Huangtu Mountain - Craft Home Introduction
Master Huang Tu-Shan, a national treasure of bamboo weaving, began learning bamboo weaving at the age of 14. In his twenties, he opened a bamboo processing factory producing bamboo bags and baskets for domestic and international markets. Over the past 50 years, he has taught more than 1,000 students, nurturing countless talents in Taiwan’s bamboo weaving industry, making him a living history of Taiwanese bamboo weaving. Master Huang Tu-Shan started learning bamboo weaving at the age of 14. In his early twenties, he opened a bamboo processing factory, producing bamboo bags and baskets for both domestic and international markets. For over fifty years, he has educated more than a thousand students, fostering countless talents in the domestic bamboo weaving industry, and is known as a living history of Taiwanese bamboo weaving. **Japanese Occupation and Craftsmanship** The first impression of Huang Tu-Shan is that he is diligent and humble. His home and studio in Zhushan Township are filled with bamboo weaving works and awards. Now in his eighties, he retired over a decade ago from the Provincial Research Institute of Handicrafts, earning the status of a national treasure-level master craftsman. Recalling his history with bamboo art, Huang Tu-Shan, who grew up in Zhushan, remembers that during the Japanese colonial period, over 13,000 hectares of bamboo forests were planted in Zhushan. The flexible bamboo skin and high-quality material were widely used for making daily utensils. After graduating from elementary school in the 13th year of the Showa era (1938), he studied bamboo craft arts for three years at the Bamboo Craft Training Institute, laying the foundation for his bamboo art skills. He then spent another year and a half learning the coarser techniques of bamboo weaving. Shortly after his military service, World War II ended, and due to the Japanese military’s return home, there was a high demand for bamboo luggage. Huang Tu-Shan began engaging in the bamboo product trade, and in 1953, after two months of training as a crafts manager in Nantou, he was assigned to teach at the Chiayi Crafts Specialized Class, beginning the transference of bamboo arts. **Nurturing Talent** A year later, the Nantou County Government established a crafts research class in Caotun, and Huang Tu-Shan returned home to serve. At that time, it was a peak period for handicrafts, and he used all his knowledge to teach bamboo arts. After three years, many outstanding students were cultivated, including fifty indigenous students from Taitung and Hualien, who learned from each other and developed new bamboo products like flower vases and lamps. Starting in 1953, Huang Tu-Shan successively worked at various training centers in Chiayi, Nantou, Taichung, and Guanmiao, as well as at the Provincial Research Institute of Handicrafts and the Central Experimental Institute of the Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center, responsible for developing new products. He also collaborated with schools for educational partnerships, teaching bamboo processing techniques, and went overseas with agricultural teams to assist in guiding local bamboo industry techniques. Huang Tu-Shan's bamboo weaving works are diverse, including traditional utensils, flower vases, fruit plates, and lacquered bamboo products. After retirement, he has continued to create and pass on knowledge, frequently invited to exhibitions, and has served as a lecturer for the bamboo weaving arts inheritance class and the bamboo weaving technical talent training class at Zhushan High School and the Research Institute of Handicrafts, nurturing many talents. **Retired but Active: Constructing a Museum** After decades of passing down bamboo arts, Huang Tu-Shan won the National Arts Transmission Award and the prestigious title of master artist. He didn't rest after retirement, reasoning that "bamboo weaving requires creativity and hands-on crafting, continuing to create bamboo arts is beneficial for health. Since this life is interconnected with bamboo arts, I hope this traditional skill can be passed down forever." Huang Tu-Shan believes that Taiwan is rich in bamboo culture. From baby carriages, bamboo baskets, bamboo chopsticks, bamboo rafts, bamboo bridges, bamboo handles for writing brushes, bamboo houses, to bamboo beds and bridges, bamboo shoots are also beloved food in every household. In a society that has a close relationship with bamboo, there is naturally a deep emotional connection to it, which continuously inspires creativity. His greatest wish is to have more people appreciate bamboo arts, continue the transmission of this exquisite bamboo weaving art, and promote it widely. He also plans to buy land to build a museum to showcase the beauty of the master's bamboo art. (Text and images from the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute)
