Zhudong Forest Farm Precious History Episode 2: Mr. Liao Jingyuan Illustrates Forestry Through Paintings

Foreword: A precious treasury of Taiwan's forestry production history

Along with Dongshi and Luodong, Zhudong was one of Taiwan's three major forestry distribution centers. Unfortunately, for the Guishan and Zhenshan areas of the Zhudong Forestry Station (today's Guanwu area) that were extensively developed after the war, not only is the literature scarce, but little of the forestry production history from at least sixty years ago has been reconstructed from the words of the elders. The elders who witnessed the forestry production history of the Zhudong Forestry Station are fading away with the passing years, and I felt considerable anxiety, knowing clearly that if this work were not undertaken now, in another five years, or even two, the opportunity might be lost. That is why we produced the "Guishan Frontier - Misty Forest" series, including "Biographies of the Craftsmen of the Zhudong Forestry Station" and "Illustrated Forestry," hoping to make up for this long-standing regret.

The book "Illustrated Forestry," originally titled "Dreaming Again of Taiwan's Treasure - Taiwan's Vanishing Trades: Camphor Boiling and Logging," took author Mr. Liao Jingyuan more than five years to compile, edit and illustrate the work processes of "camphor boiling and logging" from 1870 to 1960, comprising 160 finely drawn illustrations and explanations.

From his prime years, Mr. Liao Jingyuan devoted himself to cultural and historical work in fields such as forestry, Hakka and Indigenous peoples. Drawing on the labor memories he retained from his youth at forest stations such as Guishan and Guanwu, and supplemented by tireless field investigations and oral histories gathered from far and wide, he brought this book into being.

(The above is a partial content sharing; for the complete content, please read the full book)

The Precious History of the Zhudong Forestry Station (1) Biographies of the Forestry Craftsmen