The One and Only Type Foundry in Taiwan Chia-Hsin Lu
With countless types of radical, writing, and tens of thousands of pronunciation, Chinese characters are undoubtedly the most difficult words to learn. Each stroke has its own unique way－horizontal, vertical, left, etc. And each of them shows the strength and beauty of calligraphy. If it is substituted by “PMingLiU” and even been forgotten by people one day, when hand carve stroke of the old masters turn into the program and scan your computer to print, who will still enjoy “lead” ?

There’s an exhibition in our school recently, which is called “The One and Only Type Foundry in Taiwan－ Ri Xing Type Foundry.” I went there with my teachers and classmates this morning. First, we saw all forms of engraved printing works from students in our school. The works are not only for poetry but also for idioms and pictures, and they’re all filled with blessings words. Next, the members of the exhibition unveiled the “lead”. They told us that cast of characters and printing industry was very popular until the advent of computers. Modern printing replaced hand carved copper mold of masters. Type foundries gradually disappeared, and “Ri Xing Type Foundry” is now the only remaining one in Taiwan.

From rows of type, I can feel they’re traces of history. Ri Xing Type Foundry is now operated by the second generation boss Zhang Jieguan. For the meaning of nonstop production for hope, Zhang’s father named the type foundry “Ri Xing”. However, because of the rise of digital printing, movable-type printing was quickly pushed down the stage. Ri Xing now faces the problems of fewer guests, the brain drain and financial issues. It’s sad to said that the one and only type foundry in Taiwan is about to disappear.

Type, the heritage of the cultural, is not only a historical score, but the hometown of Chinese characters. Through this exhibition of school, I realized the stories of type and saw the rise and fall of Type Foundry. When holding hand-printed memorial cards by myself, I can feel that text jumped in my hands, and “lead” was in front of me.

Movable Type Printing Ting-Hsuan Chung
This afternoon, teacher took our class to the exhibition in our school. By the introduction and discussion from the members of the exhibition, I learned lots about the typecasting industry. There was an area in the exhibition where we can experience the movable-type printing. We inked the wisdom sentences by ourselves and pressed them on the paper carefully. The works were totally different from the text of the computers and printers.

Words printed out from the copiers and printers are standard, inflexible and lack of vitality. The lead printing, however, is considering a variety of very different font style via designer, with the size, font, and the need to express the text; it’s an art from human thinking. Looking at the bookmarks printed by myself, I felt them full of vitality, just like they were talking to me.

In order to preserve cultural assets from our ancestors and the treasures of the island for generations, we must cherish the cast of characters for traditional art and culture of movable-type printing.

Ri Xing Type Foundry Chi-Ting Hsieh
he last class of this afternoon, the teacher led our class to the multi-purpose classrooms and saw an exhibition which is called “The One and Only Type Foundry in Taiwan－Ri Xing Type Foundry.” We first saw the works by students which were celebrating the anniversary of our school. A closer look at them, I was so surprised that I saw my work! I was really happy.

After that, we went to the area where we can experience the movable-type printing. I listened to the direction carefully and then operated the machine excitedly. I inked and pressed the words on the paper, and put them on the self carefully. I selected the sentence from Dai-Kang Yang: “Do not let go until the dreams in your hand.” And I also choose the wisdoms from Einstein and Newton.

And then the members of the exhibition introduced the Ri Xing Type Foundry. They told us it’s the only one in Taiwan now. It started in 1969, experienced a boom in the printing industry to decline, now faces financial problems and techniques of heritage. The vision of Ri Xing Type Foundry is to let Taiwan become the world center of Chinese font design, show the value of movable-type printing, and what’s more, the establishment of museum.

The exhibition broadened my sights, and I really learned a lot. From the exhibition, I had a deep impression of Ri Xing Type Foundry, typecasting industry, and movable-type printing.

Foundry Type Exhibition Han Lin
We went to attend an exhibition at school. It is all about the one and only Type Foundry in Taiwan- Ri Xing Type Foundry. When it comes to the foundry type, people usually think about carving something on a block. However, it is not that simple. The foundry type represents the value of Chinese culture of traditional printing. It is worthwhile for everyone to get to know this traditional printing technique. We learn about the history of printing technique and the process of the foundry type.

Ri Xing Type Foundry is the only left in Taiwan. Mr. Chien-kuan Chang, the owner of the type foundry, never wants to give up on running this type foundry. It is not easy to keep this workshop running because of the cost. However Mr. Chien-kuan Chang insists on preserving this dying profession. Also, we watched a video about the challenge and difficulties that the type foundry is facing. The foundry type has its own unique beauty and value. It is rare industry in the world.

One thing came up to my mind when I was watching the video is that a lot of people don’t appreciate our traditional culture as much as it should be. It is very pity to only consider foreign culture as the first priority to be respected. People should try to find a balance between these two cultures. After this exhibition, I feel like I should have to show more respect for traditional Chinese culture. I have made up my mind on taking a trip to visit the type foundry so I will be able to experience the beauty of this dying profession in person.

The Type Foundry Chi-Yun Liao
Foundry Type is a very unfamiliar and new term to me. After listening to the presentation in the exhibition, I know what the foundry type is about. What makes me impressive is that Ri Xing Type Foundry is the only one left in Taiwan. Also there are some precious copper mold collection in the shop. Chinese characters are about eight thousand words. Needless to say, it is time-consuming to create a whole set of lead written characters. This traditional movable-type printing is impossible to be replaced by computerize printing. However, few people want to have books printed in this old-fashion way because it is time-consuming and costing. Mr. Chien-kuan Chang, the owner, continues his passion to keep this shop running without any profits. I want to say thank you to all the students who work on this project. They work so hard to get all the information and make it easy for us to understand the lead type making process and traditional printing technique in the exhibition.

Taiwan School Cyberfair Exhibition Che-Li Liao
There is an exhibition of The One and Only Type Foundry in Taiwan－Ri Xing Type Foundry at school. I am very interested in that!

The exhibition is divided into four major zones, guided tour zone, video zone, experiential zone and students’ work zone. The first zone is all about the history of movable-type printing. The techniques and distribution of movable-type printing are also displayed in this zone. In the second zone, we can watch video about the history of Ri Xing Type Foundry. A lot of products of movable-type printing are showed in students’ work zone. My favorite area is experiential section. We are able to experience using movable-type printing to make a card. We can keep the card as a memento. I admire the invention of movable-type printing all the more. The printing techniques plays an important role in spreading the knowledge and passing traditional culture to the next generation.

The exhibition gives me a better understand of the history of Ri Xing Type Foundry and the knowledge of typecasting industry. I also experienced a hands-on activity to explore movable type printing.

People says, “Wisdom lies in learning a lot; Genius lies in experiencing a lot.”We not only learn knowledge in the classroom but also increase experiences in the daily life. Learning different knowledge makes our life better.

Ri Xing Type Foundry Ting-Yu Lin
We went to an exhibition of movable-type printing at the 6th floor of the school. First, we played a game called “Typesetting Expert. Go!” The computer randomly gave us a poem or an idiom. We needed to find the correct lead printed characters and set up type. The game gave us prior knowledge about movable-type printing. Then, we went to the experiential zone. We usedlead printed characters to print some idioms on a card and kept the card as a memento. It’s an interesting activity. Finally, some students introduced the history of movable-type printing and Ri Xing Type Foundry. I learned a lot from it. What impressed me the most is “Ri Xing Type Foundry.” It is the only one type foundry in Taiwan. The owner, Mr. Chien-Kuan Chang, hopes that Ri Xing Type Foundry could become a interactive museum. The museum can not only preserves this important traditional cultural techniques but also brings printing techniques closer to people. I am much moved by their strong belief in traditional printing techniques. I cherish the traditional printing techniques and the movable-type printing culture.

Ri Xing Type Foundry Yueh-ling Wang
Recently, some teachers and students who participate in Cyberfair held an exhibition of Ri Xing Type Foundry at the 6th floor of the school. It is always a surprise and an eye opener to me every year because it can let me know everything that I have never learned before.

In the exhibition, some students introduced the history of foundry type and Ri Xing Type Foundry. They made a living by running the type foundry. Several type foundries have got out of business year after year. Ri Xing Type Foundry has become the only one left in Taiwan. The owner, Mr. Chang, didn’t give up. He hoped that Ri Xing Type Foundry could become a interactive museum to promote traditional typecasting industry.

After listening to the introduction of movable-type printing, we went to the experiential zone to experience movable-type printing in person. The layout of lead printed characters is set up. All I have to do is to use the oil ink roller on the blocks and print the words on the card. Some words that were transferred to the card were not clear but we were still happy to have the hands-on experiences of printing.

I learned a lot in this exhibition. I hope that Ri Xing Type Foundry could become a technology museum to educate both Taiwanese and foreign visitors about this important and beautiful culture heritage. More people could appreciate traditional printing skills and pass down this technique to the next generation.

Data compilation: Chih-Yu, Shao-Ting
Photo taken by the camera team of CRS