Hsieh Chin-chung, from Chungho City in Taipei County, has recently been recognized as the only person in Taiwan who possesses the rare talent for repairing and forging samurai swords from scratch. His unique status was acknowledged after meeting with specialists hired by the Department of Cultural Affairs, who registered him as an asset of the traditional arts. For Hsieh, who will turn 88 next year, this could be his greatest birthday present.
In the past, during a time when society wasn’t yet open enough to accept the existence of such a skill, Hsieh did not dare to make his capabilities public. However, there are an increasing number of people who contact him to forge or repair swords for them. Even world-famous film director Hou Hsiao-hsien asked him to make a copy of a sword for his new movie, the original of which is kept in a museum in Japan.
Hsieh, who was born in 1923, said that he used to work in an ironware store owned by a Japanese man, which was where he learned to make swords. At that time he was a very conscientious sword-maker, which is why even today he can single-handedly make an entire sword, including sharpening the blade, decorating the grip and even making the scabbard.
Hsieh graduated from school when he was 14 years old, and was employed by a Japanese ironworks. He followed his employer to Shanghai in China for business, and being the first of 11 children in the family, his only thought was to make money to alleviate the economic burden on his parents.
When he came back to Taiwan in 1946, he tried to do other business. He eventually set up a shop dealing with knives and scissors in Chungho City. He said he didn’t think or even dare to make samurai swords because he feared the mafia underworld would constantly ask him to make weapons, and the political situation wasn’t liberal enough. When Japanese nationals had to leave Taiwan after the retrocession, they weren’t allowed to take their samurai swords with them, so they gave them to Taiwanese locals who had to hide them.
Because of the increasing demand for swords from kendo associations, in 1980 Hsieh applied for a license from the government and made swords for the first time since returning to Taiwan. But he was careful to keep a very low profile. By 2001, guns had gradually replaced swords as weapons so he started to make unsharpened swords for collectors. Only after he repaired two samurai swords belonging to Ho Yun-fang, an elderly resident of Chungho, did his reputation as a master bladesmith start to spread.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
台北縣中和市民謝錦鐘身懷磨製、修理武士刀的好手藝，文化局邀請專家評審訪談面試後，認定全台灣可能找不到第二人有此技藝，將他登錄為傳統藝術類文化資產，將過八十八歲大壽的他，直說這是最好的生日禮物。
早年大環境使然，謝錦鐘不敢張揚磨製、修理武士刀的功夫，這幾年，慢慢有人探聽上門請他打刀、修刀，國際大導演侯孝賢也為新片籌備找上門，請他依圖打造日本博物館收藏的寶刀。
民國十二年出生的謝錦鐘說，小時候在日本人開的五金店工作，學會做武士刀，當時很拚、很認真，什麼都做、什麼都學，現在才能一個人獨力完成磨刀、刀柄上的編織、刀套等流程。
謝錦鐘十四歲公學校畢業後，受僱於日本人，跟隨老闆遷店到上海發展，家貧又有十個弟妹嗷嗷待哺，身為老大的他，只想賺錢減輕家裡負擔。
民國三十五年回台灣後，做過其他生意，後來才在中和從事刀剪類利器的製造批發，他說，那時候沒有想到、也不敢做武士刀，一方面怕黑社會找上門，另一方面，政治氣氛不開放，當年許多日本人離台時，不能隨身帶走的武士刀，轉送給台灣人，也都被收藏起來。
民國六十九年左右，因為劍道會的需求，謝錦鐘才向政府申請核准，第一次製作武士刀，但仍相當低調；民國九十年後，槍取代刀成為武器，才開始做一些供人收藏，不開鋒口，也就是不鋒利的練武刀。他是在為中和耆老何雲坊修復兩把武士刀後，名氣才逐漸傳開。
（自由時報記者何玉華）
A: It’s a pity that I can’t go to Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue’s concert. B: Why not? A: Hit Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu is staging two shows at the Taipei Arena this weekend, and I already bought tickets long ago. B: Wow, isn’t he one of the most popular Japanese singers in recent years? A: And Yonezu’s megahit “Lemon” topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100’s year-end chart in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. A: 我不能去澳洲歌后凱莉米諾的演唱會真可惜。 B: 為什麼？ A: 日本人氣歌手米津玄師週末將在小巨蛋熱唱兩場，我早早就買票啦。 B: 哇他可是日本近年來最紅的歌手之一。 A: 米津的神曲《Lemon》甚至還在2018、2019年連續稱霸告示牌日本單曲榜年度冠軍！ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
A: Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue is set to visit Taiwan for the third time on Saturday. B: I remember that her Taipei concerts in 2008 and 2011 caused a sensation, and I love her megahit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” A: This will be her first time performing in the southern city of Kaohsiung. B: Many music critics praise Kylie’s show as “a must-see in your lifetime.” A: Let’s go to Kaohsiung this weekend. A: 澳洲歌后凱莉米諾週六即將三度訪台。 B: 她曾在2008、2011年兩度在台北開唱都造成大轟動，我超愛她的神曲《Can’t Get You Out of My Head》。 A: 這次可是她首度唱進南台灣的高雄呢。 B: 許多樂評家說她的演唱會是「此生必看」！ A: 那我們週末去高雄吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The Lemon Festival is a fun annual celebration in Menton, France. This festival began in 1934 and honors the region’s exceptional lemons. __1__ in February during the lemon season, the festival features beautiful floats and sculptures covered with dazzling lemons and oranges. These citrus creations are on display in the bright sunshine throughout the day, while at night, they are lit up and turn the town into a __2__ spectacle. The festival’s origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when Menton was a major lemon producer. __3__, hotels would decorate their spaces with lemons and oranges
中國海關總署突然發布通知，指台灣輸入的釋迦及蓮霧檢出介殼蟲「大洋臀紋粉蚧」，決定暫停輸入。 In September 2021, China’s customs administration announced that it would suspend imports of sweetsop and jambu from Taiwan, citing discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. 蓮霧 (jambu/champoo, Syzygium samarangense) ，又名洋蒲桃，是桃金孃科熱帶水果，原產於印尼和馬來西亞，在星、馬稱作水蓊，中、港、澳稱作天桃。 蓮霧學名中的種小名 samarangense，係因模式標本採自印尼的Semarang (三寶瓏) 而得名。 蓮霧馬來語稱為 jambu air，第二個字 air讀作 /?a??(r)/，是水的意思，荷蘭人從印尼引進台灣，台語音譯為蓮霧 ian-b?。 以往蓮霧常見譯為 wax apple，聽起來好像素描靜物用的蠟製水果 (Wax Fruit)，曾有人問美國朋友要不要吃蓮霧? Care for a wax apple? 對方回一句：Why not a real one? 近來美國市場流行泰語的講法 champoo。蓮霧果實長得像鈴鐺，因此又稱為 bell-fruit。 Syzygium samarangense is a tropical fruit in the family Myrtaceae, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Common names in English include champoo, jambu, bell fruit, rose apple, Java apple, and wax apple. In Taiwan, the dark red cultivars are nicknamed “Black
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