Regeneration of the Traditional Industry in Fengyuan — Taking “Pastry Industry and Lacquer Art Industry” as an Example

Abstract: Fengyuan, located in central Taiwan, has long enjoyed the reputation of being “the Hometown of Pastry”. Many local century-old pastry shops have been adversely influenced by influential impacts brought by the Western food culture. Therefore, how to rejuvenate this traditional industry through the integration of conventional practices and innovation has become a matter of survival for the whole local community. Likewise, the lacquerware industry, which originated in the Japanese colonial period and once thrived in Fengyuan, is currently faced with a similar challenge to regenerate itself. As a direct consequence of the establishment of a US-based company, namely Milbern Heller Woodcraft Co., Ltd., in Fengyuan in the 1950s, a considerable amount of lacquerware was exported from this town to Japan. Thus, Fengyuan became the headquarters of lacquerware art in Taiwan from the 1960s to the 1980s. Currently, the Fengyuan Lacquer Art Museum has been taking on tasks for the continuation of the lacquerware industry. Through systematic collections of historical data, public displays of lacquer artworks, and the provision of an extensive range of workshops, this local lacquer art education center helps make it possible for the local lacquerware industry to take on a new form to become an education-oriented or artistic creation-oriented cultural practice.

The current study adopted literature analysis and case interviews to research these two remaining traditional industries in Fengyuan. Through the analysis of the evolution and development of the pastry and the lacquerware industries, interviews with the owners of the most renowned local pastry shops to investigate the current business model, as well as the management model of Fengyuan Lacquer Art Museum, the current study aimed to explore how traditional local industries can be reborn for the purpose of preservation and innovation. It can be concluded that three crucial strategies can be employed to continue the life of traditional industries: preservation of traditional spirit, integration of contemporary elements, and adjustment of business management.

Key words: traditional industries, pastry, lacquer art, Fengyuan course

JEL code: L26, O44, P17