As for other bone-washers, they usually charge more than NT$10,000 for using chemicals to dissolve the body.
"But we would rather not earn that money because it's just unnatural," Huang said.
There are also traditional rules about cleaning the bones. Huang uses brushes to clean the residuals on the bones, piece by piece. And then he recombines the bones like a jigsaw puzzle.
On each edge of the bones he paints them with red ink "which represent the veins of the body." And then each piece of the bone is wrapped with paper made of bamboo, and then placed back in a porcelain jar.
"Remember, the bones need to be placed in a sitting-down position in the jar, the same position humans are in the womb," Huang added.
"In a way, what we are doing is to find a nice comfortable new home for the deceased," Huang said.
Having cleaned the bones of more than 10,000 bodies, has Huang ever confronted anything supernatural? "There was one occasion when the deceased came to our house, requesting that we changed his jar for a higher-priced jar. We at first did not believe it, until the deceased told his family the same request," Huang said.
"There was another time we helped clean the tomb of an unknown child, for a graveyard. The night before we reburied the child, I dreamt of a child telling me what his name was and asking me to engrave it on the tomb," said Lin Li-hua (林麗華), Huang Chung-mou's wife.
After 46 years of experience, Huang can tell stories from the bones. The bones of those who suffer from chronic diseases tend to decay slower because the long-term use of medication acts as a preserving chemical, he said. "And those having drinking problems tend to have darker colored bones, and they usually show symptoms of osteoporosis."
For the past 46 years at his bone-cleaning practice, the price for his service has been set at NT$2,500, even though the average price has risen up to NT$20,000. It is another sign of Huang's sticking to the traditions.
As cremation becomes a more common funeral practice than burial, has Huang ever been worried that the bone-cleaning business might be nearing its end?
"It might gradually diminish. But I never worry too much for the future. As long as I have one day of business, I will do a good job and maintain a quality service," he said. "Besides, we are still dealing with bodies that passed away 10 to 12 years ago. Even if the business is going down, it would still take another 10 to 12 years, I guess."
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