the traditional terminologies associated with gender roles within Confucian family precepts sourced from the Ministry of Education’s Mandarin Chinese Dictionary. These terminologies delineate norms for women and expectations for men, which have evolved into common expressions or concepts in everyday life. The project categorizes these traditional terms from female to male, organizing them in descending order of age, creating an imaginary family narrative where each classic term is linked to a family member, each of whom possesses a unique story.
The project captures a group photo of this fictitious family for ‘Family Precepts.’ Rather than the conventional lineup of family members in a group photo, this imagery showcases individual portraits of each family member. Above each portrait is calligraphy inscribing a classic family precept term. This fabricated family narrative interlinks our perceptions of interpersonal relationships, representing ethical recollections. Each member might resemble our own family, relatives, neighbors, friends, colleagues, or mentors. The classic terms encapsulate collective gender ideals, which, despite being considered outdated, remain embedded in our heritage, comprising part of our cultural lexicon. Through this virtual reality, the classic terms from the dictionary weave together a fabricated family tale, addressing collective consciousness.
