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FOOD /// STYLE /// GADGETS /// PLACES /// EVENTS /// PROFILES DISAPPEARING ASIA THE FINAL CUT Meet Taiwan’s very last swordmaker, who is determined to work at his craft until his last breath In a dark, cramped room in the town of Cheding, a small, wizened Taiwanese man stands silhouetted by the fi re of his forge. He unsheathes a menacing looking sword nearly as long as he is tall. Firelight bounces off the ornate detailing on the weapon as he holds it upright. This feels like a scene out of the kung fu blockbuster Kill Bill. Except, of course, for the man’s wife pottering in the background. And his preference that I don’t use the sword for its traditional purpose. Plus, says swordmaker Kuo Chang Shi, the movie is wrong. His replica ancient ‘Green Destiny Sword’ is the same as the one used in the internationally acclaimed fi lm Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by fellow Taiwanese, Ang Lee, on which Kuo acted as a consultant. “Most Western media want to know only about the human bones,” he says mischievously. “But they always get the story wrong.” The use of human bone in swordmaking dates back thousands of years and is considered by some to purify the sword; others believe that the phosphates released 024 when the bones are burned help to bind the various layers of metal. Clients who want a sword made from bones usually provide those of an ancestor. “The saying is: ‘To make a good sword, you have to throw a man into the fi re’,” notes Kuo. But in the real legend, he says, a swordmaker was commissioned to craft the fi nest sword for the emperor, but no matter what method he tried, the sword was not pure enough. “Seeing his plight, the man’s THE USE OF HUMAN BONE IN SWORDMAKING DATES BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS GREEN DESTINY SWORD The sword to rule all swords in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has been passed down through the generations and caused the downfall of many and much blood to be shed. wife threw herself into the fi re in the hope that the purity of her love for him would be the right ingredient.” And so it was. Kuo handcrafts every sword in a traditional blacksmith’s forge capable of heating the metal to more than 1,300oC. Most swords now are mass produced by machine; as Kuo is now 67 years old and with no heir to continue his trade, traditional swordmaking in Taiwan may very well die with its master. WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY: KRISTY BOYCE
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