What comes to your mind when you see a piece of paper? For 洪新富 (HsinFu Hung), each sheet is a world of possibility — a chance to learn, to solve problems, and to create value.
Teacher Hung started from a humble beginning. His dad worked hard yet challenged to support a family of 5 children, especially after grandma became ill. Teacher Hung said his sisters are good at painting and music but he didn’t have any talent; he was neither smart, nor tall. He learned at 4 to make his own toy, paper airplane with used paper from his sister’s homework as well as using it to exchange toys with his friends. He then learned to make a paper boat, even better, rub with candle (wax), to make it water-proof. The experience taught him to self-learn and solve problems as well as the power of community which he cultivated since through schooling till today.
Teacher Hung also sees early-on and from his dad’s example to be responsible for the family and carve his own path to be free, financially and creatively. He described himself like the paper, accessible and interacting with people.
When I asked Teacher Hung how he defines success, ‘Embracing failure, seeking success…do more, try more, fail more, and share with people,’ he continues, ‘Very little by luck, most by effort. Also, it isn’t by individuals but by many and for all; when people receive the end result and are happy, that’s success!‘
Impact So Far
Teacher Hung says ‘Art has life. I want to create value everyday, and make positive impacts.‘
He found that people are shy to tell others they like him/her. Therefore, he started to create customized 3D cards to help people express their feelings.
In 1994, he started to make zodiac paper lanterns for Chinese New Year Lantern Festival replacing plastic ones. It became a sensation and a new tradition forward.
In 2017, he published a book, Design 洪新富, not to promote himself, but to show how an artist is cultivated — a living case study, not a master biography. Teacher Hung added, ‘I’m not the best but I’m the most willing to share…so others can build upon it.‘
In 2020, Teacher Hung published 3D book DIY formulas (立體書創作手冊). He selected highlights of his work, simplified, and shared what he has learned. It earned a silver medal in a global competition, and contributed to 3D book making in Taiwan, China, US and beyond. He said anybody can read it and learn how to make 3D book; it opens more doors to more people.
Learn more:
• 洪新富扶風文化 (HsinFu Hung, Fufong Culture)
• Paper Art: Taiwan’s Endemic Organisms
What Makes him Special, Successful?
1. Clarity, persistence, and proactive learning
Teacher Hung wanted to be an inventor since a child. He chased paper masters to learn and earned their trust. One encouraged him to publish a paper art book — a teacher’s goal is to teach students who become better than him/herself — he honored his teacher and gave himself that gift as turning adult (at age 20).
2. Communication, execution, and community
The humbled childhood trained Teacher Hung to be creative, resilient, and always willing to try new things. He learned to communicate clearly and compellingly with others, enlist support, and make whatever he has to work.
3. Carved his own path and create opportunities for others
Instead of frustration when told ‘not possible,’ he always asked ‘what can be improved?’ Bit by bit, he solved challenges, refined processes, and brought partners along. This persistence helped make Taiwan a leader in advanced paper art — while creating dignified jobs for under-resourced people.
Recommended Art and Culture Creators
• 賴明德 (MingDe Lai)，知音文創 (Jean Card)
• 蔡爾平陶藝、金工、繪畫、雕塑、園藝 (Erh-Ping Tsai, Ceramics, Metalwork, Painting, Sculpture, Gardening)
What’s Challenging – and What’s Next?
For many parents, they want their children to go to prestigious universities and have a safe and prosperous life, e.g. being a doctor, professor, judge,or high tech engineer.
Teacher Hung has gradually earned his parents’ acceptance through award recognitions and business success, yet it hasn’t been an easy journey. He confessed that he would love an honorary degree (he’d burn the paper for his mom in heaven) but would not trade-off with $, class credits, or citizenship. He wants to show an alternative path and encourage more people to see art as possibilities: invention for diverse thinking, real learning, and problem solving.
As a boy, he turned paper into planes, boats, and birds. Now, he dreams of a Toy Creation Park — a place where children and adults alike can ask questions, explore, and invent using simple, everyday materials. Not a science park that overwhelms or a toy store to show, but a playground of curiosity where learning by doing sparks imagination.
How You Can Support
If Teacher Hung’s journey inspires you, three ways to join the movement:
• Build the toy creation park
If you love the hands-on, minds-up approach and would like to contribute, please email Teacher Huang to discuss collaboration.
• Encourage creation and diversity
If you’re a parent, organization leader, and/ or an educator, please encourage and support people around you to think differently, question curiously, and explore ways to solve problems/ create opportunities.
• Believe and act
If you’re a creator, entrepreneur, or who is exploring a path forward, believe in yourself, learn, cultivate a community, and create value.
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Many people think art is expensive and belongs only in museums or you need a prestigious background or credential to succeed. Teacher Hung has shown by actions:
• Art is invention, expression, reflection — and gratitude for life.
• With heart, hands, and head, anything is possible.
Paper art, with its openness, movement, and warmth, reminds us that creation is for everyone.