Craftsmen making dough figurines were once a common sight at temple festivals and night markets. Practitioners skilled in the art can shape pieces of colored dough into a rabbit, a mythical hero or a cartoon character in just a few minutes. The number of those who engage in the craft has diminished, however, as many view the little dough figurines as trivial folk entertainment and not worthy of preservation.
Members of the Wu family, who operate the Wu Family Dough Figurine Museum—Taiwan’s only museum dedicated to the craft—in central Taiwan’s Changhua County, are among the few practitioners preserving the art form. Decades ago, Wu Qi-jun (巫旗軍) and his wife picked up the trade and started making figurines at temple fairs to generate business for their pastry shop. They have since passed down their knowledge to their children and grandchildren. Wu and his wife, though both in their 80s, are still creating new works as well as demonstrating the craft for museum visitors.
Wu Jun-yi (吳俊毅), based in Taipei City, is one of the younger craftsmen in the trade. To help rejuvenate interest in the traditional practice, he turned an old bicycle into a workshop for street performances. Wu Jun-yi rides to a location, sets things up and starts sculpting, just like how it was done in years gone by.
Write to Jim Hwang at cyhuang03@mofa.gov.tw
Lion Dance is one of the pieces of dough art showcased at the Wu Family Dough Figurine Museum in central Taiwan’s Changhua County. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)
Wu Qi-jun, left, and his son discuss techniques for making dough figurines. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)
Now in his 80s, Wu Qi-jun still creates new works. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)
A boy looks at a dragon-shaped dough figurine offering for Ghost Festival at a temple in Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)
Wu Jun-yi sits at his mobile workshop in front of a Taipei department store. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)