Suho Memorial Paper Museum

Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed.
John 12:24
In October 1990, a plane crash in China’s Guangdong province killed Su Ho Chen, founder of the Chang Chuen Cotton Paper Co. Five years later behind a storefront in central Taipei, his daughter ensured his memory would live on.

I, too, work in a paper factory of sorts, and in my advancing age have developed a fondness for Japanese fountain pens and the perfect paper on which to apply them. That, and a desire to do something less obviously touristy, led me to the Zhongshan District and the Suho Memorial Paper Museum, a small four-story affair on 长安街, Long Peace Street, one of the first Mandarin place names I learned months ago. So there are a few reasons why this was a date with destiny.

We come into critical contact with paper every day, whether reading or butt-wiping, and seldom give it a second thought. But it is a creation of man, not nature, and the secrets of its production were guarded until the eighth century, when Chinese papermakers were captured by Arab fighters in the Battle of Talas (751). The technique would not reach America for another 900 years.

The coolest thing about the Suho Museum is the ability to make your own paper, and on a simple rooftop studio, two Chinese-speaking classmates and our instructor, Neben, did just that.

First, take a handful of pulp and squeeze the moisture out of it.

Swirl it around in a tub of water until it separates. Then, dunk one of these linen-covered wooden frame, or deckles, into the tub.

The linen will pick up the suspended pulp particles. Hoist out the frame and decorate the captured pulp, Asian-style, with leaves from the many planters nearby.

Sorry, I’m not very artistic.

Press it dry with three sheets of thick paper. Don’t pat it, or the cellulose fibers will break apart. Once the water has been squeezed out, apply more blotting paper and start smacking it like it’s a conga and you’re Tito Puente. Wipe the linen backing with a cloth, then remove it.

My paper! It’s red because that’s the color of the pulp. We didn’t have a choice.

After about 20 minutes of drying, you can pick it up at the front desk. I waited out the interval in an adjacent bamboo house, alone. A nice young woman brought me a cup of hot strong tea.

On this day the class was free because the second story was under renovation. Visiting the Suho Museum was a simple and sweet experience. I’m glad I went. And Neben taught me to write my name in Chinese.

Affectionately ...

Suho Memorial Paper Museum

Address: 68 Chang'an E. Road, Sec. 2

Subway: Songjiang-Nanjing station, Songshan-Xindian (green) line

Take a right out of Exit 8, walk two or three blocks, then a left.
Open: 10-4, Mon-Sat.
Admission: $100NTD; paper-making class $180
Website: suhopaper.org.tw