Please move your home

During the A7 land expropriation project through Linkou, it was discovered that an old family home with protected status was located directly on top of the site for a proposed new road. Unable to bare the thought of tearing down the ancestral home, the homeowner managed to hire an expert house mover – who literally moves the whole house – from southern Chiayi, to help relocate the house to a piece of protected farmland adjacent to the exiting house.

Famous throughout Taiwan, Puzi City “house” moving expert Chen Jiang-mu (陳江木) and his team take their tools to wherever there is a house that needs moving. His team eats, sleeps and works at the site until the job is finished, stopping work only when it rains to avoid any danger.  

The technical skills of Puzi City expert “house” movers have been passed down from father to son over generations. But regardless of the era or changes in technical skills, there are certain points that remain essential: Is the house level when being moved? Are the wheels under the house moving smoothly? The master craftsman must maintain a high level of concentration and patience to take note of any on-site changes.

Though few young people are willing to get involved in such a laborious job, when asked about whether he thought the skill of house moving would soon be lost, Chen Jiang-mu smilingly said: “I don’t think so. Whoever has an interest in it, will take it up”.

Please move your home

URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/275439

(以下是中文對照)

請房子搬家

照片

林口A7土地徵收案中，樂善村唯一一戶保留的房子位置，正好有條計劃道路經過，屋主捨不得拆掉祖傳老屋，只好從南部嘉義請來專業的移屋師傅將房子移進旁邊保留的農地裡。嘉義朴子的搬「家」技術全台有名，老闆陳江木說只要那裡有需要移屋，就得打包行李載著工具往那裡去，在工地吃住到任務完成，只有下雨時為避免危險，才可以稍微休息。

朴子的移屋師傅幾乎都是幾代父子、師徒的傳承，無論時代或技術如何演變，移屋時房子是否保持水平？屋子底下的滾輪滑動是否平順？師傅仍必需保持高度的專心與耐心注意全場的變化。移屋工作辛苦，願意投入的年輕人少，公民記者在問到陳老闆這項技術是否會失傳？他笑笑地說，「不會吧，如果有人覺得還好的話，就會接下來吧！」