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Devotion to Inheritance
Master A-fa mentioned that Luban craftsmanship includes construction, carpentry, stone carving, etc. He believes that Master Luban was actually an inventor. Ten years ago, Master A-fa also had the idea of retiring. Later, in order to cultivate the next generation, he trained his son to pass down the craft. After 2019, he successively received some relevant information from cultural institutions, and it was then that he gradually realized the importance of inheriting craftsmanship.
Ten years ago, Master A-fa originally had no intention of continuing the declining statue sprucing business. He said, “I stayed in this business because my son wanted to continue learning statue sprucing.” At first, he never thought about having his son inherit the craftsmanship. He didn’t expect that his son would be very interested in statue sprucing and tried every means to learn statue sprucing skills from him. Master A-fa followed his son’s career ambition and unknowingly continued on the road of statue sprucing for another decade until now. In fact, his son had almost mastered Master A-fa’s skills, but Master A-fa's state of mind also took a different turn.
In 2021, the government began to advocate the importance of traditional crafts. Many schools and students invited Master A-fa to talk about the current situation of the decline of traditional crafts in Taiwan. Taking the current statue sprucing industry in Changhua City for example, the only shop that can completely make a statue from start to finish is the one run by Master A-fa. As a result, journalists from many TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and magazines also requested to interview Master A-fa. In the meanwhile, the Cultural Affairs Bureau invited Master A-fa to plan an exhibition of statue sprucing crafts and awarded Master A-fa the certification of traditional craft preserver. It also assisted Master A-fa in applying for registration as a national cultural heritage at the Ministry of Culture, which provided subsidies to encourage craftsmen to pass on the craftsmanship. Every year, two apprentices and one master are subsidized to learn the craftsmanship. With the attention of all parties and Master A-fa’s sense of mission as a traditional craftsman, he has begun his journey of inheritance.
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