Taiwan Mandarin ！

Interesting Mandarin Reading! What does 參先生 in Lukang make? Bags and drink cup sleeves from the leftover fabric of clothing production, so every piece is a different color.

一句話簡介 Intro in a Sentence

他們用做衣服剩下的布，做成袋子跟杯套。

文章 The Text

在鹿港，有一間小小的工作室，叫做「參先生」。

他們去收集工廠剩下的布。這些布，通常會被丟掉，變成垃圾。但是「參先生」不想浪費，所以他們用剩下的布，做成別的東西。

他們做袋子，也做飲料杯的杯套。每一個袋子的顏色都不一樣，因為每一塊布也都不一樣。

我去他們的工作室看的時候，覺得很喜歡。這些袋子不只是環保而已，也很好看，每一個都不一樣，很特別。

老闆說，他們想讓大家知道，垃圾也可以變成有用的東西，只要你願意花一點時間。

我聽了以後，覺得這個想法很簡單，但是很有意義。

單字 The Words

中文	Pinyin	English
工作室	gōng zuò shì	studio, workshop
剩下	shèng xià	leftover, remaining
布	bù	cloth, fabric
丟掉	diū diào	to throw away
浪費	làng fèi	to waste
袋子	dài zi	bag
杯套	bēi tào	cup sleeve
環保	huán bǎo	eco-friendly
有用	yǒu yòng	useful
有意義	yǒu yì yì	meaningful

翻譯 The Translation

In Lukang, there’s a small studio called “Mr. San.”

They collect the fabric which is left over from factories. Normally, this fabric would get thrown away and become trash. But “Mr. San” didn’t want to waste it, so they use the leftover fabric to make other things instead.

They make bags, and cup sleeves for drinks. Every bag is a different color, because every piece of leftover fabric is different.

When I visited their studio, I really liked it. These bags aren’t just eco-friendly — they also look great, and every single one is unique.

The owner said they want people to know that trash can become something useful, as long as you’re willing to spend a little time on it.

Hearing that, I thought it was a simple idea, but a meaningful one.

Notice This

• 不只是…而已 — 不只是環保而已 = “not just eco-friendly.” Same 不是/不只…而已 family as “not just X.”
• 只要…就 — 只要你願意花一點時間 = “as long as you’re willing to spend a little time.” A very common conditional pattern.
• 剩布, not 邊角料 — Taiwan workshops talk about leftover fabric casually as 剩布, a simple everyday word rather than an industrial term.

Try It Yourself

用「只要…，就…」寫一句話，說說看什麼事情只要你願意花時間，就會變得不一樣。

Try writing one sentence using “只要…，就… (as long as…, then…)” about something that changes if you’re willing to put a little time into it.