Tsai Cheng-che brings legends to life through papier-mache.
At his workshop in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County, Tsai Cheng-che (蔡承哲) delicately pastes pieces of thin, scripture-printed paper onto a mold, waits for them to dry, then carefully smooths on another layer. The process is repeated 20 to 30 times, and depending on the temperature and humidity, it may be several months before he can apply color to his papier-mache creation.
Tsai came to the craft in the early 2010s when his job as a financial legal consultant was affected by the economic downturn. With the resulting free time, he toyed with the idea of a creative hobby, settling on papier-mache after learning that statues have been made from paper as far back as the Tang dynasty (618-907). When properly preserved, such pieces can last for centuries, leading Tsai to embark on a journey inspired by his childhood days in the temple courtyard, hearing stories of Mazu, the sea goddess, and her guardian generals.
Unable to find craftsmen to learn from in person, Tsai relied heavily on the internet to introduce him to papier-mache techniques. He initially used newspapers for his sacred statues, but shifted to paper printed with sutras as a more suitable material for divine images. As he built his skills, Tsai became known for his work as one of the last artists creating papier-mache religious statues.
In 2019 Tsai received a great compliment: the Mazu statue at Peitian Temple, where he had prayed and listened to legends of the goddess as a child, was crowned with one of his papier-mache works.
—by Jim Hwang
Tsai is one of just a handful of papier-mache artists in Taiwan.
“Zhong Kui,” paper and mixed media, 2016
Zhong Kui is a Taoist deity known in Chinese mythology as the king of ghosts.
“Taiwan Buffalo,” paper, 2021
“Pavilion for the Seven Star Goddess,” paper and mixed media, 2022
“Yellow Tiger Flag,” paper, 2022
The Yellow Tiger Flag is the banner of the short-lived Republic of Formosa, established and lost in 1895.