DeShun Paper Mache Folk Art Introduction
At the border between Changzhi and Pingtung City, there is a large temple that was burned during the Liudui Uprising, and the locals refer to it as the "Fire-Burned Temple." Near the temple, there is a family named Deshun that specializes in making paper houses. The paper crafting was started by Qiu Deshun, and the locals and regular customers affectionately call it "Deshun's work." Generally, Hakka paper craftsmen also engage in traditional music, particularly in playing the suona. In the past, anyone who could play the suona had to also be involved in paper crafting, but this is no longer the case; however, people still see it as one entity. Even if the hired suona musician cannot craft paper, they are often asked to help purchase materials. Minan suona masters do not craft paper houses; instead, this is done by the master of the temple. Qiu Fengming and Qiu Fenglin began helping their father with simple paper crafting when they were around ten years old. After their father passed away, Qiu Fengming started to learn how to play the suona. Having honed their skills from a young age, they inherited the paper crafting trade from Qiu Deshun after his passing. The experience of paper crafting has been passed down from their father for about fifty years, as their father passed away two years prior. Qiu Fenglin stated that their mother married their father ten years before he began making paper houses. In the past, Gangshan was a hub for paper crafting. At the beginning of their business, their father hired experienced craftsmen from Gangshan to teach them at home, and this learning process lasted intermittently for two to three years. During their junior high school graduation, their father asked if they wanted to continue the paper crafting trade. If they did, he planned to send them to Gangshan to serve as apprentices for three years and four months. In the early days of their father's time, they would draw patterns by hand, but later on, more printing products were used, with just cutting and pasting to assemble them. Deshun Paper Crafting mainly produces flat-roofed houses with either three or five rooms. To make a larger house, they would add more floors, resulting in a western-style building. However, Hakka people tend to be frugal and rarely commission a western-style house. It takes about eight hours to make a three-room house and is a bit more time-consuming for a five-room house, with the frame alone taking a day and a half, and it takes two days to complete it. The center of the paper house consists of the main hall, extending from the center, with the left side designated for the master bedroom and bathroom, while the right side is for the servant's room and bathroom. The eaves of the paper houses must 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, and the quality of printing varies by family. The Qiu brothers have specific suppliers they regularly work with. The dimensions of the houses must conform to the "wen gong" measurement system, with three-room houses measuring 4.2 feet and five-room houses measuring 5.8 feet. They continue to use their father's measuring tools, which have the "wen gong" markings, along with a small old chisel. The key to constructing a paper house is ensuring that the frame and pasted paper are properly aligned and flat; they cannot be slanted or raised, which requires years of accumulated experience. The frame is made from bamboo strips, with one stalk of bamboo providing about eighty strips, sufficient for two paper houses. The three-room houses typically use thinner bamboo strips, while the five-room houses use thicker ones. It's common for their hands to get pricked by the fibers of the bamboo during the production process. The framework is secured with rolled plastic sheets. In the past, they used paper rolled into thin strips, known as paper nails. The four vertical supports use thicker bamboo, while the rest are thinner. The brothers agree that the roof is the most challenging part to make. After the framework is completed, colorful paper is glued on, including large and small windows and the floor, all of which have designated patterns that cannot be mismatched. When the paper is freshly pasted, it may look uneven, but Qiu Fenglin says it will naturally flatten when dry. They modernized their traditional techniques since their father suffered from skin rashes from prolonged use of chemical glue, so now they make their own adhesive using flour, cornstarch, and alum powder for preservation, and they wrap it in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Some modern paper houses no longer use glue but instead use nail guns, which is faster but not as stable as using paper nails and manual gluing. Therefore, the Qiu brothers believe that nail guns cannot completely replace traditional paper nails. Additionally, there are now paper houses made entirely from printed products folded into shape, but these flat designs are not popular in the market. The brothers say that each family has different traditions and styles, which can be distinguished in the details. Plastic figures are made to serve as "house servants" and are attached in front of the completed paper house—two for a three-room house and four to six for a five-room house. People from the Minan culture believe that the more "house servants," the better, for a grander appearance; however, Qiu Fenglin mentions that some Hakka people even ask if the servants can be removed, as hiring a servant incurs extra costs, and they worry about not burning enough paper money for their ancestors. Minan communities traditionally use figures of golden boy and jade girl, whereas Hakka people use gold mountains and silver mountains instead. In the past, when there were no cars, people relied on their legs to get around, and only the wealthier households had sedan chairs. Therefore, the travel items burned for the deceased would naturally include sedan chairs. Inside the paper sedan chairs, a doll is placed to serve as a proxy for the deceased, similar to how a doll is placed inside the completed paper house to signify that the owner has moved in. The deceased are represented by various dolls depicting different ages and genders—older individuals are represented by an old man and an old woman, while those who died young are represented by boys and girls. The paper suitcase serves to hold clothing, and in the past, it was handmade with painted patterns, containing real hand-sewn fabric clothing. Now, the suitcases are made from printed products folded along crease lines, and clothing is also replaced by printed paper products. Many customers no longer request suitcases; Qiu Fengming notes that the modern paper sedan chairs are made to be large and luxurious, with ample trunk space, negating the need for a suitcase. Qiu Fengming reminisces about how their father would craft the seven-star bridge used during temple fairs. Additionally, their father would measure the dimensions of coffins at mourning households to create a structure known as a "coffin surround," made on-site because paper products could easily deteriorate. The purpose of the coffin surround was to prevent disrespect, as coffins used to be carried manually, and prolonged exposure would be seen as impolite, creating bad luck for pedestrians. Eventually, the coffin surrounds transitioned to fabric drapes, and now, coffins are transported in extended funeral cars, leading to the gradual phasing out of coffin surrounds. In the paper crafting industry, there are no distinct peak or off-seasons. Generally, more deceased are honored before the Lunar New Year, often said to be due to the cold weather. Qiu Fengming states that besides being used during funerals, another bustling period is during the Qingming Festival. There are also regular orders throughout the year. He recalls a customer asking him to burn a house for a stranger who claimed in a dream to be homeless or had a roof leak and was being taken advantage of. The living would then fulfill the deceased's wish by offering to burn a house for them. Just as the living value ownership, the dead in another world seek the same. Each paper house comes with a deed indicating the identity of the owner, clearly documenting the possession and ensuring harmony in the underworld without disputes. On the eve of burning paper houses,
