Planting lacquer trees could be part of a government move to promote traditional lacquerware in Taiwan, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Tuesday last week at the opening of a special exhibition for 97-year-old lacquerware master Wang Ching-shuang (王清霜) and his family.
“Lacquerware requires dedication and experience, and Taiwan is lucky to have a master craftsman such as Mr Wang,” Su said.
Wang’s handiwork has been presented to foreign nations as state gifts, a measure of the quality of Wang’s work, Su said, adding that the government has allotted funding under the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program to support the craft.
Many Taiwanese are unaware that the nation is the home of such handicraft, assuming that most lacquerware is imported from Japan, Su said.
The government aims to promote the local lacquerware industry, allowing Taiwanese and visitors alike appreciate local artisan’s handicrafts, Su said.
Su said he would instruct the Council of Agriculture to explore the possibility of growing local species of lacquer trees to shore up the local lacquer supply, instead of relying on imports.
Wang and his sons have been influential in the local lacquerware industry.
Even after turning 70, Wang introduced new techniques into his work, such as incorporating lacquer painting combined with the Japanese maki-e technique, a process of brushing on ornamental gold or silver powder onto lacquerware.
While lacquerware techniques largely came from Japan, local artisans had access to local Chinese lacquer trees and were not dependent on imports until increased labor costs and cheaper Vietnam imports shifted the market from local to overseas supplies, Wang said.
The works of Wang and his family are on display until April 24 next year at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute’s Taipei branch.
Additional reporting by CNA
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