Chiayi senior still making chops by hand in 60-year-old shop
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.
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2025-08-19
