A cross-generational conversation about woodcraft

Our history with woodcraft can be traced back to the Japanese colonial period.

Founded in the same year as the Republic of China, National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech) is a technical and vocational school with a 109-year-long history of teaching woodcraft skills to students in Taiwan. Since its founding under Japanese rule, the institution has undergone several name changes—from Provincial Taipei Institute of Technology to National Taipei Institute of Technology to today's National Taipei University of Technology—and has prepared many alumni to enter the woodcraft industry. Six years ago, Taipei Tech's connection with the woodcraft industry in Taichung grew even stronger when it established the Center of Woodworking Innovation at the old Yuen Foong Yu paper mfg. co., ltd mill in Fengyuan District, which used to be a center of the woodcraft industry. The center now serves as Taipei Tech's base of operations in Taichung.

Woodcraft in the hillside city of Taichung also had its start under Japanese rule.

The rich forests of the Basianshan drove the construction of Taichung's forest railway and the rapid development of the logging industry in the area. However, these resources were depleted due to overlogging during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the Republic of China took control of Taiwan, the logging industry shifted to Dasyueshan to supply timber for the furniture and lumber industries. This resulted in the thriving development of the lumber industry along the Taichung (mountain) rail line. Changes in the economy and Taiwanese industries, however, led to the decline of the lumber industry in later years. Nevertheless, woodcraft masters can still be found in workshops tucked away in the alleys of Taichung persevering in their craft and resolutely fulfilling their mission to pass on the cultural legacy of woodcraft.

In the summer of 2019, we (Taipei Tech) began working with the Department of Commercial Design at National Taichung University of Science and Technology (NTCUST) and the Department of Furniture Design at Taichung Municipal Dongshih Industrial High School to form an interdisciplinary team from the fields of design education, woodcraft, and commercial design for its University Social Responsibility (USR) project, which was established to spur the development of the local woodcraft industry and pass on Taichung’s cultural legacy in woodcraft to future generations. Through this interdisciplinary collaboration, the team strives to revitalize the woodcraft industry, help people of different generations appreciate woodcraft, and support woodcraft education in local schools and universities.

At the start of the project, the team from the NTCUST Department of Commercial Design designed a brand identity system for the project. A separate collaborative effort with the Forestry Bureau’s Dongshih Forest District Office resulted in the creation and publication of informational literature and videos on the subjects of forest thinning and introduced species.

We spent the early winter of 2019 to mid-spring 2020 in Taichung. We initially visited workshops and small factories in the countryside, where we witnessed the skilled craftsmanship of woodcraft masters who were nearing their 70s and elicited from them some of their professional knowledge and their life stories and sentiments toward the rise and fall of the traditional woodcraft and lacquerware industries. We saw the ups and downs they have been through etched into their hands, where time has left its mark. Hardened by time, the craftsmen's passion for woodcraft, accompanied by the rumbling noise of the woodcraft machinery, form a legacy that we came to better understand through these interpersonal communications. By putting this experience into words and capturing it in photos and video, we can preserve these voices for future generations by producing and distributing educational literature and other media.

Five of the old woodcraft masters and one young teacher served as instructors at the summer Huludun-Culture interdisciplinary design workshop trainee program. The trainees hailed from different educational institutions with different woodcraft backgrounds—Taipei Tech's Department of Industrial Design (the trainee had served as an intern at the Center of Woodworking Innovation for two months), Master's Program in Innovation and Design, and Vocational Training Program in Furniture Carpentry; NTCUST's Department of Commercial Design and its Master's program; and the Departments of Furniture Design and Interior Design at Taichung Municipal Dongshih Industrial High School. They came together for the ten-day program, during which they visited local scenic spots and learned from woodcraft masters. The trainees engaged in design brainstorming sessions in which they utilized their different backgrounds and followed the craftsmen's guidance and techniques to create small wooden figurines that represented the woodcraft masters. Through this workshop, we wished to unlock the participants' potential for a broad range of creativity and help old craftsmen and young designers grow together in the quiet alleys of the historic hillside city of Taichung.

Taipei Tech's Interdisciplinary Product Design for All Ages course was held in Taipei in the spring and summer of 2020. This inter-university, interdisciplinary collaboration between Taipei Tech, National Taiwan University's School of Occupational Therapy, and the National Taiwan University D-School worked to develop board games that improve mental health in seniors, a concept that was determined by the partnering distributors and vendors. In addition to academic lectures, the course also featured workshops on design thinking and model building to encourage brainstorming and hands-on action and to help students learn traditional and contemporary techniques in woodcraft, so as to create a heartfelt connection between seniors and the young students through a shared interest in craftsmanship.

The phase following the completion of the wooden figurines and the board games was run by local businesses and students from Taichung Municipal Dongshih Industrial High School, who saw to it that the designs were optimized and the products entered pilot production. The products will be distributed at next year's event accompanied by text and forestry educational literature and videos. We will continue to organize local events, host regular woodcraft training programs, and lectures, and promote woodcraft through new media. Through preserving and developing the connections between people and woodcraft, be it via workshop machinery training or bypassing on woodcraft knowledge, we aim to transform this experience into a collective cultural memory of our homeland.



Although the knowledge and skills imparted to us in the project have been invaluable, our most wonderful memories are of the spontaneous interpersonal connections that were forged in the course of the project. When building a life in the city, most people dream of an experience that will take them soaring to the sky, but in moments when we are tired, we have a tendency to feel a real nostalgia for the smell of the rice paddies and the energetic vitality of rural Taichung. Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the unique lifestyle of this hillside city that is filled with art and culture and experience the difference between Taichung and the bustling city of Taipei, for this is a place that calms anxious hearts and provides refuge for restless souls.