Cultural Values In Wood And Stone

Cultural Values In Wood And Stone

Penulis: Tseng Li-ling
Sumber: Free China Review, Desember 1988, hlm. 36-47.

"June 1977, Ta-an District, Taipei. Time had been set for expanding Tunhua South Road into a 70-meter wide tree-planted avenue, turning it into one of Taipei's major north-south roads by the following year. By this time, normal procedures concerning purchasing land in the right-of-way, removing buildings and other obstacles, and overall construction planning were either completed or well underway. City planners expected more than an attractive thoroughfare from all their efforts. Along both sides of the proposed route of Tunhua Road, the area looked especially promising for upscale urban development. ... But Taipei residents were thinking more about the past than the present when considering the planned route for Tunhua South Road. In the midst of the area to be cleared stood a unique home, located at 141 Ssuwei Road—a residence noted not only because of its age 150 years, but also because it represented a major chapter in the history of Taipei, and of Taiwan itself. For residents with a keen sense of the past, and a concern about historical preservation for the sake of their own children, the Lin An-tai Old Homestead brought floods of memories to mind: recent recollections of children playing in the home's large courtyard, and earlier ones of rice drying in scattered piles on the large flagstone area, fronted by an exquisitely-carved gate and beneath the swallowtail roofline."