De Shun Paper Mache Folk Music Introduction
At the border of Changzhi and Pingtung City, there is a large temple, locally known as the Fire-Burned Temple, which was set ablaze during the Sixteen Piles Uprising. Nearby, there is a household dedicated to making paper houses, known as De Shun. The paper effigy-making began with Qiu De Shun, and the local community and regular customers refer to it as "De Shun Zi." Generally, Hakka artisans involved in paper effigy making also work with traditional music, particularly playing the suona. In the past, those who played the suona also made paper effigies; this is less common today, yet people still view them as interrelated. Even if a hired suona musician cannot make paper effigies, they may be asked to buy them on behalf of the family. The Min Nan suona masters do not make paper effigies; instead, they are produced by a master craftsman. Qiu Feng Ming and Qiu Feng Lin began helping their father with simple paper effigy-making around the age of ten, and it was only after their father passed away that Qiu Feng Ming started to learn to play the suona. The craft has been passed down through experiences amassed over approximately fifty years, with their father having passed away just two years ago. Qiu Feng Lin noted that their mother married their father ten years before he started making paper effigies. In the past, Gangshan was the base of paper effigy-making. When their father first started the business, he hired skilled craftsmen from Gangshan to teach him at home, on and off for two to three years. Upon graduating from junior high, their father asked him if he wanted to continue the craft, offering to send him to Gangshan for an apprenticeship lasting three years and four months. In the early years of their father's time, designs had to be drawn by hand, but later, printed products became more common, requiring only cutting, pasting, and assembling. Most of the paper houses made by De Shun are in the style of either three-room or five-room bungalows; to create larger houses, additional floors are added to form a Western-style house. However, Hakka people are frugal and rarely order Western-style houses. A three-room bungalow can take about eight hours to complete, while a five-room house takes longer; just the frame requires a day and a half to complete, and the entire house takes about two days. The main hall is in the center of the paper house, extending outward. The left side consists of the owner's bedroom and bathroom, while the right side contains the servant's room and bathroom. The eaves of the paper house should have an even number of lines; a three-room house has sixteen eaves, while a five-room house has twenty-two. The materials come from places such as Taichung, Tainan, and Fengshan, each with different printing quality, and the Qiu brothers have their preferred vendors. The dimensions of the paper houses must meet specific measurements: 4.2 feet for three-room houses and 5.8 feet for five-room houses. They still use a measuring stick left by their father, marked according to these measurements, along with an old small knife that they continue to use, preserving their father's legacy. The key to making the paper house is to ensure that the frame and paper are aligned correctly and flat, without tilting or bulging, which requires years of experience. The frame is made of shaved bamboo; about eighty stalks can produce two paper houses, with thinner bamboo used for three-room houses and thicker bamboo for five-room houses. It is common to get pricked by the bamboo's fibers during the production process. The frame is fixed with rolled plastic sheets; in the past, narrow strips made from paper, known as paper nails, were used. The bamboo strips used for the four main supports are usually thicker, while the others are thinner. The brothers reveal that the roof is the most challenging part of the entire house to construct. After the frame is built, flower paper is glued on, with specific patterns for large windows, small windows, and the floor, which cannot be applied randomly. The paper appears uneven when first glued, but Qiu Feng Lin says it will flatten out as it dries. Traditional techniques have adapted over time; they recall their father developing rashes due to prolonged use of chemical glue, so they now make their glue using a mixture of flour and cornstarch, with alum for preservation, and they wrap it in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Nowadays, some paper houses are made without glue and use nail guns instead. Although more efficient, they believe it is less stable compared to traditional paper nails and manual gluing. Additionally, some use printed products folded into entire paper houses, but these are too flat and not favored by the market. The brothers state that different families have different traditions, and their unique techniques can be distinguished even in detail. Small figures made of plastic serve as "house servants," attached to the front of finished paper houses—two servants for three-room houses and four to six for five-room houses. Min Nan people prefer more servants for a more impressive look, while some Hakka individuals even ask if the servants can be removed, concerned about the cost of burning additional paper money for ancestors. Additionally, Min Nan people often use "golden boy and jade girl" motifs, while Hakka people substitute with "gold mountain and silver mountain." In the past, without cars, people relied on their legs to get around; only wealthier families had sedan chairs, so the transportation tools burned for the deceased were naturally sedan chairs. Inside paper sedan chairs, a figurine is placed as a representation, just like a figurine placed inside completed paper houses to signify that the owner has moved in. The deceased are represented in various forms depending on age, with elderly figures for seniors and boy and girl figures for those who died young. Paper trunks were used for storing clothing, with the earlier trunks handmade with painted designs; inside, one could place real hand-sewn garments. Now, printed paper is commonly folded, and the clothing is also made from printed materials. Some customers no longer require paper trunks. Qiu Feng Ming recalls that their father would also make a type of object called "coffin surround" on-site when measuring the coffin size for funerals, as paper ruins easily; thus, it needed to be made on-site. The coffin surround's purpose was to cover the coffin during transport, as traditional coffins exposed to the elements for long periods were considered disrespectful to the deceased and brought bad luck to passersby. Eventually, fabric draping replaced paper coffin surrounds, and now, coffins are generally transported in elongated hearses, gradually rendering coffin surrounds obsolete. Burning paper is done solely for the rebirth of this craft; there isn't a distinct off-peak season for paper effigy-making. Generally, demand increases before the Lunar New Year, as there may be more deceased—fitting the saying "not enough for the New Year." Qiu Feng Ming explains that paper effigies are needed during funerals, with another peak season being the Qingming Festival, alongside usual demand. He mentions a customer who requested a paper house for a faceless spirit in a dream who claimed to have no roof over their head or a leaky house being occupied; the living agreed to fulfill the deceased's wish by burning a house for them. People in life seek ownership; the same applies to ancestors in the afterlife. Each paper house is accompanied by a deed indicating the owner's identity, ensuring clear documentation and mutual respect in the underworld, free from dispute. On the eve of burning paper houses,
