Chiayi senior still making chops by hand in 60-year-old shop
Chiayi senior still making chops by hand in 60-year-old shop
2025-08-19
Nowadays, personal stamps for signing documents are almost all designed and engraved electronically. But one 87-year-old artisan in Chiayi, who has been running a store making chops for over 60 years, continues to handwrite every character, no matter the style. He then uses a traditional machine to engrave people’s names onto their very own chop. Versed in various kinds of calligraphy, he crafts each character beautifully, maintaining an art form that computers could never fully replicate.
Sitting at a table engrossed in his work, this 87-year-old artist carefully writes exquisite characters one stroke at a time.
This is chop artisan Hsu Chen-i, who runs his own store in Chiayi’s Fanshe Village. Every stamp in this shop was handwritten by Hsu, an expert in various forms of calligraphy. Once he has written the characters, he brings them to a traditional engraving machine, which uses a nail to carve out the characters to create a completely unique stamp.
Hsu Chen-i
Chop artisan
For ordinary, normal ones like this we always have a reference book. There are many things we need to refer to. Now that we have been doing this for a while, we are more knowledgeable. I’m not at all familiar with modern technology. I just know how to carve stamps.
Most chops are designed electronically these days, but Hsu continues to handwrite each character for every stamp. Many people like the feeling of these handwritten characters and always come to him.
Customer
His stamps are handwritten, and his characters are beautiful, I really like the finished product. Like this running script. It can be altered slightly to make it personalized.
Customer
Everyone uses printed characters or computer-generated ones. Only he handwrites them, so I often come to him. This time I need three chops.
Cheng Hsiu-yu
Panshe Village Chief
His stamps couldn’t be replicated, because his handwriting is different from everyone else’s.
Hsu used to make around NT$20,000 a month from his business, but now he struggles to reach just NT$10,000. If his precious engraving machine were to break, he would have to retire.
Voice of Hsu Chen-i
Chop artisan
Stamps like this aren’t made these days. People use computers instead. If this machine breaks, I would stop doing it.
Computers make precise stamps, but they lack the personal touch of handwritten characters. Hsu’s chops may be old-fashioned, but each one is guaranteed to be unique.
For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53
#stamp #chop #handmade #handwritten #characters #calligraphy #script #tradition #art #artisan #Chiayi
嘉義87歲刻印師傅堅持手寫 "古老光雕機"打造獨一無二印章
2025-08-19
現在的印章，幾乎都是電腦排版刻印，但在嘉義有一間走過一甲子的刻印行，87歲的老闆堅持用手寫，無論楷書、隸書、行書、草書都難不倒他，字體優美，如同印刷。寫完的名字，再放上古老的光雕機，刻印出獨一無二的印章，絕對不怕被人模仿盜印。
坐在桌子前，埋頭寫字，一筆一劃的重覆塗抹，把細細的字，變得有稜有角，十分工整。
他是87歲的刻印師傅許振益，在嘉義市番社里開設刻印行，店裏的每一顆印章，都是他先用手寫，一筆一劃畫出來的，無論是楷書、隸書，都難不倒他。寫好的字，再拿到這台古老的光雕機上，機器轉啊轉，上頭的釘子就會刻出一模一樣的字，一顆獨一無二的印章就完成了。
[[刻印師傅 許振益]]
“它這個普通一般我們都有參考書，東西很多，我們也要參考，現在我們寫久了就知道，先進的科技我都不會，我只會刻印章而已”
即便現在已經都用電腦排板刻印，許師傅還是堅持手寫，不少人就愛這有溫度的字體，專程來找他刻印章。
[[民眾]]
“因為他的印章是用手寫的，然後字很漂亮，刻完之後我很喜歡，就是它這個行書的字，是可以依照自己，可能也可以稍微調整一下，做客製化的”
[[民眾]]
“大家都是用字卡，還是電腦的，只有他還用手寫的，所以我時常給他刻，這一次來又要刻三顆”
[[嘉義市番社里長 鄭秀玉]]
“他的印章都不用怕被人模仿，因為他的筆畫跟別人都不一樣”
許師傅感慨，以往每個月可以賺兩萬多，現在一個月卻連一萬塊都賺不到，如果這台僅存的光雕機也壞了，就是退休的時候了。
[[聲源:刻印師傅 許振益]]
“現在沒生產這個了，現在都用電腦的，這台若壞了就不做了”
電腦刻印排版雖然精美，卻缺乏人文之美，許師傅的印章，雖然筆劃粗細不一，但絕對專屬於你。
更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00
Related News
