Draft:Chen Liyoumei

Chen Liyoumei (Paiwan language: Tjavaus Alunguyan, 1943—) was born in the Tjavalji tribe of Taimali Township, Taitung County. In 2021, she was registered and recognized as a preserver of the important traditional craft "Paiwan Kinavatjesan traditional embroidery" by the Ministry of Culture.

Chen Liyoumei's embroidery skills were primarily inherited from her mother. As a child, she helped thread needles and watched adults engage in embroidery. By the time she was in first grade at elementary school, Chen Liyoumei could embroider patterns with a needle and thread. After graduating from elementary school, she worked for the township government. When she was 16 years old, she participated in the three-month free tailoring class provided by the township government. She later worked in the studio of the tailoring class instructor in Kaohsiung. Afterward, she returned to her hometown and worked as an assistant at "Chou Chunhua Tailoring Shop" in Taimali. Since 1963, to accommodate her husband's job as a long-distance truck driver, Chen Liyoumei left her hometown for the second time and lived back and forth between Taimali, Taitung County, Taitung City, Taimali, Taitung County, and Kaohsiung City with her children. In 1974, she settled in Kaohsiung for 12 years; she worked as a seamstress in a factory in the Export Processing Zone for two to three years and then switched to household work for another five to six years. In 1982, her husband retired due to a stroke and received treatment in Kaohsiung City. In 1986, the family moved back to the Tjavalji tribe in Taimali Township, Taitung County, and opened a small grocery store where Chen Liyoumei also engaged in tailoring and embroidery to provide for her family. In 1991, Ms. Chen's embroidery works attracted attention, and she was invited to sell them on consignment at the Grand Hotel and other places. Therefore, she set up "Mother Chen Studio."

Chen Liyoumei was born into a family of Indigenous tribe leaders called mamazangilan in the Paiwan language. Her maternal great-grandfather, Tauiyung Mavaliu, was the leader of Garapan Village and the general leader of the Taitung Hall Taiimali. Her maternal great-grandmother, Buzaran, was the most adored daughter of the Aljungic tribe leader of the Bakaro Community and had the status of a shaman. She learned embroidery and clothing-making from her mother when she was a child. During each celebration or wedding, someone would entrust her with tailoring clothing. She became what the Paiwan people call a pulima (a skilled craftsperson). Chen Liyoumei applies cross-stitch to modern fabrics made of exquisite materials, improves traditional styles, and incorporates various Indigenous totems into her work. She uses the cross-stitch method and adds bright contrasting colors to present works in various styles. one source