Huang Shan-liao: No one looked at the champion's clothes, so he started selling 'one-line comfort'

In June 2026, an old poster went viral on Threads.

The photo shows the London runway in 2014, where a young Taiwanese man walked with six outfits. The theme was "Kinmen 1969"—military-style cuts, bullet holes, tassel camouflage nets, and faux-aged fabrics printed with images from the Kinmen Daily News and Zhengqi Zhonghua News. That year, he won the international first prize at the London Graduate Fashion Week. ¹

The comments section below was calculating the same math problem: Is the designer who won the world championship in the poster the same person as the bestselling author being mocked by 600,000 people in a video this week for having "no substance" and being "chicken soup"?

Yes. His name is Huang Shan-liao. One person, two products: a cabinet of "Kinmen 1969" clothes telling the history of the battlefields, which no media outlet reported on; and healing short sentences of no more than 28 characters, which have cumulatively sold over 300,000 copies. He once defined those short sentences as giving people "the need for a sentence of comfort, like flipping through an horoscope book." ² No one looked at the cabinet of clothes, so he changed to selling "one-line comfort," and thus became Taiwan's most bestselling, yet most mocked, writer.

30-second overview: Huang Shan-liao, born in 1992 in Kinmen, his family ran a snack shop. In 2014, he won the international first prize at the London Graduate Fashion Week (Graduate Fashion Week) with "Kinmen 1969," one of the three consecutive years that the Department of Fashion Design at Shih Chien University won awards. However, after returning to Taiwan to seek employment, he sent over 100 resumes and received zero interview invitations. An HR representative at a certain company searched online and couldn't find any reports of his award, suspecting his resume was fake—he thus realized "the world doesn't compare who has ability, but who has the ability to speak," angrily started his own media One Shirt (2017–2021) to make the nameless "visible," and then pivoted to becoming a healing writer who continuously topped the Eslite Bestseller List. In June 2026, YouTuber Domidolo's vigilante video broke 600,000 views in one day, pushing him to the风口 (wind outlet) of "The Biggest Scam of Taiwan's Most Bestselling Author."

The World Champion No One Reported

Let's clarify that forgotten fact first: He really did win a world championship.

Huang Shan-liao was born on May 3, 1992, in Kinmen. His father is Huang Szu-chu and his mother is Chao Hui-ying; the family ran a snack shop on the island. The name "Shan-liao" (Mountain Material) was given by his father—the Kinmen Daily News interview recorded his father's meaning for the name: uncarved jade raw material, not weathered, pure, clean, fresh, and slightly angular. ³ Raw material, not finished product; angular, not yet smoothed out. A person's later story is sometimes already hidden in his name.

He entered the Department of Fashion Design at Shih Chien University through the off-island recommendation system, not out of passion. He spoke plainly: "My ambition was never in fashion design; I entered fashion design only because when I was in high school, there was a system called off-island recommendation." ⁴ A child from an off-island with no particular passion for fashion made a graduation work that made the Editor-in-Chief of Italy's Vogue speak in his ear after four years.

"Kinmen 1969" consisted of six outfits telling the war memories of his hometown:巾帼须眉 (heroic women), battlefield women, and the spirit of soldiers. It heavily used military totems, bullet holes, military boots, and camouflage nets, printing old newspaper images from the Kinmen Daily News and Zhengqi Zhonghua News onto faux-aged leather-textured fabrics, paired with black iron metal details. ⁵ He explained the design philosophy of these clothes in the Kinmen Daily News: "Memory is gentle, history is resolute. In the pattern and silhouette, I interpret the elements of soldiers: bunkers, military uniforms, stability, and strength." ³ He also said a more complete sentence: "The principle I grasped is that each work is a personality, a character, telling the stories of that era and defending the cultural history gradually destroyed by civilization." ³

Backstage at the 2014 London Graduate Fashion Week, Huang Shan-liao (center) with models wearing the "Kinmen 1969" series. Military uniforms, newspaper prints, camouflage nets—this cabinet of clothes telling Kinmen's battlefield history won him the international first prize, yet it was a cabinet almost no one in Taiwan had seen. Photo: Kinmen Daily News (fair use editorial commentary).

Remember this, because it is the key to the whole article: His peak craftsmanship was about speaking for his hometown's war memories. A person called "substanceless," his truly substantive moment was when he spoke for the history of a small island.

At the moment of winning the award, he was not as excited as imagined. He wrote in his book: "It turns out that winning a world championship is not as moving as imagined. There was no emotion of finally achieving a goal, no tears of being moved, no hope and憧憬 (yearning) for the future. What I had in my heart was only confusion and fear about the future." ⁶ According to descriptions in his book, the award presenter was Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief and GFW judge Franca Sozzani, who leaned close to his ear and said: "You are a very talented designer; I look forward to you coming to work in Europe." ⁷

This award stage was no small matter. The London Graduate Fashion Week was founded in the UK in 1991; the first gold award winner was Christopher Bailey, who later led Burberry, and alumni include Stella McCartney. Chinese media often directly call this first prize a "world championship." ¹ The problem is—almost no one in Taiwan knew about this world champion.

That Sentence from the HR

After returning to Taiwan, for nearly two full years, Huang Shan-liao sent over 100 resumes and received not a single interview invitation. ⁸

What really pinned him down was the reply from an HR at a certain company. Storm Media recorded that conversation, word for word: HR told him that the supervisor had seen the resume and thought he was excellent, but "he said his supervisor searched my name online and couldn't find too many mainstream media reports, so he suspected my resume was fake." ⁸ In other words: A person who won a world championship was treated as fake because there were no media reports about it.

This is an irreplaceable moment in Huang Shan-liao's life. Everything that followed grew from here. His realization was also recorded word for word: "It turns out this world doesn't compare who has ability, but who has the ability to speak!" and "I have been trying to make up for the past lack of being seen!" ⁸ In another interview in the Kinmen Daily News, he said it again in different words: "At that time, I felt very frustrated; my strength竟然 (unexpectedly) had to rely on media endorsement to be recognized," followed by "I fell in this place, so I stood up from where I fell." ⁹

To understand this wound fairly, we need to zoom out a bit: Behind it is an entire industry's structural problem, not just his personal bad luck. The starting salary for new fashion designers in Taiwan is about 26,000 to 35,000 NTD; it takes about ten years to rise to design director; overtime is common, and turnover is high. Even the industry's归属 (affiliation) reveals the problem: The UK and France classify the fashion industry under the Ministry of Culture; only Taiwan puts the fashion industry under the Ministry of Economic Affairs—a mindset that treats clothes as OEM, not culture. ¹⁰ Huang Shan-liao himself described this despair: "Many young brothers and sisters coming out now want to do very creative things, but honestly, those things have no commercial value in Taiwan." Followed by a heavier sentence: "Look at me, someone who already won awards and returned, already struggling so much; what about those who didn't win awards?" ⁴

The common mocking version says: He discovered that writing chicken soup makes more money than making clothes, so he defected. This narrative is convenient, but it reverses the cause and effect. He was first taught a cruel lesson by the industry, and only then saw that there was money to be made: Not being seen equals non-existence. If even a world champion can become fake because no reports can be found, then how can an unknown person prove his existence? Everything he did later was an answer to this question.

Making "Being Seen" a Business

In 2017, at age 25, Huang Shan-liao took out a loan for 2 million NTD, quit his design job that lasted only 11 months, and founded One Shirt. ¹¹

This was a media platform dedicated to making the nameless "visible." The Facebook page's positioning wrote "Your urban daily scenery," and the subject matter was craftsman stories of "quitting—starting a business—chasing dreams"—the kind of life he was trapped in, he went out and filmed it for others. In one year, he did 161 character interviews, nearly reaching 10 million views weekly, with YouTube cumulative views of about 13.38 million, a peak team size of about 20 people, reaching about 20 million Chinese-speaking people. ¹² A person who hit a wall in job hunting because he wasn't reported on, turned around to become someone who specifically reports on others. This turn itself is the most beautiful counterpoint of his entire story.

Character interviews for One Shirt—Huang Shan-liao took the kind of life he was once trapped in and filmed it for others. Video: Parent-Child World YouTube.

But as he did it, he emptied himself. In November 2020 he stepped down; in June 2021 he announced the closure of One Shirt. ¹² He explained the reason for closing it was not commercial failure, but that he disliked that deformed version of himself: "After taking on too heavy a responsibility, I became impatient with people. In fact, I very much hated that Huang Shan-liao." ¹³ There was also a more reluctant sentence: "One Shirt is the baby I gave birth to personally; letting go is very reluctant. It really is time to leave; I can no longer hesitate, can no longer continue to sacrifice anyone because I am reluctant to leave." ¹⁴

Later, in a 2024 interview in Malaysia, he spoke more sharply about that alienation: He said he "was not serving creation, but was an advertising company." ¹⁵ This sentence is a retrospective reflection, not what he said at the moment of closing in 2021—but it precisely points out a contradiction: He did media to let people "be seen," but when "being seen" becomes a business, what does this business feed: creation, or traffic itself? He hit the ceiling of the attention economy with his own experience, then chose to step down.

The Bestseller Logic of One Line of 28 Characters

After closing the media, Huang Shan-liao set a goal for himself: complete ten novels in five years. ¹⁶

He started writing full-time from 2021. His first book Drifting Youth (2019) was actually published early, but the first edition royalty was only 140,000 NTD—he himself said, "That's why I continued to stay at that company for another 2 years." ¹⁷ The real explosion was after 2021: Live Well, Meet Slowly, Say Goodbye Well, Don't Fail the Encounter, That Girl Said to Me, The Rest of Your Life is You, It Doesn't Matter if Late, Lonely in the Human World, Yet Like Old Friends at First Sight, The Heart is Small, Just Hold What You Like, Make Days Slowly Better, Having Owned is Enough—almost one to two books a year, all published by Sun Color Publishing, all gentle short sentences, large white space healing prose and novels. ¹⁶

The numbers are惊人 (astonishing). Verified by the Eslite official annual list: In 2021, Live Well took the TOP 1 in the Psychological Inspirational category and 3rd overall in the non-category; in 2022 and 2023, he won the Eslite non-category annual bestseller champion for two consecutive years (Say Goodbye Well, The Rest of Your Life); in 2024 and 2025, he was 2nd overall, losing to Kevin Tsai's You Will and Chang Chu-en's Autobiography respectively. ¹⁸ In terms of sales, he stated in 2023 that six books cumulatively exceeded 300,000 copies; in 2025, media called it over 400,000 copies; The Heart is Small pre-sales opened and sold 3,000 copies in 6 minutes, breaking 1 million in revenue, with a first print run of 30,000; Lonely in the Human World first print run of 30,000 plus 5,000 signed copies sold out completely. ¹⁹²⁰

After switching to writing, Huang Shan-liao became a regular on the Eslite charts. The stacks of new books on the signing table are the concrete scale of "one-line comfort" becoming a national commodity. Photo: Huang Shan-liao Instagram (@iam_3636) / Bella Nongnong (fair use editorial commentary).

The most crucial part is how he views what he is doing. In a 2025 Mirror Media interview, he spoke unreservedly about his bestseller methodology: "I have always felt that my opponents are not other authors, but TikTok, Facebook, Threads. 'What I write can be finished in one glance as you scroll past.' 'One line of 26 to 28 characters; if it exceeds that, their eyes might not be able to handle it.'" ²¹ In a 2023 China Times Supplement interview, he stated his goal even more plainly: "How to make people who don't like reading willing to finish this book is my goal"; he wants people to "be like flipping through an horoscope book, needing a sentence of comfort." ²

📝 Curator's Note
It is easy for everyone to read this methodology as "he admits he is slacking off." But looking at the two products together is more interesting: On the left is the "Kinmen 1969" cabinet, printed with old newspapers, bullet holes, camouflage nets, telling the war memory of an island, with no media outlet looking at it; on the right are sentences of 26 to 28 characters per line, with white space taking up half a page, selling over 300,000 copies. A person whose existence was denied ten years ago because "no one reported on him" has now turned "how to be caught by a person scrolling a phone in three seconds" into a science calculated down to the character count. He didn't give up craftsmanship. He changed it from fabric to attention. The lesson that HR taught him that day, he learned too well.

He is even honest enough to admit he is not from a literary youth background: "I used to write diaries on MySpace, but I don't read books; I only developed the habit of reading after finishing Drifting Youth in 2019." ²² This sentence has two valid readings: Critics will say "No wonder it's written shallowly"; sympathizers will say "An unreading person relying on self-study climbed to the top." The same sentence, depending on which side you stand on.

A Shallow Pond, or a Mirror?

On June 5, 2026, YouTuber Domidolo uploaded a video titled "Vigilante Justice: The Biggest Scam of Taiwan's Most Bestselling Author," breaking 600,000 views in one day and about 700,000 in three days. ²³

The criticism was heavy. Domidolo said he "clearly read 6 books, but the feeling was only 2," mocking the large white space—"Has your book been touched by the Soup Witch? Half the characters are missing," called his books "Text Version Blue Enchantress," and gave the evaluation "can only get 0 points," "an unqualified writer, a master of mass psychological provocation" based on literary professionalism. ²⁴

On June 5, 2026, Domidolo's vigilante video broke 600,000 views in one day, becoming the ignition point for this national discussion. Video: Domidolo Domidolo YouTube.

But what should be remembered most in this video is not those harsh words, but a metaphor: "Huang Shan-liao is not a very deep well, but a very shallow pond; you can see the bottom in one glance, but you can see yourself reflected in the water surface." ²³

This sentence is powerful because it doesn't stop at cursing. It precisely points out Huang Shan-liao's resonance mechanism: His books are mirrors, not wells. Readers see themselves in those short sentences and white spaces.

Here comes the irony. Domidolo, who scolded Huang Shan-liao to the bottom, and the hundreds of thousands of readers who pushed Huang Shan-liao to the top, are actually describing the same mechanism. Those defending him too. On Threads, an author @authorlinyt spoke for him: "Huang Shan-liao's shallow writing is actually very close to the reading market of the past 10 years; just like after short videos and short dramas rose, everyone's reception rhythm for content became thinner and faster." ²⁵ And Huang Shan-liao himself had long admitted: "What I write can be finished in one glance as you scroll past." ²¹

All three agree on the essence of this matter: Easy to read, like a mirror, designed to be caught by people scrolling phones in an era fighting for attention. Domidolo calls it a "shallow pond," defenders call it "market structure," and Huang Shan-liao himself calls it "finish in one glance." The three people are describing the same mirror, just with opposite evaluations of it.

📝 Curator's Note
This is where Huang Shan-liao's case is truly interesting. Those who scold him think "seeing yourself in the water surface" is evidence of shallowness; those who love him think "seeing yourself in the water surface" is precisely the moment of being caught. The two sides seem to be arguing about Huang Shan-liao, but actually they are arguing about a bigger problem: After an island's reading rhythm is rewritten by short videos, does "reflecting yourself" count as a value? Huang Shan-liao is just the person standing exactly in the center of the crack.

Facing this vigilante justice, Huang Shan-liao's response was quiet enough to be刺眼 (eye-piercing). On June 6, he indirectly turned to a sentence from his new book in his IG Stories: "Many times, it's not that you are not good enough, but that the environment you are in was originally not healthy enough." ²⁶ On the morning of June 7, he issued a formal statement: "I can understand that every reader likes different works and expects different reading experiences. This year is the fifth year of full-time writing; the direction of my effort has always been to let more people who originally didn't read be willing to walk into bookstores, or even flip through a book. I still have a lot of room to improve, and will continue to learn and grow. Thank you all for your suggestions, and once again thank all readers for their support all along." ²⁷

A person who won a world championship, when given 0 points, said he "will continue to learn."

Three Consecutive Championships, Three Destinies

To understand why Huang Shan-liao is being scolded, the best method is to put him back into the world he left, and look side by side with those who stayed.

The Department of Fashion Design at Shih Chien University once won the international first prize at the London Graduate Fashion Week for three consecutive years: Angus Chiang in 2013, Huang Shan-liao in 2014, and Zhou Yun-ting in 2015. ²⁸ Same school, same stage, three completely different paths.

Angus Chiang stayed. His 2013 award-winning work "Sailing to the Moon" stitched together Taiwanese temple fair elements with spacesuits (Western reporters even read it as "Mexican spacesuit," a cross-cultural misreading). ²⁹ Later, he founded his eponymous brand ANGUS CHIANG in 2015, became the first Taiwanese designer to be shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2017 (semi-finalist), and appeared at Paris Men's Fashion Week. ³⁰ He gained respect from the international fashion circle—and niche volume. In the Taiwanese public, people who know Angus Chiang's name are far fewer than those who know Huang Shan-liao's name.

Same as Shih Chien University's London three-consecutive-championship winner, Angus Chiang (right) chose to stay in fashion: His eponymous brand ANGUS CHIANG turned Taiwanese temple fairs and betel nut stand visuals into avant-garde menswear on the international runway, becoming the first Taiwanese designer shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2017. The international fashion circle recognizes him; the Taiwanese public mostly doesn't. Photo: Marie Claire (fair use editorial commentary).

Huang Shan-liao left. He switched the stage from the runway to the bookstore bestseller list, gaining national-level commercial volume—and national-level mockery.

📊 Three Consecutive Championships, Three Destinies

Winner	Year	Work	Afterward
Angus Chiang	2013	Sailing to the Moon	Stayed in fashion → Shortlisted for LVMH Prize, Paris Men's Fashion Week → International respect + Niche volume
Huang Shan-liao	2014	Kinmen 1969	Left fashion → Did media, became writer → National volume + National mockery
Zhou Yun-ting	2015	(Single source: Inspired by Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex)	Relatively low-key

Same school (Shih Chien), same stage (London GFW), opposite destinies. ²⁸³⁰

This table lays open, rather than just the personality differences of three people, more like a Taiwan exam question: Does this island reward "doing things well" or "being seen by many people"? Angus Chiang did things to an international standard; the Taiwanese public doesn't really recognize him. Huang Shan-liao made himself seen by the most people; the Taiwanese public scolds him every day. One is neglected, one is trampled. Those who do things well get no applause; those seen by many are treated as a joke. The two classmates who reached the extreme of both paths just demonstrated for Taiwan: Two paths, maybe neither has applause.

Beyond Chicken Soup: The Controversies That Must Be Honestly Recorded

Treating Huang Shan-liao as a simple victim is another form of laziness. His controversies are not just "low literary evaluation"; there are several points that must be honestly laid open.

Monthly Salary 250k NTD Plagiarism Incident (October 2020). His article The Worries of People Earning 250k and 30k NTD a Month were pointed out to have 6 similarities with an August PTT post ("ordering 500 NTD worth of Uber Eats at once," "taking a taxi out," "fries extra large, eating half," etc.). ³¹ His rebuttal was: "I didn't plagiarize!" "That is 'quoting'," and added "Maybe I didn't write clearly enough, that's my problem, I'm stupid," and "Still gets hurt, I'm not made of iron." ³² Internet celebrity Chen Yi questioned that the "neighbor" earning 250k a month in the article was fictional. He responded: "The struggle of the past ten years cannot be overturned by data pieced together on the internet." ³³ This controversy has no conclusion yet, but the blurring line between "quoting" and "plagiarism" is one of the starting points of his trust crack.

Domestic Violence Speech Incident (June 2024, Malaysia). This point must be handled with extra care. In the edited clips circulating online, his words were heard as: "If a person always beats you up at home, then you can always block his domestic violence; he is the one suitable for you." ³⁴ After the public outcry, he apologized publicly, word for word: "Regarding domestic violence, I am 100% opposed; I do not support anyone in a relationship using violence to solve problems; my expression ability is poor, the meaning is incomplete; domestic violence is wrong, this is my persistent stance." He also stated that the clip was edited. ³⁵

This matter cannot be balanced just by recording his apology. The expert's stance must be placed here equally clearly: Lan Yi-feng from the Counseling Psychologists Association said "violence absolutely cannot be tolerated, nor should it be rationalized"; Chang Hsiu-yuan, Director of the Protection Services Department of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said "violence is absolutely not a way to solve problems." ³⁶ Commentators also pointed out deeper problems—The News Lens article's title was Huang Shan-liao "Supports Domestic Violence" Controversy: Expression Ability Has Big Problems Yet Becomes a Bestselling Author, You and I Both Pushed Him. ³⁷ Regardless of whether that sentence was edited, putting "whether one can block domestic violence" into a sentence about "whether one is suitable to be together" is itself dangerous. Violence allows no compromise; this point should not be diluted by anyone's apology or explanation.

Other controversies include a string: In March 2021, he said "People who are truly depressed to the bottom won't say they are depressed; they will directly disappear from the world," criticized as fake positive energy; ³⁸ In August 2023, his chicken soup text was posted on the NTU campus bulletin board, taken down in less than 6 hours, netizens sarcastically said "only 6 hours, no substance left." ³⁹ But some also spoke fairly for him—In 2022, YouTuber Gua Ji criticized his books as "useless to society"; he responded magnanimously: "Diverse thoughts are important." ⁴⁰ Writer Wu Dan-ru softened the blow for him: Seeing your book but not liking it means even those who don't like your book saw your book; they should be happy. ⁴⁰

⚠️ A Matter That Must Be Clarified
In March 2026, there was a "Daily Scenery Co., Ltd." embezzlement case; Huang Shan-liao was the victim, not the defendant. His company's shareholder Chiu Chih-chien was prosecuted for forging documents and embezzling 5.74 million NTD. ⁴¹ During the vigilante justice period, some people on the internet mixed this up with him; here it must be made clear: In this case, the person who was embezzled from is him.

I Actually Envy Those Who Are Already Completely Blackened

Back to that old poster going viral on Threads.

The young man who walked the London runway in 2014 wearing "Kinmen 1969," and the bestselling author being mocked by 600,000 people this week for having "no substance," are the same person. From Kinmen's snack shop, to London's runway, to Eslite's top spot, to a meme under a vigilante video—this is a line that always only wanted to do one thing: Be seen. He spoke of his hometown's war with fabric, let the nameless appear with lenses, caught people scrolling phones with short sentences of 28 characters per line. The carrier kept changing, but that desire growing from HR's sentence "can't find reports" never changed.

He is a student personally taught by Taiwan. Taiwan told him that this world compares not ability, but the skill of speaking—he believed it, practiced the skill of speaking to the national first place—and then Taiwan turned around and mocked him for having no real ability. He is the most complete living proof of this lesson.

In a 2025 Mirror Media interview, he said a sentence that now reads like a prophecy. He said: "I actually envy those public figures who are already completely blackened, because those completely blackened people, no one can kidnap them. Because look at a completely black person; even if you splash more dirty water on him, he is still black." ⁴²

A person who won a world championship, envies those who are already completely blackened, no longer needing to care about anyone's eyes. A person who practiced bestsellers to one line of 28 characters, his deepest desire is originally the freedom of not being seen.

That cabinet of "Kinmen 1969" no one looked at, so it disappeared; that one sentence "one-line comfort" everyone bought, so he became a national meme. So next time you want to mock "that substanceless chicken soup writer," maybe first look at the water surface of that pond—ask yourself, the line you think is shallow, reflects his shallowness, or an island that only claps for "reading in a glance" and won't clap for "making things"? Those who scold him, those who forward him, those who defend him, are reflecting the same mirror.

---

Further Reading:

• Wu Bao-chun — Another Taiwanese craftsman who won a world championship; the difference is his craftsmanship was seen
• Chang Chen-cheng — Established coordinates for Taiwanese chefs on the international stage, another destiny on the path of "doing things well"
• Chang Chih-chi — Another "information curator" who similarly made complexity readable, seeking resonance in the attention era
• Jimmy Liao — From an advertising company background, turned into an internationally bestselling healing creator, another way of being seen
• Tang Feng — How Taiwan treats a person difficult to classify, another mirror

Image Sources

All images in this article are fair use editorial commentary, cached locally, for reporting and commentary only:

• Hero portrait: Mirror Media Mirror Big Shot interview (2025)
• "Kinmen 1969" backstage photo: Kinmen Daily News
• Book signing photo: Huang Shan-liao Instagram (@iam_3636) / Bella Nongnong
• Angus Chiang works and portrait: Marie Claire
• Videos: Parent-Child World, Domidolo Domidolo official YouTube embed

References

1. Graduate Fashion Week — Wikipedia — A graduate fashion week founded in the UK in 1991; the first gold award winner was Christopher Bailey; alumni include Stella McCartney; Chinese media often calls its international first prize a "world champion."↩
2. China Times Supplement: Huang Shan-liao Writing Concept (2023) — Recording Huang Shan-liao "how to make people who don't like reading willing to finish this book is my goal," "like flipping through an horoscope book, needing a sentence of comfort" verbatim.↩
3. Kinmen Daily News: Huang Shan-liao Design Philosophy and Name Origin — A first-hand local report, recording the verbatim design philosophy of the six "Kinmen 1969" outfits, the meaning of his father naming him "uncarved jade raw material," and original quotes like "Memory is gentle, history is resolute" and "Each work is a personality."↩
4. HeavenRaven: Huang Shan-liao and One Shirt Interview (2019) — In-depth interview, recording verbatim quotes on industry difficulties: "My ambition was never in fashion design," "off-island recommendation," "those things have no commercial value in Taiwan," "even those who won awards and returned are already struggling so much."↩
5. Split Island Girl: Kinmen 1969 Detailed Description — A blog detailedly recording the elements of the six "Kinmen 1969" outfits: military totems, bullet holes, military boots, images from Kinmen Daily News and Zhengqi Zhonghua News, tassel camouflage nets, faux-aged fabric digital prints.↩
6. ETtoday: Drifting Youth Excerpt · Feelings of Winning the Award — Recording the verbatim paragraph from Huang Shan-liao's book describing his feelings at the moment of winning the award: "It turns out that winning a world championship is not as moving as imagined... only confusion and fear about the future."↩
7. Business Weekly: Huang Shan-liao London Award Book Excerpt — Book excerpt, recording award presenter Franca Sozzani saying in his ear "You are a very talented designer; I look forward to you coming to work in Europe," and the process of borrowing 100,000 NTD to buy a ticket to London (single source, marked "according to descriptions in his book").↩
8. Storm Media: Huang Shan-liao's "Fake World Champion" Wound — Recording sending over 100 resumes with zero interviews, HR supervisor "searched online and couldn't find reports so suspected resume was fake" verbatim, and the realization quotes "this world doesn't compare who has ability, but who has the ability to speak" and "making up for the past lack of being seen."↩
9. Kinmen Daily News: Drifting Youth × One Shirt Interview — First-hand report, recording verbatim quotes: "My strength unexpectedly had to rely on media endorsement to be recognized" and "I fell in this place, so I stood up from where I fell."↩
10. Beautimode: Taiwan Fashion Industry Affiliation and Designer Situation — Industry analysis, pointing out that the UK and France classify the fashion industry under the Ministry of Culture; Taiwan still classifies it under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, an OEM mindset, and the starting salary and promotion structure for Taiwanese fashion designers.↩
11. CM Media: Huang Shan-liao Took Out a 2 Million Loan at Age 25 to Start a Business — Reporting Huang Shan-liao taking out a 2 million loan at age 25, quitting his design job that lasted only 11 months, and founding One Shirt in 2017.↩
12. Bella Nongnong: One Shirt Closing — Reporting One Shirt did 161 character interviews in one year, YouTube cumulative views of about 13.38 million, peak team size of about 20 people; stepped down in November 2020 and closed in June 2021; recording the verbatim quote of "the baby I gave birth to personally" regarding closing.↩
13. TTshow: Huang Shan-liao Announces Closing Verbatim — Recording Huang Shan-liao's reason for closing One Shirt verbatim: "After taking on too heavy a responsibility, I became impatient with people, in fact I very much hated that Huang Shan-liao."↩
14. Bella Nongnong: One Shirt Closing (Closing Statement) — Recording Huang Shan-liao's closing statement verbatim: "One Shirt is the baby I gave birth to personally; letting go is very reluctant... can no longer continue to sacrifice anyone because I am reluctant to leave."↩
15. Sin Chew Daily: Huang Shan-liao Malaysia Interview (2024) — Malaysian media 2024 interview, recording Huang Shan-liao's retrospective reflection "was not serving creation, but an advertising company" verbatim (post-talk, must mark 2024).↩
16. Sun Color Publishing: Huang Shan-liao Author Page and Bibliography — Publisher official page, recording Huang Shan-liao's annual works bibliography (all published by Sun Color Publishing) and The Heart is Small pre-sales sales numbers.↩
17. Mirror Media: Huang Shan-liao One-Shot (2023) — In-depth character report, recording Drifting Youth first edition royalty was only 140,000 NTD "so I continued to stay at that company for another 2 years" and "gave myself 5 years to complete 10 novels" verbatim.↩
18. Digital Times: 2022 Eslite Annual Top Ten Bestseller List — Reporting the 2022 Eslite Annual Bestseller List, Huang Shan-liao's Say Goodbye Well, Don't Fail the Encounter took the non-category annual bestseller champion TOP 1. (2023 The Rest of Your Life won the non-category annual champion again; 2024 and 2025 were 2nd overall, losing to Kevin Tsai's You Will and Chang Chu-en's Autobiography respectively, verified by Eslite's annual official lists.)↩
19. Mirror Big Shot: Huang Shan-liao Interview · Self-Reported Sales (2025) — Recording Huang Shan-liao stating that six books cumulatively exceeded 300,000 copies (2023); media called it over 400,000 copies in 2025.↩
20. Langlang Yuedu: Lonely in the Human World First Print Data — Reporting Lonely in the Human World, Yet Like Old Friends at First Sight first print run of 30,000 copies plus 5,000 signed copies sold out completely; The Heart is Small pre-sales 6 minutes sold 3,000 copies, broke 1 million in revenue.↩
21. Mirror Big Shot: Huang Shan-liao Interview · Writing Philosophy (2025) — Recording Huang Shan-liao's writing methodology verbatim: "My opponents are not other authors, but TikTok, Facebook, Threads," "can be finished in one glance as you scroll past," "one line of 26 to 28 characters."↩
22. Mirror Media: Huang Shan-liao One-Shot · Reading Habits (2023) — Recording Huang Shan-liao self-reporting "I used to write diaries on MySpace... but I don't read books; I only developed the habit of reading after finishing Drifting Youth in 2019" verbatim.↩
23. NOWnews: Domidolo Vigilante Huang Shan-liao "Shallow Pond" Metaphor — Reporting Domidolo's video on June 5, 2026, breaking 600,000 views in one day; recording the core metaphor verbatim "not a very deep well, but a very shallow pond; you can see the bottom in one glance, but you can see yourself reflected in the water surface."↩
24. Liberty Times Net: Domidolo Vigilante "Soup Witch" "Blue Enchantress" — Recording Domidolo's criticism verbatim: "clearly read 6 books, but the feeling was only 2," "Has your book been touched by the Soup Witch," "Text Version Blue Enchantress," "can only get 0 points," "an unqualified writer, a master of mass psychological provocation."↩
25. Threads @authorlinyt: Defending Huang Shan-liao's Books — Author @authorlinyt's post, recording "Huang Shan-liao's shallow writing is actually very close to the reading market of the past 10 years... just like after short videos and short dramas rose, everyone's reception rhythm for content became thinner and faster" verbatim defense viewpoint.↩
26. United Daily News: Huang Shan-liao IG Story Response — Reporting Huang Shan-liao on June 6 IG Story indirectly turning to his new book sentence "Many times, it's not that you are not good enough, but that the environment you are in was originally not healthy enough" to respond to the vigilante justice.↩
27. China Times: Huang Shan-liao June 7 Formal Statement Full Text — Recording Huang Shan-liao's June 7, 2026 formal statement verbatim: "This year is the fifth year of full-time writing... I still have a lot of room to improve, and will continue to learn and grow."↩
28. United Daily News Online: Shih Chien University London Fashion Week Three Consecutive Awards — Reporting Shih Chien University won the international first prize at the London Graduate Fashion Week for three consecutive years in 2013 (Angus Chiang), 2014 (Huang Shan-liao), 2015 (Zhou Yun-ting), and the themes of each work.↩
29. plain-me: Angus Chiang Sailing to the Moon — Reporting Angus Chiang's 2013 graduation work "Sailing to the Moon" combining Taiwanese temple fair elements with spacesuits won the London Graduate Fashion Week International Designer First Prize.↩
30. LVMH Prize Official Website — LVMH Prize official page, recording Angus Chiang (Angus Chiang) shortlisted in 2017 as a semi-finalist, the only Taiwanese/Chinese designer selected that year.↩
31. Mirror Media: Huang Shan-liao Monthly Salary 250k Plagiarism Controversy (2020) — Reporting Huang Shan-liao's The Worries of People Earning 250k and 30k NTD a Month had 6 similarities with an August PTT post (Uber Eats ordering 500 NTD, taking a taxi, fries extra large eating half, etc.).↩
32. CTWANT: Huang Shan-liao Responds to Plagiarism "That is Quoting" — Recording Huang Shan-liao's clarification verbatim: "I didn't plagiarize!" "That is 'quoting'," "Maybe I didn't write clearly enough, that's my problem, I'm stupid," "Still gets hurt, I'm not made of iron."↩
33. Mirror Media: Huang Shan-liao "Quoting Not Plagiarism" and Rich Second Generation Accusations (2020) — Reporting Chen Yi questioning the "neighbor" earning 250k a month in the article as fictional, and Huang Shan-liao responding "The struggle of the past ten years cannot be overturned by data pieced together on the internet."↩
34. Storm Media: Huang Shan-liao Domestic Violence Speech Controversy (2024) — Reporting the 2024 June Malaysia event circulating edited clip "If a person always beats you up at home, then you can always block his domestic violence; he is the one suitable for you" causing public outcry.↩
35. Thought Tank: Lu Yu-jia Discusses Huang Shan-liao Domestic Violence Speech and Apology — Commentary analysis recording Huang Shan-liao's apology statement "Regarding domestic violence, I am 100% opposed... domestic violence is wrong, this is my persistent stance" and its original intent context, and viewing from a gender violence perspective how "toxic chicken soup" normalizes violence.↩
36. CNA: Expert Response to Domestic Violence Speech — First-hand report, recording Counseling Psychologists Association's Lan Yi-feng "violence absolutely cannot be tolerated nor should it be rationalized," Ministry of Health and Welfare Protection Services Department's Chang Hsiu-yuan "violence is absolutely not a way to solve problems" expert stances.↩
37. The News Lens: Huang Shan-liao Supports Domestic Violence Controversy Analysis — Systematic criticism article, title Huang Shan-liao "Supports Domestic Violence" Controversy: Expression Ability Has Big Problems Yet Becomes a Bestselling Author, You and I Both Pushed Him.↩
38. Huang Shan-liao — Wikipedia — Chinese entry, recording March 2021 depression speech "People who are truly depressed to the bottom won't say they are depressed; they will directly disappear from the world" and various controversy timelines.↩
39. Liberty Times Net: Huang Shan-liao Chicken Soup Text NTU Bulletin Board Taken Down in 6 Hours (2023) — Reporting August 2023 Huang Shan-liao text posted on NTU campus bulletin board "taken down in less than 6 hours," and Wu Dan-ru "means even those who don't like your book saw your book" softening blow.↩
40. Facebook: Huang Shan-liao Responds to Gua Ji Criticism — Huang Shan-liao Facebook post, responding to Gua Ji's 2022 criticism "useless to society" verbatim "Diverse thoughts are important."↩
41. ETtoday: Daily Scenery Company Embezzlement Case (2026) — Reporting Huang Shan-liao's "Daily Scenery Co., Ltd." shareholder Chiu Chih-chien was prosecuted for forging documents and embezzling 5.74 million NTD; Huang Shan-liao is the victim.↩
42. Mirror Big Shot: Huang Shan-liao Interview Part 2 · Envying Completely Blackened People (2025) — Recording Huang Shan-liao verbatim "I actually envy those public figures who are already completely blackened, because those completely blackened people, no one can kidnap them."↩