Hakka Living Museum Series, Vol. 1 – Hakka Blue Garments And Women’S Needlework

Author: Cheng, Hui-Mei

Publication Date: December 2006

The Hakka Living Museum Series is a collection of works based on extensive field investigations and ethnographic documentation of Hakka culture.  Initiated by the Preparatory Office of the Taiwan Hakka Cultural Center, Council for Hakka Affairs, Executive Yuan, this series aims to preserve and promote Hakka heritage by selecting themes that resonate with the general public.  Topics include familiar aspects of daily life such as “Blue Garments,” “Oil-Paper Umbrellas,” and “Pottery Kilns” (representing Hakka crafts), as well as “Tobacco Curing Barn,” “Rice Milling Workshop,” and “Irrigation Canals” (representing industrial and agricultural heritage sites).  

Each volume invites scholars to reorganize and interpret their long-term field research, enriched with abundant photographic materials, in order to illuminate the living experiences and wisdom of the Hakka people.

In this work, the author brings together unprecedented visual materials from public institutions and private collections in Taiwan, offering a comprehensive portrayal of the traditional Hakka woman’s blue garments and embroidered works—those prepared for everyday life, marriage, childbirth, and old age.  It vividly reflects both the customs of Hakka daily life and the aesthetic sensibilities embodied in Hakka garments and needlework.