Jin Luan Gong, a temple in Greater Kaohsiung’s Cieding District, finished building a ship that was used in a plague offering ceremony for the Wang Yeh plague gods on May 20. Excluding the mast, but including the area from the bottom of the ship to the hatch, the ship is 21.21m long, 4.24m wide, and 1.76m tall. The total amount spent on the ship exceeded NT$10 million, including money spent on items placed on it. The ship is the biggest Wang Yeh ship ever built in southern Taiwan.
The worship of Wang Yeh is quite prevalent in the Cieding area, and a ship, which is eventually burned, has to be built every time a plague offering ceremony is held to see the gods off. These ceremonies are usually held every 12 years at Jin Luan Gong, which was constructed over 300 years ago.
Kuo Chin-cheng, chairman of the temple’s plague offering committee, says last year the sea goddess Matsu expressed that a ceremony for Wang Yeh needed to be held, so the temple followed tradition and held a divination ceremony, hung up ceremonial lanterns, and enshrined a statue of Wang Yeh. The Wang Yeh ship’s keel is 6.24m long, 66cm wide, and 61cm thick. Su Chun-fa, a master Wang Yeh shipbuilder, was hired to build the ship.
Photo: Perry Svensson, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者Perry Svensson
After graduating from elementary school, the now 69-year-old Su became a wooden shipbuilder’s apprentice in Cieding’s Baishalun fishing harbor, but the number of fishing boats sharply decreased as ocean resources continue to dwindle, so at the age of 28 Su decided to learn how to build Wang Yeh ships with a master Wang Yeh shipbuilder. He has made a total of 80 Wang Yeh ships over the past 41 years.
Su says the size of a Wang Yeh ship depends on the length of the keel, but where are keels obtained and how big are they supposed to be? Su says whatever Matsu or Wang Yeh say goes, so in the past keels were traditionally selected by practitioners as they carried deities on palanquins to select the wood. Today, however, materials for building them are obtained directly from wood factories.
After half a year of detailed and meticulous carving, the huge Wang Yeh ship was finally able to leave the factory on May 20, and although it was raining heavily that day, worshippers still enthusiastically showed up in great numbers for the ceremony.
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者蘇福男
Hsueh Chao-hsuan, head of the temple’s department of general affairs, says that the large ship cost more than NT$5 million, but after adding 200 various items to the boat, including a TV, a refrigerator, and an ancient cannon, the overall cost exceeded NT$10 million. The ritual ceremony for seeing off the Wang Yeh gods is scheduled to be held on June 16.
Su says that Wang Yeh ships and wooden fishing boats are built in exactly the same way and that they are actually capable of sailing on water. This particular ship contains a Matsu floor, a Wang Yeh court, a prison below deck and separate toilets for men and women.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
高市茄萣區金鑾宮為建醮活動打造的大王船五月二十日為瘟神王爺完工出廠，王船長二十一點二一公尺、寬四點二四公尺、高一點七六公尺，不含船桅，船底到水艙門的高度，連同添載物品價逾上千萬元，為南台灣歷年來最大艘王船。
Photo: Perry Svensson, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者Perry Svensson
茄萣地區王爺信仰盛行，每次建醮活動必定舉行送王（燒王船）儀式，有三百多年歷史的金鑾宮，平均每十二年舉辦一次王醮盛典。
金鑾宮建醮委員會主委郭進成表示，去年媽祖婆指示要辦王醮，廟方依例進行卜主會、豎燈篙、親王開光等前置作業。此次王船龍骨長六點二四公尺、寬六十六公分、厚六十一公分，禮聘王船大師蘇春發打造。
六十九歲的蘇春發，國小畢業就在茄萣白砂崙漁港當木製漁船學徒，由於海洋資源日漸枯竭，漁船數量銳減，廿八歲轉向澎湖師傅拜師學習王船工藝，四十一年來，已打造出八十艘王船。
蘇春發表示，王船大小取決於龍骨長度，到哪裡選取？尺寸要裁多少？媽祖婆、王爺公「說了算」，昔日取龍骨多由信眾抬著神明轎外出尋找，當今多改為直接到木材工廠選材。
歷經半年的精雕細琢，大王船五月二十日上午出廠，雖然下著大雨，但信眾熱情不減，陣頭輪番上陣向王船「拜旗」致敬。
總務組長薛兆軒表示，大王船造價逾五百萬元，船上將另添載二百多項用品，包括電視、冰箱、古戰船大砲等，總價達上千萬元。送王儀式預計六月十六日舉行。
蘇春發表示，大王船完全比照木製漁船手工打造，可以在海上航行，船上設有媽祖樓、王爺府，底下還有監獄，連廁所都有男女之分。
（自由時報記者蘇福男）
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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