When we visit the workshop of Hung Hsinfu, a paper sculpture of a rabbit—for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit—hangs high above the main door. The bookshelves inside the workshop are filled with countless works, including various hand lanterns of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The room is a treasure house of paper sculpture.

Hung’s successful career as a paper artist began at age four, when he made folded paper airplanes and swapped them for toys with other kids in the neighborhood. In 1994, his design for a paper hand lantern for the Year of the Dog was selected as the official souvenir for the Taiwan Lantern Festival, Taiwan’s national Lantern Festival celebration. This simple object could easily be assembled by anyone, by inserting three tabs into slots. From that point on, paper was fixed as the sole material for Taiwan Lantern Festival hand lanterns.

Salmon as a paper sculpture?!

About 20 years ago, Hung began to make paper sculptures of Taiwanese endemic species, and he has thus far developed more than ten. It all started back in 1992, when he went to show his work at an exhibition in Belgium, and felt very proud to see a large ROC national flag at the venue. Later he decided to work on the theme of Taiwan endemic species to help raise Taiwan’s inter­national profile, and so he began creating nature sculptures.

The very first endemic species for which Hung made a paper sculpture was the protected Formosan landlocked salmon (Oncorhynchus masou formosanus). He mailed the finished product to the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI) and asked the experts there to authenticate it, after which, following their recommendations, Hung modified it numerous times. The experts advised him to give up trying to perfect it: “It’s fine if you just call it ‘a paper sculpture of a fish.’”

“That wasn’t good enough,” says Hung. “I definitely wanted to rise to the challenge, otherwise what was the point of consulting the experts?” He therefore bought collections of nature photographs to study in more detail. Only then did he discover that he had mistaken the ventral fin for the dorsal fin, that the fish’s back was not curved in that way, and that the head needed to be bigger. After many revisions over a period of 15 months, he finally won the experts’ approval.

In 2002 Hung took his paper sculpture of the Formosan landlocked salmon to Canada to show in an exhibition, and attracted the attention of the director of a museum in Vancouver. The next year he went back to Canada to exhibit a depiction of a shoal of migrating salmon. He showed the fish with the heads pointing upward, so that “they really were shaped like Taiwan.”

Yang Cheng-hsiung, an assistant research fellow in the Division of Habitats and Ecosystems at ESRI, explains that the Formosan landlocked salmon is a subspecies of fish endemic to Taiwan. It is one of the few temperate-zone cold-water fish to be found in a subtropical area anywhere in the world. It lives only in the upper reaches of the Dajia River system, and it is thought that its survival there may be connected to the fact that the gradient of the river beds where it lives is not very steep. It is generally believed to be a species that migrated to Taiwan during the last Ice Age and became landlocked here as a result of changes in climate and topography.

Yang says that its Chinese name, “cherry blossom salmon,” reflects the timing of its reproductive cycle, and its beautiful appearance. It has a row of oval markings along its sides and black spots evenly distributed across its back. Because of its rarity, and damage to its habitat from human activity, it is listed as endangered. Since the 1970s the government has promoted habitat conservation and artificial restoration, and over time the salmon’s population has increased greatly. Yang states that Hung’s paper sculpture of the Formosan landlocked salmon even includes its characteristic adipose fins, which is quite an achievement.

Hung waited for experts at the Endemic Species Research Institute to authenticate his sculpture of the Formosan landlocked salmon before he made it public.

Visiting habitats in person

With the experience of making the landlocked salmon under his belt, Hung began to accompany experts as they explored habitats. His paper sculpture of the cicada species Formotosena seebohmi was created after following entomologists on trips to track it down at Guanziling and Alishan, where he personally saw the final moulting from which the insects emerge as adults after their final nymph stage. He is especially proud of the precision with which he rendered the cicada’s mouthparts.

Sung I-hsin, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Medicine in the College of Agriculture at National Chiayi University, says that Taiwan has over 60 species of cicada, and the large-bodied Formotosena seebohmi is a Grade 2 protected species. The imago (adult insect) has a black body with white markings on the wings and green coloring on the back, while the frequency of its call makes it sound like it is singing a song. Males use their calls to beckon companions and attract the attention of females.

Sung says that the habitats of Formotosena seebohmi are mostly at low elevations in Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung, around trees such as large-leaved nanmu (Machilus japonica var. kusanoi), Taiwan schefflera (Schefflera taiwaniana), Indian soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi), and Taiwan reevesia (Reevesia formosana). Cicada nymphs living in the soil feed on sap from the tree roots. With the successful restoration of forests over the past 20 years, the area where one can find this species has expanded.

The Formosan landlocked salmon has a distinctive dorsal fin and markings. Hung Hsinfu spent 15 months perfecting his paper sculpture of this endemic subspecies.

The leopard cat subspecies Prionailurus bengalensis chinensis is endangered in Taiwan. Hung made this paper sculpture to remind us of the urgent need for conservation measures.

An encounter with a protective magpie

Hung’s depiction of the Taiwan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea), which was selected as Taiwan’s national bird in a public vote, originated in Hung’s witnessing a friend being “dive-bombed” on the head by a blue magpie beside a river. Later they found out there was a nest in the area, and the magpie only attacked because it was protecting its young.

Hung says that his designs for bird sculptures depend on structure and mechanics. Only by continuous trial and error can one use a sheet of paper to produce a work that has the skeletal framework and distinctive characteristics of a particular bird. This is the highest realm of paper sculpture.

The Taiwan blue magpie, selected by popular vote as Taiwan’s national bird, has a distinctive long tail. The paper tree trunk made by Hung shows off the magpie’s tail feathers.

Taiwan yuhina calls “to meet you”

For the Taiwan yuhina (Yuhina brunneiceps), adopted by the Forestry Bureau as its emblematic bird, Hung’s design includes a fulcrum in the bird’s back and a pull wire in its belly. When the wire is pulled, the two wings move—it’s very dynamic.

Lin Ruey-shing, head of ESRI’s Division of Habitats and Ecosystems, notes that with its deep-blue body, black head, and red beak, the Taiwan blue magpie is very distinctive. The long tail has alternating black and white coloring, and when the birds fly as a flock they form into a straight line.

Lin says that the Taiwan yuhina has a prominent pointed crest that is white at the back and chestnut brown at the front, a straight black line running from front to back across each eye, and a curved line below each eye. Lively by nature, they often gather in flocks to suck nectar from flowers, and they are one of the most common bird species in medium-elevation forest in Taiwan. With tiny bodies only 12 grams in weight and their striking chestnut crest, they have a call that sounds like the English words “to meet you,” which reflects their gregarious nature.

Besides their appearance, the Taiwan blue magpie and Taiwan yuhina are well known as being among the rare examples of birds that show cooperative reproductive behavior, making them important case studies in ornithology textbooks. Lin says that when the Taiwan blue magpie breeds, some of the young birds that hatched earlier will stay behind in the nest to look after newly hatched chicks. The Taiwan yuhina is even more remarkable in that in the breeding season multiple pairs of parent birds build a single nest and share chick-raising duties.

Lin explains that when Taiwan was connected to the Eurasian landmass, many bird species had the opportunity to spread into Taiwan. Later, when sea levels rose and Taiwan was separated from the mainland, the long period of isolation enabled many Taiwan species to diverge from their relatives on the Asian continent.

At present that are more than 660 recorded bird species in Taiwan, of which 32 species and subspecies are endemic (unique to Taiwan), if we include some that are due to be published in 2023. Lin notes that the Taiwan blue magpie and Taiwan yuhina are both protected ­endemic species, and Hung Hsinfu has utilized his particular skills to bring their unique appearance to life.

The Taiwan yuhina has a pointed chestnut crest and a black line running through its eyes, giving it a striking appearance. Hung Hsinfu made this paper sculpture with a pull wire that flaps the wings.

Magellan birdwing butterfly

The Magellan birdwing butterfly (Troides magellanus) is listed as a protected insect under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Living only on Lanyu (Orchid Island), it is Taiwan’s largest butterfly species. In sunshine, the hind wings of the adult butterflies shimmer like pearls. Hung Hsinfu meticulously sculpted the wing markings, and says: “This may be the world’s most precisely executed paper sculpture made using a cutting dye.”

Hung’s Cheirotonus formosanus, the largest scarab beetle in Taiwan and a protected endemic species, looks very lifelike, and even creates a prickling sensation when placed on the arm. Meanwhile, for his nautilus Hung used mathematical relationships and the philosophy of yin and yang from the Yi Jing (Book of Changes) to design a paper sculpture that is a revolving universe when opened out and a nautilus when folded in; it is deeply meaningful and impressive.

The power of paper sculptures

As with the hand lantern, Hung has made a full commitment to his paper sculptures of endemic species. He admits that the development costs and times for each of these nature-related sculptures is no less than those for the hand lantern, and that he has not recovered his costs. Nonetheless, considering that the initial motivation for them was to promote awareness of Taiwan’s ecology, he will continue to create new ones.

“It’s really exhilarating to hear the word ‘Taiwan’!” Hung plans to make paper sculptures of every Taiwanese endemic species. As the series grows, he will take the sculptures around the world to make new friends for Taiwan and introduce people to the beauty of Taiwan’s natural environment. He says that if anyone visits Taiwan as a result of seeing his sculptures, then these “little paper soldiers” will have proven their value.

The Formosan sika deer was for a time extinct in the wild, but has been successfully reintroduced. It can be recognized at once by its long antlers.