Artist revisits forgotten relief on Ximen’s famous Shizilin building

Artist revisits forgotten relief on Ximen’s famous Shizilin building

2026-05-14

Ximending is a must-go destination for any traveler to Taipei. Tucked within its bustling streets is the Shizilin Commercial Building, the site of many fond memories for generations of young Taiwanese. But have you noticed the relief sculpture on the outside wall? Called Golden Pearl Gathering Phoenixes, it’s the work of famed artist Hsieh Hsiao-te, personally commissioned by Shin Kong Group founder Wu Ho-su. Today, we’ll show you the secrets of this sculpture and learn its story.

Ma Sheng-chieh
FTV reporter
When walking around Ximending, you’ll almost certainly walk past the massive Shizilin Commercial Building at some point. But I bet you’re unfamiliar with this huge relief sculpture on the side.

This relief stretching up the wall is called Golden Pearl Gathering Phoenixes. The pearl in the center has long since lost its golden shine, just like the building itself. It used to be the heart of Ximending, but is now a shell of its former self.

Let’s go back to 1979, when the building had only been open for three months. The plaza in front of the sculpture was bustling with people. After 47 years, the place has lost its shimmer. The crowds have been replaced by crude stalls made of sheet metal. The phoenixes are now an abandoned ruin, neglected and forgotten.

This elderly man in a red hat is none other than the artist himself, 86-year-old Hsieh Hsiao-te.

Hsieh Yu-wei
Hsieh Hsiao-te’s son
He began with a curve, channeling all the energy into a single pearl as though stars are converging. The color of the pearl has faded. It used to be pure gold. The golden pearl is Shizilin, where people of note gathered like these phoenixes. It was extremely lively back then.

This is the artist’s son, Hsieh Yu-wei, who brought his father to visit his old work. Steeped in the art world since he was a child, Hsieh Yu-wei followed in his father’s footsteps. Besides excelling as a painter, he’s also a singer who won the 2004 Golden Melody Award for Best Hakka-language Singer.

Hsieh Yu-wei
Hsieh Hsiao-te’s son
I wanted to be like my dad and aspired to become an artist or an art teacher. My dad loved to listen to music while painting, and I would listen with him. So I eventually got a guitar and played around with it at home. In college I studied art, but I was also in a band.

This father and son duo have carved out a place for themselves in the art world. By sharing the story of the Shizilin relief, they can help revive the beauty of a forgotten time.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#ShizilinCommercialBuilding #Ximending #Ximen #Taipei #artist #artwork #HsiehHsiaote #HsiehYuwei #relief #reliefsculpture #phoenix #abandoned

西門町獅子林大樓外牆浮雕"金珠聚鳳" 出自謝孝德

2026-05-14

台北市的西門町，是許多外國朋友來台必訪的景點之一，而西門町裡的〝獅子林大樓〞，也是很多人年輕時的回憶，但您有注意過嗎？在大樓外牆，有一處大面積的浮雕，叫〝金珠聚鳳〞，這是知名藝術家〝謝孝德〞，47年前在新光集團創辦人吳火獅的委託下創作，今天帶您一起揭開它的神秘面紗，瞭解它的故事。

[[民視記者馬聖傑]]
“來到西門町逛街，大家一定都會經過有名的獅子林大樓，相信大家對旁邊的這一幅牆壁上的大型浮雕都不陌生。”

在牆上這面大大的浮雕，名稱就叫〝金珠聚鳳〞，中間的金珠，早就褪去了那原本金色的外衣，正如同現在的獅子林大樓，原本是西門町的心臟地區，如今成了三不管地帶。

時間倒回1979年，當時獅子林大樓才剛開門營業三個月，金珠聚鳳前的廣場人來人往，47年過去，這裡不若過往的風采，聚集的人潮，已經被鐵皮搭建的攤商所取代，金珠聚鳳彷彿像被丟在廢墟裡的一幅畫，乏人問津。

戴紅色毛帽的老先生，正是獅子林大樓外牆浮雕的創作者，86歲的謝孝德老師。

[[謝孝德兒子謝宇威]]
“他畫就是先畫一個弧度，所有的能量，眾星雲集，都聚集在這個金珠，那個金珠它已經褪色了，以前是純金色的。金珠就是獅子林，聚集了所有厲害的人物，聚鳳，鳳凰，所以當年這個地方是非常非常熱鬧的。”

當天帶著謝孝德老師，前往獅子林大樓的，是他的兒子謝宇威，在從小耳濡目染之下，跟隨父親腳步，踏上藝術這一條路，謝宇威除了擅長繪畫，還是歌手，曾經拿下2004年金曲獎最佳客語演唱人獎。

[[謝孝德兒子謝宇威]]
其實我本來想跟爸爸一樣，就立志要做一個繪畫工作者，或者是美術老師，這後來因為爸爸繪畫的時候，很喜歡聽音樂，也跟爸爸一起聽，所以後來就買個吉他，在家裡面隨便彈。後來大學念美術系，但是搞流行樂團。

謝孝德和謝宇威這一對父子，在藝術界各有一片天地，這一次透過獅子林大樓的浮雕，也讓大家重拾那一段被遺忘的美好時光。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
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