Radio Taiwan International
Date: 10 December, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

What do you do with a broken bowl? One artist in Changhua County is an expert at mending it with homemade staples. But his craft – staple china art – is a dying one. He is trying to pass on this rare and environmentally friendly skill.

 Oops! Don’t throw that broken bowl away. You can fix it with sticky rice and an oyster shell.  Put a piece of the shell in the rice, crush, and mix together to make chinaware glue.

Put the glue along the broken edges, stick it back together and tie it with hemp rope. Then you use this tool to gently drill a hole in the chinaware. Now flatten a piece of bronze to make the staple. Then stick staples in the holes and gently hammer it in until it is sealed. This is called staple china art. Pour water in the bowl and it doesn’t leak. You can even prove it with a tissue.

He says, “It’s dry. You can use it for 100 years, unless you drop it again.” Chu Fang Ben is a staple china artist. He loves antique chinaware and vases. That’s why he learned this art from his mentor. He says,"It’s not an easy skill to acquire. He said the hardest part is drilling the hole. You have to have just the right angle and force. If you don’t, you’ll break the chinaware."
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