Here are a list of questions I often get asked about my Lego creations.
以下是我經常被問到的關於我的樂高作品的問題列表。
What made you want to build your own Lego sets?
是什麼讓你想打造自己的樂高套裝？
I have been collecting Lego sets for many years, mainly the Lego’s modular building series. These modular building series are miniature buildings that tries to mimic real-life buildings. I love miniature things, so these Lego sets really appeal to me. Then in 2017, I started building my own creation (MOC) sets with themes that are meaningful to me. I wanted to teach people about Taiwan (where I am from originally) and the Chinese culture. Lego is my way of introducing to people about that. Each set that I build all have a story behind them. Having something that is visual and then tell a story about it, is the perfect combination to get people interested about the Chinese culture.
多年來我一直在收集樂高套裝，主要是樂高的模塊化建築系列。 這些模塊化建築系列是試圖模仿真實建築的微型建築。 我喜歡微型的東西，所以這些樂高套裝真的很吸引我。 然後在 2017 年，我開始構建自己的創作 (MOC) 套裝，主題對我來說很有意義。 我想教人們關於台灣（我原來來自哪裡）和中國文化。 樂高是我向人們介紹這一點的方式。 我製作的每個系列背後都有一個故事。 擁有一些視覺化的東西，然後講述它的故事，是讓人們對中國文化感興趣的完美組合。
What made you want to build the Hsi Fang Temple Lego set?
是什麼讓你想建造西坊寺樂高套裝？
The Hsi Fang Temple Lego set was the first Lego MOC (My Own Creation) set that I created. Since this was my first set, I wanted to start off with an easy build and Hsi Fang Temple was the perfect “guinea pig” because the exterior of the building is fairly squared and easy to build.
But the main reason is that I want to use Lego to introduce to people about the Chinese culture. The Buddhist Light organization and Hsi Fang Temple are a great part of the Chinese culture. I wanted to use Lego to get people excited about the organization and get them want to learn more about Buddhism. It is also the temple my wife Christina and I have been part of for some time now.
西方寺樂高套裝是我創建的第一款樂高 MOC（我自己的創作）套裝。 由於這是我的第一套，我想從一個簡單的構建開始，而西方寺是絕佳的”實驗品”，因為建築物的外部相當方形且易於構建。
但最主要的原因是我想用樂高來向人們介紹中國文化。 佛光組織和西方寺是中國文化的重要組成部分。 我想用樂高讓人們對這個組織感到興奮，讓他們想要更多地了解佛教。我的妻子Christina和我已多年參與佛堂活動。
How long does it take to build a set?
建立一套需要多長時間？
The length of time it takes to build a set depends on the complexity of the set and the availability of the pieces. Usually it takes about 3-4 month from when the construction first begins to a version that can be public displayed.
構建一個集合所需的時間長度取決於集合的複雜性和部件的可用性。 通常從開始施工到可以公開展示的版本大約需要3-4個月。
What are some of your other Lego creations?
你還有其他樂高作品嗎？
The first set that I created was the Hsi Fang Temple set back in 2017. From then on, I have created many more sets and is still building them. Other sets I have built includes our family restaurant (Hunan Chinese Restaurant) and my childhood house in Taipei, Taiwan. I also created a Taiwanese boba milk tea and railway bento sets that I love. You can fine the whole list here.
2017 年起我開始建築西方寺樂高模型。從那時起，我創建了更多的組，並且仍在構建它們。 我建造的其他套裝包括我們的家庭餐廳（湖南中餐廳）和我在台灣台北的童年之家。 我還製作了我喜歡的台灣波霸奶茶和鐵路便當套裝。
What are some of your future Lego creations?
你未來的樂高作品有哪些？
I plan to add more buildings and features to the existing sets. I plan to add a bookstore and library building adjacent to the Hsi Fang Temple set to make it a more complete set. Also the Hsi Lai Temple is a little bit small right now. I would like to build a much bigger and more detailed version of the Hsi Lai Temple. I would also like to build a Zen garden for the Japanese temple set.
我計劃在現有場景中添加更多建築物和功能 。我計劃在西方寺的旁邊增加一間書店和圖書館大樓，使它更完整。西來寺目前規模較小, 我計畫建造一個更大更詳細的西來寺。 我也想要為日本寺廟集建一個花園。
Can you speak Chinese?
你會說中文嗎？
Yes, but only at a first grade level. I came to the United States from Taiwan when I was still in first grade at the age of 7. We moved to Nebraska where my parents opened up the first Chinese restaurant in town. I grew up in a small Nebraska town where our family was the only Asian family. I can only speak Chinese but do not know how to read or write in Chinese. My wife Christina is still teaching me Chinese.
Please pardon me for the Chinese translation of the Lego set exhibit. I can only speak and translate Chinese at a first grade level. 🙂
是的，但僅限於一年級。 我 7 歲上一年級時從台灣來到美國。我們搬到了內布拉斯加州，我的父母在那裡開了第一家中餐館。 我在內布拉斯加州的一個小鎮長大，我們家是唯一的亞洲家庭。 我只會說中文，但不會讀中文。 我的妻子Christina還在教我中文。
請原諒我的樂高套裝展覽的中文翻譯。 我只能說和翻譯一年級的中文。
What do you do?
你做什麼工作？
I am a software engineer. Hence my Lego minifigure, the computer programmer. Besides playing around with Lego, I also enjoy writing computer code. I build web and database application systems.
我是一名軟體工程師。 因此，我的樂高小人仔也是電腦工程師。 除了玩樂高，我還喜歡編寫電腦語言。 我構建網絡和數據庫應用程序系統。
What is your favorite things about the exhibit?
您最喜歡展覽的哪些方面？
My favorite thing at the exhibit is just being at the exhibit telling the stories behind each set here on display. I like to be here to give people hands on experience and personally show them about each set. I see that they get very excited, which makes me excited as well.
我在展覽中最喜歡的事情就是在展覽中講述這裡展出的每套作品背後的故事。 我喜歡在這裡給人們親身體驗，並親自向他們展示每一組。 我看到他們很興奮，這也讓我很興奮。
What is your favorite Lego set?
你最喜歡的樂高套裝是什麼？
All the Lego sets that I have created are my favorite. They all each tell a story and each one means something to me. I like the Hsi Fang Temple set because it was my first creation and I had a lot of fun putting it together. I learn a lot about the temple and Buddhism from working on this set. I also like the food-based ones because I love all my childhood food and it brings back a lot of memories of when I was in Taiwan. I also like the Taipei House and Hunan Chinese Restaurant sets because I was able to incorporate my family in my creation as well. My mom with her garden, my dad also fixing things, my aunt cooking up a banquet feast, my sister working at the restaurant, and other people who I have grown up with. It brings back a lot of memories.
我製作的所有樂高套裝都是我的最愛。 他們每個人都講述了一個故事，每個人都對我有意義。 我喜歡西方寺的佈景，因為這是我的第一個創作，我把它放在一起玩得很開心。 我從這個系列的工作中學到了很多關於寺廟和佛教的知識。 我也喜歡以食物為基礎的食物，因為我喜歡我所有的童年食物，它讓我想起了我在台灣時的很多回憶。 我也喜歡台北之家和湖南中餐廳的套裝，因為我也能夠將我的家人融入我的創作中。 我的媽媽和她的花園，我的爸爸也在修理東西，我的正在準備一場盛宴，我的姐姐在餐廳工作，還有其他和我一起長大的人。 它帶回了很多回憶。
Can you tell us about this year’s (2023 Year of the Rabbit) setup?
你能告訴我們今年(2023 兔年)的設置嗎？
This is the second year we have these Lego sets on display. I expanded some of the existing sets and added new sets to the display. This year the display is divided into three different sections: the Lunar New Year sets, the University Heights Lunar New Year street parade, and the diorama sets. The Lunar New Year sets are scenes from different Asian festivals from throughout the year, not just the new year. It’s used to showcase how people celebrate those festivals. The University Heights Lunar New Year street parade has the Hsi Fang Temple sets along with some new sitcom buildings I build for this year. It’s setup as a street parade to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Finally, we got the diorama sets. They are smaller sets but just as interesting as some of the other sets. Each is setup to tell some kind of a story.
這是我們第二年展出這些樂高套裝。 我擴展了一些現有的集合併向顯示添加了新的集合。 今年的展覽分為三個不同的部分：農曆新年佈景、大學高地農曆新年街頭遊行和立體模型佈景。 農曆新年場景是全年不同亞洲節日的場景，而不僅僅是新年。 它用於展示人們如何慶祝這些節日。 University Heights 農曆新年街頭遊行有西方寺佈景以及我今年建造的一些新情景喜劇建築。 它被設置為慶祝農曆新年的街頭遊行。 最後，我們得到了西洋鏡佈景。 它們是較小的集合，但與其他一些集合一樣有趣。 每一個都被設置為講述某種故事。
How did you come up with the University Heights street parade display for this year?
你是怎麼想出今年University Heights街頭遊行展示的？
This year I completed a number of buildings, 3 sitcom buildings and the Hsi Fang Temple adjacent building. I decided to put all the buildings together to form a street. Since it’s the Lunar New Year, I decides to hold a street parade to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Also this year, Lego came out with a Lunar New Year parade float set so it was perfect. I added the iconic University Heights sign and the blue street lights to showcase the University Heights neighborhood as well.
今年我完成了一些建築，3座情景喜劇建築和西方寺相鄰建築。 我決定把所有的建築物放在一起形成一條街道。 既然是農曆新年，我決定舉行一次街頭遊行慶祝農曆新年。 同樣在今年，樂高推出了農曆新年遊行花車套裝，非常完美。 我添加了標誌性的 University Heights 標誌和藍色路燈來展示 University Heights 社區。
What is your future plans with this exhibit?
您對這次展覽的未來計劃是什麼？
I like to expand upon the University Heights Neighborhood theme. I want to make this bigger and see if I can add even more unique features or even some real local business buildings. I also want to build a bigger version of the Hsi Lai Temple, the Buddhist Light Temple in LA. The one I have current on display is very small and don’t showcases of of the things I wanted to tell in my story.
我喜歡擴展 University Heights Neighborhood 主題。 我想把它做得更大，看看我是否可以添加更多獨特的功能，甚至是一些真正的本地商業建築。 我還想在洛杉磯建造一個更大版本的西來寺，佛光寺。 我目前展示的那個非常小，沒有展示我想在故事中講述的內容。