Taiwan blacksmith turns Chinese artillery shells into knives

In a contemporary twist on beating swords into ploughshares, Taiwanese blacksmith Wu Tseng-dong has forged a career fashioning kitchen knives from Chinese artillery shells once fired at his home. Known locally as “Maestro Wu”, his workshop on the island of Kinmen — which lies just two miles from the Chinese mainland — is a vivid reminder of the threat of war continually hanging over Taiwan. Beijing views the self-ruled democracy as its own…