Liuli Gongfang or Liuligongfang (琉璃工房) was the first glass art workshop in greater China. It was founed in 1987 by actress Loretta Yang and director Chang Yi. Their name refers to liuli, a form of archaic Chinese glasswork; the founders chose to use the word liuli, rather than the common name for glass, boli (玻璃), as it sounded more exotic. The founders aimed to revive the art of antique Chinese art glass, whose production had dwindled following the Opium Wars. Yang mortgaged her house and those of all her family members in order to gain start-up capital. After much trial and error, costing $1 million and taking more than three years, she and Chang were able to master the French pate-de-verre or lost-wax casting method. At the time of their founding, they operated a two-person workshop in Tamsui, Taipei County. Yang and Chang originally had a fairly strict division of labour, with Yang handling the artistic aspects of their work, while Chang managed finances and other business responsibilities; with Chang's 1997 heart attack, Yang has taken over more of Chang's responsibilities as well, including contact with the media.