Special Exhibition on Inherited Craftsmanship in Yilan Revisits the Stories of Taiwan’s Traditional Artisan Families

By MOOK Travel & Living Chen Guanxin, compiled and reported

 

To depict the profound aspect of intergenerational craftsmanship within traditional arts, the National Center for Traditional Arts has specially themed this year’s program around significant artisan families in Taiwan’s traditional crafts, aiming to present the life histories, technical legacies, and rich array of works from these artisan families. This exhibition features two installments of the “Crafts Passed Down Through Generations” series planned for the first and second halves of 2013. The first installment runs from today until June 16 at the Exhibition Hall of the National Center for Traditional Arts, showcasing nine major traditional crafts—including shadow puppetry figures, glove puppetry figures, stone carving, and hand-painted art—along with the heritage and life stories of their respective families.

The first “Crafts Passed Down Through Generations” exhibition features nine artisan families working in various traditional craft categories, including shadow puppetry figures, glove puppetry figures, stone carving, hand-painting, lantern-making, embroidery, paper crafting, wood carving, and tin art. Each represents a moving family legacy. These include the lineage beginning with the first-generation performer Zhang Zhuangzhao, followed by Zhang Wang, Zhang Chuan, Zhang Jiao, Zhang Decheng, and others who have tirelessly contributed to the development of one of Taiwan’s most influential performing arts traditions; the founding of a local artisan workshop by the Lin family in Wujie, Yilan, along with their distinctive artistic style; the Zhuang family from Dajia, whose ancestors crafted lanterns for the famous Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, preserving both the craftsmanship and the rituals; the story of perseverance and skill passed down through generations in the Lin family of Lugang; the foundational values and craftsmanship ethos of the Tsai family of Tainan; the Lin family of Chiayi, known for their intricate paper offerings and ceremonial crafts; the Li family of Hualien, who have dedicated decades to preserving the unique arts of mountainous regions; the Huang family, famed for their exceptional metalwork and religious artifacts; as well as other families who have devoted themselves to sustaining these cultural treasures across generations.