Ch'en Ming-ts'un, born and raised in Tounan, taught himself woodcarving as a youngster in the evenings after helping out with the family chores. When he was 28, he opened a woodcarving shop, which at one time, at its peak, employed fifty workers.
小時候，他對雕刻有興趣，無師自通，早上幫忙家裡做農事，晚上就做木雕；直到廿八歲，自己開了個小工廠。巔峰時期，廠裡還收了五十個徒弟。