"No one enters into the world of lacquer ware without getting 'bitten' by the lacquer," explains Lai, who says the itching is almost bad enough to drive a person insane. Even the fumes from lacquer can trigger a bout of dermatitis, which has in the past been the cause of an interesting superstition.
「這是從事漆器工作者必經的過程，幾乎一定要被漆『咬』過，才能進入漆藝的世界，」賴作明形容那種「癢」真是痛苦難當，讓人幾乎要發狂。