Lee Yong Xing
Introduction
When Lee Yong Xing was just a child, he started watching his dad, grandpa, and his uncles burning
charcoal. While burning charcoal, he remained in agricultural works and watched the charcoal kiln
all
day long. As time passed by and decades flew, the “charcoal Industry” was replaced and vanished.
Fortunately, with the help and support of the Baoshan town mayor and Lee Yong Xing’s personal
persistence
and determination in the charcoal industry, he started to burn coal again. Lee Yong Xing’s
charcoal
kiln
has a rich history of more than twelve years. With his father Lee Shenghua who is over eighty
years
old,
they maintained every process of burning charcoal, including putting the firewood into the kiln
and
charcoal production. They continuously persist in keeping the charcoal industry alive.
Image Source: Lee Yong Xing Facebook
Image Source: Lee Yong Xing Facebook
Biography
Lee Yong Xing was not born in a wealthy family. As a child, he only seeks for breakfast, lunch and
dinner.
In addition, he has chores to complete for his family. His childhood is not an easy one. Lee Yong
Xing
had
worked in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan when he was young. However, he resigned from his job to help
his
father with agriculture work in Hsinchu. In addition, as a marine veteran, he is able to lift heavy
logs
with ease. Since he had experienced a struggling childhood, plus his child had steady income from
workplaces, Lee Yong Xing reached the ultimate stage of contentment. In order to preserve the
tradition,
Mr.Lee plans to continue his work with charcoal for the rest of his life.
Role in Taiwanese Charcoal Culture
As time flies, people become more focused on the quality and practicality of the product than in the
past,
on the other hand, people are willing to have a better life from better products and technology. In
the
age that follows the law of the jungle, only the strongest can survive. For example, as technology
develops and replaces traditions, traditional industries such as the production of charcoal starts
to
decline. The traditional industry is the center of the past society, but because of the rise of
technology, people started to eliminate, to grow apart, and to forget the importance of the industry
that
used human-centered as a mainstream. Even though the traditional industry seems to be forgotten, but
still, there are still people who have the spirit to inherit and pass down the ancient methods. They
want
to let the world know the necessity of the traditional industry and inherit the culture from their
ancestors. A person named Lee Yong Xing is one of the members who inherited the traditional
industry,
he
plays the role of an “Inheritor”. Since Lee Yong Xing has been living in an environment filled with
charcoal, he has developed personal blond with charcoal. Therefore, he wants the industry of
charcoal
to
shine again like before.
Image Source: Lee Yong Xing Facebook
Image Source: 許釗滂 Facebook
Image Source: 許釗滂 Facebook
Image provided by Lee Yong Xing
.jpg)
Image Source: 許釗滂 Facebook
Image Source (left):
鏡週刊
Image Source (right):
Lee Yong Xing Facebook