Taiwan Today

A small group of crafters and amateur researchers are reviving the art of pith-paper flowers.
 

At a small office in the northern city of Taoyuan, Jerry Chen (陳建華), founder and director of the Taiwan Tong-Cao Association, is hard at work making a flower from delicate pieces of richly colored tongcao paper. The material is produced by shaving the inner pith of the tongcao shrub, also known as the rice-paper plant, into a thin, continuous sheet and has been used to create decorative hair accessories since at least the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC).
 

Hand-crafted flowers made of the paper, like the camellia Chen is working on, were popular in Taiwan as home ornaments during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945). After World War II, they were exported to Europe and the U.S. until mass-produced plastic flowers replaced them in the 1980s.
 

Chen learned of tongcao paper about 15 years ago while investigating green materials for his industrial design projects. He was fascinated by the material’s history and cultural significance, and when he realized the critical state the industry and art form were in, he dedicated himself to preserving and promoting them.
 

It was an uphill task in the beginning, as the industry had nearly gone extinct in Taiwan. After a few years of searching, Chen was finally able to connect with retired craftspeople who could share their techniques. Finding farmers who were still growing the plant and artisans who had the tools and skills to make tongcao paper was another challenge, but Chen drew everyone he found into his newly established association to hold exhibitions, provide courses at community colleges and publish books.
 

Not all who attend a course or buy a book about tongcao flowers will become a master of the craft, but with more people learning about pith-paper flowers and growing to appreciate or even love them, the prospect of a broader revival of an ancient art is bright.  

—by Jim Hwang