Most people get to know Ch'en Chien-ming through their own interest in Taiwanese folk opera. As they go in search of its origins and pull up "sweet potatoes" of their own, they also uncover this rather corpulent, close-cropped folk art scholar who at first sight bears a striking resemblance to a popular cartoon figure.
認識陳健銘的人，往往始於對歌仔戲有興趣，在追根溯源、扯地瓜藤的同時，挖出這一號身材微胖、理著平頭，乍看之下，幾分活像漫畫老夫子裡「大蕃薯」的民間學者。