ABOUT
我很喜歡髮簪。不知道為什麼，我很想知道為什麼，曾經腦補過很多原因，譬如我上輩子弄丟了一支髮簪，這輩子要找回來等等。
但我想活到這個年紀，為什麼喜歡，那已經不重要了。
因為，看髮簪讓我快樂。
研究髮簪讓我產生心流。
追尋髮簪的故事讓我看見並走進世界。
2011年時，我創辦了髮簪博物館的網站。
因為這是除了開實體博物館外，最接近一個博物館的機會。
年輕有夢，當時的我認為未來我會有足夠的能力或是資源把髮簪博物館開起來。
2026年，舊的網站伺服器關閉，我重新檢視我15年前的夢想。
過去的十五年，我依然從事著我上班族的工作，所得能養活自己，但離把真的髮簪博物館開起來仍有遙遠距離。我也偶爾會買張樂透，看看有沒有機會獲得足夠資金把髮簪博物館開起來。
十五年後，我並沒有變得大富大貴，髮簪博物館的這個"館"也依然僅存於網路上。
我失敗了嗎?
是，但也不是。
這幾年我慢慢理解。華人的努力總是期望著一個終點，似乎只要把髮簪博物館開起來，讓人們走進來看，那就是完成夢想了。
但我學到的是，一切重要的是過程。
這十五年間，我在上班之餘，做了許多關於髮簪博物館的事，走遍了世界很多地方，看了很多髮簪，做了很多跟髮簪相關的事情。(請見Stories)
未來會怎麼走?我還不確定。
十五年後，我會站在實體的髮簪博物館中嗎?
還是能揮一揮衣袖，心滿意足，且不帶走一片雲彩?
2026.9.2
What I wrote in 2011
What is the goal of a museum? To exhibit excellent antiques and make people feel that museum objects are all very far from their own lives or to protect the value of human culture? People usually focus on very expensive and rare objects but ignore the everyday ones. What makes an object valuable? The price? Why do people find them interesting or important?
In the Hairpin Museum the importance of our collections does not depend on their monetary value. We focus on the hairpins in danger. We help the poor hairpins which have almost been destroyed by storage in a bad environment or by inappropriate treatment. We hope we can save hairpins which people think are not important and find the true value of these hairpins, try to find a story behind ordinary objects that women used and cherished every day.
There are more than 1000 hairpins in the Taiwan Hairpin Museum. The largest number in the collections are ancient Hairpins from the Ching Dynasty. Our hairpins are made from all kinds of materials with different skills and technology. Our goal is to preserve the hairpin and the culture of how they were used and enjoyed.
In our collections we also have contemporary images of women and their hair ornaments in ancient times. It is the best way to show how women used and wore them.
In addition to our exhibitions we also provide a conservation service. We have a conservation laboratory and a professional team to conserve ancient objects. If your objects needs help, please contact us, we will try our best to help preserve them.
I was born in 1981, and I am very interested in ancient things -
especially about women from more than 100 years ago in China.
I like hairpins very much. I don't know why.
Some woman with special abilities to see hidden secrets said I used to play with hairpins in one of my past lives.
I collect a lot of old hairpins (more than 1000 objects).
They are so very beautiful and made using very a good technique (metal working). Most of them are antiques (more than 100 years old) so some of them are not in good condition. That's why I went back to university to learn cultural heritage conservation. I want to repair and conserve them for the future. The antiques will live longer than I will and I want them to remain in the best condition, with no more deterioration.
My dream is to build a hairpin museum. It sounds very easy but it is a big dream for me and a difficult dream because I am not a rich person. I can not afford so much money to build a museum unless I win the lottery.
I know other people have much more beautiful and better quality hairpins than me, maybe compared with their collections, mine is nothing special. But I still hold true to my dream and hope it will come true one day - that I can find some way to protect my precious hairpins.
In 2011,I discovered a way to make my dream half come true. I began to build a "virtual museum on the Internet and I am very happy you are reading this page.
In order to know more about ancient women's dress, I also collect old postcards about Chinese women from 100 years ago. They all wear traditional dress with old type hairstyles. Some of them have bound feet, all of them are special for us nowadays. You can see these old postcards in my museum image gallery. I want to have a series about Chinese women on the postcards, then publish a book about the secret behind the beauties on the postcard. Many of them have really interesting and mysterious messages on the back!
I really hope if one day I build my real Hairpin Museum - one which people can walk into. One day you can be one of the VIP visitors. Today that's only a dream but I know it will be come true one day. Maybe with your help.
Wu Yi-Shiuan
If you have any ideas or opinions, please write to me. Mail to me
