Reclaim Our Land, Battle the Leucaena: Stories of Land, Streams, and Hometown Memory
徐婕寧
我學到印象最深刻的詞就是換位思考,因為我們研究銀河歡要知己知彼,就是我們要知道銀河歡的弱點才能去消滅它。
就像一個隊裡,有的人能力比較好,有的人能力比較弱一點,我們不能去責怪他們,因為我們要換位思考,如果是我們能力很弱,但我們想努力也沒辦法,所以我們要幫助他們,但不是什麼工作都不給他們做,而是去教他們,就像木桶法則一樣,一隊裡,如果有一個人什麼都不做,那這組隊就會倒,所以不能單一幾個人的能力比較強,而是要整組的能力都提上去。
The most memorable concept I learned is putting myself in others’ shoes (empathy or perspective-taking). In our research on Leucaena, we need to “know the enemy and know ourselves,” which means we must understand the weaknesses of Leucaena in order to control it effectively.
This idea is similar to working in a team. Some people may have stronger abilities, while others may be a bit weaker. We should not blame them, because we need to think from their perspective. If we were the ones with weaker abilities, we might want to improve but still find it difficult. Therefore, we should help them, not by giving them no work, but by teaching and supporting them.
This is like the “barrel principle” (the idea that the capacity of a barrel depends on its shortest plank). In a team, if one person does nothing, the whole team will fail. So it is not enough for only a few people to be strong; the abilities of the entire team need to improve together.
王志群
其實一開始我是沒有想要做小論文的,是因為指導老師魏仲良老師和護士阿姨他們鼓勵我,他們說我們這間仁壽宮,還有我太子殿很值得去介紹。然後上了這個小論文課程。這個過程讓我學到團結、同理心還有要怎麼去做這個小論文,怎麼去介紹,然後還有要怎麼讓別人聽了會感覺到很有趣。
其實我很謝謝魏仲良老師還有護士阿姨,因為他們在這個小論文上也幫了我很多的忙,雖然我們這隊是只有我跟徐偉翔而已,可是他們當時2025年4月5號,他們就號召全部的小論文團隊來我們廟,那一天是輔信王公聖誕千秋,如果沒有魏仲良老師他們的幫忙的話,我跟徐偉翔兩個人根本做不完的,所以我要很謝謝他們。
到了2025年農曆10月25日感天大帝聖誕千秋,那時候比賽已結束,魏仲良老師也有帶著全部小論文團隊的人來仁壽宮誌謝,所以我要謝謝魏仲良老師還有護士阿姨這麼幫忙我們,讓我們能夠比賽贏得金獎。
At the beginning, I didn’t actually plan to write a research paper. However, our advisor, Mr. Wei Zhongliang, and the nurse encouraged me. They said that our temple, Renshou Temple, and my Prince Hall are very meaningful and worth introducing to others.
After joining this research paper course, I learned about teamwork and empathy, as well as how to write a research paper, how to present it, and how to make the presentation interesting for others to listen to. I am very grateful to Mr. Wei Zhongliang and the nurse because they helped me a lot throughout this project.
Our team only had two members, Xu Weixiang and me. On April 5, 2025, Mr. Wei gathered the entire research team to come to our temple. That day also happened to be the birthday celebration of King Fuxin. Without Mr. Wei’s help, the two of us would not have been able to complete the project.
Later, on the lunar date of October 25, 2025, during the birthday celebration of the Great Emperor Gantian, after the competition, Mr. Wei also brought the whole research paper team to Renshou Temple to give thanks. Therefore, I would like to thank Mr. Wei Zhongliang and the nurse for supporting us so much and helping us win the Gold Award in the competition.
簡莛倢
在這將近300個小時裡面,我學到印象最深刻的事情就是木桶法則,還有換位思考,以及話輪,我覺得木桶法則是對於我們團隊合作很重要的一個觀念,因為木桶法則是在說,如果我們團隊中有任何一個人被落下,我們就沒辦法團結一起更好,所以我們就要團結一起向前走。再來是換位思考。 這個道理也教會我們在平常的人情事故上面要怎麼去想,比如說我們要說出傷害別人的話。 如果我這時候是對方在對你說這句話你會怎麼想? 所以我們這樣子也會減少對別人的傷害。第三是話論,畫輪就是再說。 我們與評審講話的時候,我們跟他講什麼? 他會回我回我們什麼,我們要在比賽前先想想看,然後要先做功課。免得到時候沒辦法應對,這是老師有教我們,我們也可以應用在日常生活上面的道理
During these nearly 300 hours, the most memorable things I learned were the barrel principle, *perspective-taking (empathy)*, and turn-taking in conversation. I think the barrel principle is a very important concept for teamwork, because it means that if any member of the team is left behind, the team cannot improve together. Therefore, we must stay united and move forward together.
Next is perspective-taking. This idea teaches us how to think in our daily interactions with others. For example, before saying something that might hurt someone, we should ask ourselves: if the other person said these words to me, how would I feel? Thinking this way helps us reduce harm to others.
The third concept is turn-taking in conversation. This means thinking in advance about what we will say to the judges and what they might ask us in return. We need to prepare beforehand and do our homework so that we can respond confidently during the competition. Our teacher taught us this idea, and it is also something we can apply in our everyday lives.
我們在蓋達魯按的時候是先請亞米指揮我們,還有先跟我們講,我們要怎麼做?就做出來的效果會這麼樣。 後面亞米有說叫我們先去蒐集一些草,收集那些草,收集了快要半個小時多,那些草是用來鋪屋頂的,我們也有蒐集比較細的木頭,而且是用銀合歡等,因為我們要廢物利用,我們把木頭架起來後鋪上砍來的草,真的就有一番達魯岸的味道了,只不過我們這次蓋的有點小,所以沒辦法進去很多人,不然就是都要蹲著😅
When we were building the Taru’an, we first asked Yami to direct us and explain what we needed to do, so we could understand what the final result would look like. Later, Yangming told us to collect some grass. We spent more than half an hour gathering the grass, which was used to cover the roof. We also collected thinner pieces of wood, including Leucaena branches, because we wanted to reuse materials instead of wasting them.
After we set up the wooden frame and covered it with the grass we had gathered, it really started to look like a traditional Taru’an. However, the one we built this time was a bit small, so not many people could go inside — otherwise we would all have to squat 😅
徐偉翔
我印象深刻的是,我第一次來到仁壽宮看到使者公嚇到跑去外婆那邊,外婆說使者公不會咬人,但我聽不懂。
後來我四年級有上小論文,才知使者公是有好的,還知道是玄壇元帥和玄天上帝的部將,而且我上小論文還讓我學到他們的主神,感天大帝還有其他的神明,例如玄壇元帥、玄天上帝、福德正神、土地公的,還認識了許多神明的法器,例如:九節鞭、鯊魚劍還有土地公的拐杖,還有三太子的火箭槍還有令旗。
而且我覺得仁壽宮的人他們都很好也很熱情,而且他們做每件事情都非常的細心,像是普渡時,他們要準備東西就不會忘記要準備的東西,東西都準備得很齊全,最後,雖然一開始我覺得使者公很可怕,但是認識他們之後,發現牠們都不會主動攻擊人喔!所以我就不害怕了。
One thing that left a deep impression on me was the first time I came to Renshou Temple. When I saw the Messenger Deity, I was so scared that I ran to my grandmother. My grandmother told me that the Messenger Deity would not bite people, but at that time I didn’t understand. Later, when I was in fourth grade and took the research paper course, I learned that the Messenger Deity is actually benevolent. I also learned that he is a general under Marshal Xuántán and the Dark Heaven Emperor (Xuántiān Shàngdì).
Through the research project, I also learned about their main deity, the Great Emperor Gǎntiān, as well as other deities such as Marshal Xuántán, the Dark Heaven Emperor, and the Earth God (Fúdé Zhèngshén). I also became familiar with many ritual traditions and symbolic weapons of these deities, such as the nine-section whip, the shark sword, the Earth God’s staff, the Third Prince’s fire-tipped spear, and the command flag.
I also feel that the people at Renshou Temple are very kind and welcoming, and they are very careful and attentive in everything they do. For example, during the Ghost Festival offering ceremony, they prepare everything very thoroughly and never forget what needs to be prepared. Unlike me, I sometimes lose focus. I also learned that although the Messenger Deity may look frightening, they do not actively harm people.
簡珮絜
我在這個研究中有發現很多昆蟲,還有不一樣的植物。 我很喜歡昆蟲。 因為我覺得牠們很可愛,所以每次去的時候都會看到昆蟲我都會很興奮,並且用手機把它拍照下來,我覺得雖然我們團隊裡面的人有些會害怕,但是我覺得我們要尊重他們不能去硬要他們去接觸這些昆蟲,而且那些攀木蜥蜴都很可愛每次都想要去抓一下,而且我還有學到一些知識,就像是言之猶裡,言之有據,言之有物這些原理,言之流理就是邏輯很合理,言之有趣就是要有證據的去表達去支持,言之有物,就是你的內容要豐富,而且你的表達要很恰當。這個就是我學印象最深刻的。
During this research, I discovered many insects and different kinds of plants. I really like insects because I think they are very cute. Every time we went to the site and I saw insects, I felt very excited and took photos of them with my phone. Even though some members of our team were afraid of insects, I believe we should respect them and not force them to touch or interact with the insects.
We also saw many tree lizards, which are very cute, and every time I saw one, I wanted to try catching it. Besides observing animals, I also learned some important principles about presenting ideas, such as making arguments logical, evidence-based, and meaningful.
“Logical” means the reasoning is clear and makes sense.
“Evidence-based” means providing proof or support for what we say.
“Meaningful” means the content should be rich and the expression should be appropriate.
These are the things that left the deepest impression on me.
吳亞米
四年級我們因為表現優異,在頒獎那一天我們小論文上台演講,那是我第一次站在七百多個人面前演講。我是第一個講的,一開始真的講話會很抖,但慢慢調整呼吸,就講的非常好,我是講銀河歡的特性,銀合歡有五大特性,1銀合歡有含羞草素會讓周圍的樹無法生長、2有萌蘗現象,砍斷銀河歡的莖還會長出來、3落葉現象、4排他性、5喜歡陽光生長速度很快。我們得了金獎,我充滿著成就感,也讓我繼續想做小論文,讓別人看到我們,也一起清除銀合歡。
In fourth grade, because of our excellent performance, our research team was invited to give a presentation at the award ceremony. It was the first time I spoke in front of more than 700 people. I was the first person to present, and at the beginning my voice was shaking because I was very nervous. However, I slowly adjusted my breathing and ended up giving a very good presentation.
My topic was the characteristics of Leucaena. Leucaena has five main characteristics:
It contains mimosine, which prevents nearby plants from growing.
It shows sprouting ability, meaning even if the stem is cut, it can grow back.
It produces a large amount of fallen leaves.
It has exclusivity, meaning it suppresses the growth of other plants.
It grows very quickly and prefers sunlight.
We won the Gold Award, and I felt a great sense of achievement. This also motivated me to continue doing research projects, so that more people can learn about our work and join us in removing Leucaena.