Taiwan is home to a master craftsman whose specialty is making puzzle boxes. He says that people who are interested in entering the same trade, have to possess a love of exploration.
Master Liu Wen-huang of Nantou County turns a box into a book rest in just a few simple steps. This sphere-shaped box is a light that he rotates to change the brightness. These are just two of the bamboo puzzle boxes he’s made over the last 40 years.
None of the puzzle boxes and gadgets that Liu makes requires a lock or electronic device. Some employ a traditional mortise and tenon technology. For others, you have to tilt the box at a 45 degree angle or figure out some other hidden trick in order to open it.
Liu says one of his boxes confounded a group of engineers from a German automobile company. They couldn’t open it no matter how hard they tried! But they shouldn’t feel bad, though. Liu’s craftsmanship is so good that it’s won him six awards from the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute.