Lu Chen (magician)

Lu Chen
劉謙
Born (1976-06-25) June 25, 1976
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Occupation Magician
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 65 kg (143 lb)
Website LuChen Magic
"Magic - It's an amazing psychological phenomenon."

Lu Chen[1]

Lu "Louis" Chen (Chinese: 劉謙; pinyin: Liú Qiān; Wade–Giles: Liu Ch'ien; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lâu Khiam; born June 25, 1976) is a Taiwanese magician and is credited to be the only Taiwanese magician to perform in Hollywood's Magic Castle, commonly referred to as Taiwan's most renowned magician.[1] He graduated from Soochow University with a degree in Japanese literature.[2]

Lu Chen has made multiple appearances internationally, performing in Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States.[2] His first public appearance in the mainland China was in 2009, during CCTV's annual Spring Festival, performing a close-range three-part magic show,[3] which included "teleporting" an engagement ring into a real egg.[4] Guests were invited to try basic magic after the show was over.[5]

He has been the recipient of many international awards, including the famed "Neil Foster/Bill Baird Award for Excellence in Manipulation", which is handed out yearly by the Chavez College of Magic.[5][6]

Early life and magical career

Lu Chen first became interested in magic at the age of 7 when he was attracted by a magic shop while shopping with his aunt.[2] He proceeded to enter and saw the shopkeeper make coins disappear, and when confronted, the shopkeeper pulled a lollipop from behind his ear.[7] From then, he began working on his magic skills, and at the age of 12, he won Taiwan's Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by world-famous magician David Copperfield. In an interview, Lu Chen said that "This win was profoundly meaningful for me. It encouraged me to carry on my magic show dream. It showed me that my efforts could eventually lead to success."[2]

Despite this, Lu Chen did not expect to become a professional magician, instead choosing to study the Japanese language at Soochow University, while practicing amateur magic in his spare time. His failure to find a job after graduation forced him to pursue a career in magic. In 2001, Lu Chen expanded his magic shows onto television, starting a show called "Magic Star", quickly becoming STAR Chinese Channel's's most popular show. In 2003, he took first place at the international World Magic Seminar.[2] From 2007 to 2009, Lu Chen has been performing and judging on the magic segment of the Chang Fei's popular Taiwanese variety show, Variety Big Brother.

His plans to pursue magic in China[2] were fulfilled when he performed "Magic Hands" at CCTV New Year's Gala 2009[3] in front of a live audience and while one billion people watched the televised broadcast.[8] His performance was the second most popular show that night, surpassed only by Zhao Benshan's skit.[9] After his performance at the CCTV New Year's Gala, various provincial channels (most commonly Jiangsu TV, Shanghai Media Group and Hunan TV) offer an invitation for him to perform. He has also appeared in Chinese television commercials throughout 2009. He performed again the following year at CCTV New Year's Gala 2010 and CCTV Lantern Festival's Gala 2010.[10] This accomplishment is considered one of his most remarkable achievements in recently as he has shot to fame and popularity since then.

After his debut in China, he mainly appears in China and Japan for his performances. In 2010, he was awarded the Merlin Award, his 26th magic award for his career. In 2011, Lu Chen became the first Asian magician to have his own stage performance at Las Vegas and the first Taiwanese magician to be published in the American MAGIC magazine. Today, many consider Lu Chen to be Asia's David Copperfield due to his high fame and popularity especially in Asia.

Awards and accomplishments

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 Huang, Kaya. "The Magical World of Lu Chen". Taiwan Panorama. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fei, He (2008-10-24). "China's Top Magician Liu Qian". CriEnglish. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  3. 1 2 "Magic Hands". China Central Television. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  4. ↑ 網友拆解春晚魔術 揭秘宋祖英如何「場上換裝」 (in Chinese). 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  5. 1 2 魔術師劉謙揭秘春晚:藝人沒酬勞 還是乖乖去 (in Chinese). Ent163. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  6. ↑ 寶島魔術師劉謙做客新浪聊春晚 每一次都像戰場 (in Chinese). Sina. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  7. ↑ "Magic in the Streets". 綜藝大哥大.
  8. ↑ Qian, Liu (2009-01-24). "CCTV Spring Festival Evening Show". Liu Qian's Blog. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  9. ↑ 央視春晚人氣調查本山居首 小瀋陽成最大黑馬 (in Chinese). China.cn. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  10. ↑ "Magic". CCTV. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Liu Quan profi le" (in Chinese). Baidu. Retrieved 2009-01-28.


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