A tale of two bowls of noodles
“It wasn’t until I was 36 years old that I began to do what I actually wanted to do,” says Chen, who only discovered that he had reached this high point in his life after founding the first bookhouse. “My motivation was quite simple. I wanted to help children resolve their problems. There have been so many challenges, and many low points that even I didn’t comprehend, but when the difficulties have been resolved, and my mind is recharged with positive energy, it becomes a driving force for progress.”
In order to spend more time with his children, who were becoming increasingly unfamiliar with him, Chen, who had previously sold cars and real estate and operated restaurants, returned to his hometown Taitung and sat the exam for court clerk. But to understand how he became known as “Daddy Chen” among bookhouse staff and children alike, we must begin with a tale of noodles.
It was a perfectly ordinary day back in 2000, and Chen had taken his two sons for noodles at a street side vendor. They ran into Xiao Tong, a classmate of his son Chen Yanhan, and the elder Chen naturally invited him along for a bowl of noodles. The father and son, who typically ate two bowls apiece, ordered seconds for Xiao Tong too. But soon afterwards, Xiao Tong upchucked the contents of his lunch. “Daddy Chen, it’s been a long time since I ate so much!” said Xiao Tong apologetically.
Due to his parents’ divorce and mother’s remarriage, and his father’s even heavier drinking bouts due to subsequent unemployment, before Xiao Tong ran into the Chens that day he hadn’t had a solid dinner for three years. Since Chen regularly accompanied his sons as they did their homework, he invited Xiao Tong to join them.
“Even the coolest of kids needs care.” The gate to the Chen family’s three-sided courtyard was thrown open and gradually children in the neighborhood were attracted by the sound of guitars and boisterous ball games. More and more gathered in the yard, exceeding 60 at one point. Chen discovered that like Xiao Tong, many came from dysfunctional families where they were expected to buy liquor for their parents on their way home from school, but no one fed them when they were hungry. Or else they were being raised by grandparents, and so they hung around making trouble after school.
Surprised and puzzled as to the reason for such family situations, Chen’s sense of compassion was stirred. He began cooking meals for the kids, and the books he had used to study for his court clerk exam became the textbooks from which he learned how to help these children—given up on by the mainstream education system—with their studies.
The self-built Qinglin Bookhouse stands at the side of Provincial Highway 11 in Taitung, a testimony to the realization of what was considered unimaginable.