Thu, Dec 30, 1999 page4

• A century of culture in review

  ANTHOLOGY The National History Museum has recently published a three-volume anthology covering over 100 years of cultural development in Taiwan and China

  • By Monique Chu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Architecture is rarely, if ever, cited as a strong point in Taiwan's cultural landscape, but one architect has invested much of the past three years chronicling the development of Taiwan's architecture from 1895 to the present.

  Huang Jian-min (黃健敏) contributed his research to a three-volume series released today by the National History Museum outlining Taiwan, China's and the world's cultural development over the past 100 years.

  Over 50 specialists were invited by the museum to contribute to the series that analyzes cultural development in each area's political, economic and geographic contexts.

  

  The director of the National History Museum, Huang Kung-nan, holds up a new three-volume anthology of cultural history yesterday.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Participating authors in the project said they hoped the work will serve as a cultural imprint for future generations.

  Lin Shu-hsin (林淑心), a curator at the museum as well as the editor-in-chief of Chinese Culture Centenary, conceded the undertaking only began to scratch the surface of the topic.

  "We've made an effort to look back at the past hundred years. But actually we've only started to ask some questions which, hopefully, may ignite further discussion among the public," Lin said.

  The three-volume anthology -- titled separately Taiwan Culture Centenary, Chinese Culture Centenary and World Culture Centenary -- provide in-depth research and critique on a wide-range of topics, such as art, history, archaeology and museums as cultural repository.

  In the Taiwan Culture Centenary anthology, research topics include a survey of important cultural policies in Taiwan, a review of Taiwanese art, profiles on city gods, as well as a survey of Taiwan's indigenous peoples.

  Due to the project's grandiose ambitions, however, the project was not managed as smoothly as hoped, insiders admitted.

  Mai Feng-chiu (麥鳳秋), author of "A Comparative Study on the Environments and Styles of Calligraphy in Taiwan and Mainland China within the Past 50 Years" included in the anthology, said she was driven by her "fascination with the beauty of calligraphy" to work on the project that ultimately yielded limited financial rewards.

  "I spent about NT$1 million on the project to ask five professors in China to help me collect books and materials, to hire students help me arrange materials and to make personal trips to China," Mai said.

  Lin said she earned about NT$25,000 from the project.

  Funding shortages also prevented the museum from hosting a related symposium following the release of the anthology, staffers at the museum said.

  But participants like Mai said they were driven by "a sense of mission" to carry out the project.

  "Some said my investment in the project is out of proportion to the rewards I can get. But I was still willing to carry out the project because I consider it helpful to future generations," she said.

  Huang said he hoped the chronology presented in his paper "A Survey of Taiwanese Archi-tecture" would help readers view Taiwanese architecture as symbols and vehicles for a wide range of cultural influences.

  One example provided in his article is how American aid to Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s changed the way local architecture firms drew their sketches and blueprints, Huang said.

  "They [referring to local architects] followed the American model for blueprints instead, and such an influence is still present nowadays," he said.

  Huang also cited modern buildings that emerged in Taipei in the 1990s, such as the World Trade Center and the Arora Headquarters as examples of how foreign architecture firms have helped transform the architecture of the city.

  On the part of the museum, director Huang Kuang-nan (黃光男) said 70 percent of the anthology's authors were curators at the museum and that the project provided an opportunity for them to carry out broad research, which will in turn help the museum carry out the its role as an educational center.

  "It's a great pity if a museum only serves as a site for exhibits," Huang said. "And my staffers' efforts [in the project] show that our museum also pays attention to research work. It's not just a place where exhibitions are held."
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