Chan Bao Bao 纏寶包
Category: Accessories
Competitions: Taiwan Region
Hua-Pei, also known as Hua-Pa, is a traditional baby carrier cloth that has been passed down in Kinmen for over 800 years. This black-and-white checkered fabric was originally used to protect infants from wind and sun while symbolizing blessings and protection. Beyond its ritual meaning, Hua-Pei represents an intimate relationship between body, memory, and daily life. In Kinmen’s environment of isolation and pressure, infants were wrapped and carried close to the body, creating a sense of safety and connection. The act of wrapping also became an act of bearing. My grandmother carried her children while working in the fields, and my mother carried me through the city. Through generations, the body becomes a vessel of support, where weight, care, and memory continue to flow. For me, Hua-Pei is not simply a piece of cloth, but a condition between protection and familial bond. It secures and limits the body at the same time, creating comfort through attachment and compression. From rural landscapes to urban environments, Hua-Pei becomes a soft interface connecting environment, intimacy, and generational memory.
