Taiwan’s art of the sword – Restoring the Shaolin Temple’s weaponry

Due to strict legislation in Taiwan, anyone wishing to collect swords is required to apply for a knife certificate from their local police station; however, the time-consuming and laborious process of acquiring the necessary paperwork has adversely affected the traditional sword culture in Taiwan. Despite this, sword enthusiast Zhang Li-wei (張力偉) has quietly gone about studying and collecting swords for many years in the hope that more people will get to appreciate the beauty of the sword.

With regard to his passion for swords, Zhang Li-wei says his most memorable experience to date was helping to restore the traditional weapons of the famous Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, which had lost much of its weaponry knowledge. After personally visiting the Shaolin Temple to examine historical data and carry out in-depth research together with Shaolin Temple monks, Zhang Li-wei commissioned the making of sword replicas and created a new weapons room at the temple.

以下為中文對照

臺灣由於受法律規範，想要收藏開鋒的刀劍得必須向警察局申請刀證，由於耗時又耗程序，導致刀劍文化在臺灣並不普及，即使如此，熱愛刀劍的張力偉依然默默耕耘，希望讓更多人欣賞刀劍之美。

說起刀劍工藝，張力偉最特別的經驗就是幫復刻少林寺兵器。因中國河南少林寺很多兵器到近代已失傳，張力偉親自前往少林寺，然後依據史料復刻出來，一起和少林寺武僧研究，打造出一個兵器室。

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