Maybe somebody will have a question about ‘What are the relationships between architecture and river?’ Fluvial sediments became the material of architecture, the shape of the river determined urban layout and political boundaries. Where there is a river, there are bridges, people passing over the bridge, from walking, carriage, sedan chair to now on’s intensive motorcycle under Taipei Bridge. River is like a picture scroll, portraying the history that has been forgotten by people.
Three hundred years ago, there was a man called Yu Yung He, took the boat rowed by indigenous along the strange rapids, accompanied by some voices that he does not understand, came to Taiwan for finding sulfur. He realized the attraction of this island. After three hundred years, we also go along this strange but familiar Tamsui River. It combined everyone’s power, linked all cultural heritage.
Tetralogy of cultural heritage connection: First, pack the baggage ‘Gu Ji Yi Sheng Wai Jhen Jhong, Mian Fei Jian Jhen Song Dao Jia’ The special point of our patients is they cannot move. The first patient that we visited was Chiang Pu Ting Ancestral Hall, which is located in Banqiao. The Chiang family was the first Han Chinese reclaim the Banqiao land, it is so old, we helped it do the health check, the senior doctor led the junior doctor climb up the roof, measure and record the hall’s height and weight, then explain the hall’s current state to its descendants, and let them know how to preserve it.
Second, ‘Monument’s Doctor Interning, Masters’ Works Deliver to Your Home’ We came to Chong De Jyu, which is located in Sanchong. There was a wonderful story behind the scenes: The craftsman of wooden structure married the owner’s daughter, form a builder turned into a family member, he and the craftsman of fragmented ceramic cutting also be like brothers. Affection and Friendship made the craft of this architecture. Through the existent remains, we can learn and record the inheritance of craftsmanship, this is the affection of being a member of the department of Architecture Art Conservation.
Third, ‘Monument’s Doctor Practicing, Masters Call the Shots’ Technique makes Art, students of the department of Architecture Art Conservation observe predecessor’s skillful technique. Also, they improve their techniques from professional teachers. To coordinate with this plan, we held some workshops, to let the public get a taste of these traditional techniques. Through these workshops, we had the chance to experience the spirit of those professional teachers, paying attention to every heartbeat of each work of art. The grand building will be recorded in history and passed down by the hands of those great craftsmen.
Fourth, ‘Gu Ji Gu Ji Lai Chih Ji, Cultural Heritage Preservation Needs Us’ This plan also cooperated with the new graduates of the department of Architecture Art Conservation, they held an exhibition in Lukang, called ‘Ni Yao Yi Fen You Gu Ji, Hai Shih Yi Fen Chyu Gu Ji’, the pronunciation of it is same as the slogan of Taiwanese salty chicken hawker, take this to raise public’s awareness about monuments’ maintain or remove. Besides exhibited the traditional craftworks, new graduates also redrew the traditional auspicious patterns in a cute style, and then coordinate with the games, let the participants increase their parent-child interaction and the knowledge of cultural heritage preservation. Thank you for everyone’s coming and share the story of each architecture with us.
As a member of the department of Architecture Art Conservation, there was an unknown responsibility to keep developing in my heart, these techniques and arts are from generation to generation, not marked in the written form. Human's thought, emotion, and hope are still flowing like a river, never the same, sometimes tender, sometimes surge, sometimes quiet, whatever which form of it, it lingered in our memory, never leave. In this collaboration plan of the students and teachers in the department of Architecture Art Conservation, they used various way to open the conversation with the historic architecture, translate historic architecture’s language through specific methods, to find out the story that gradually forgetting and share it to the public, let it can keep in the future. Finally, thank you to everyone who participated in this plan sincerely. There is a canvas called Culture of River, painted you’re your memory and ours.