Taiwan National Center for Traditional Arts

I'm a terrible blogger. Not only are these pictures at least six months old but, well they are six months old. At any rate, one of our stops while in Taiwan was the National Center for Traditional Arts.

Home to a Wu Ching sculptural commission which our friends said we could not miss. It was called “Country Sentiment” (Endless Proliferation) and while no photos were allowed, I had to share this artists magnificent work, crafted entirely of gold. I suggest you look at the artist's website to really appreciate the detail.

Now for my own photos from around the National Center for Traditional Arts.The main area is full of shops selling traditional crafts and snacks. The architecture is made to look like a Taiwanese street during the Victorian period. I loved the paved street with brick insets.

 One of the exhibition buildings. On the other side of the railing was a sunken koi pond. I just thought it would make a beautiful house of all things!

 Interior display of reproduced traditional painting for a temple.

 So this is actually the food court... but again, just admiring the architecture and integrated garden courtyard.

Traditional candy-making - it was so fun to watch!

photos by me, please credit if you borrow, thanks!

Cypress Furniture

Sorry for such an absence. I was organizing my photos this afternoon and I found quite a bit that I wanted to share. While we were in Taipei, Taiwan last fall we visited a friend of a friend (follow that?) who collects cypress.

The horizontal trunk in the background is actually hollowed six feet in the center.

This piece was on a rotating podium - just beautiful! I am told the knots are from the tree weathering storms, housing nests and growing precariously on a cliff side. Often the ones that have the "easy life" in the forest are smooth while these knotted ones are cherished for their unique markings. 

 Sorry for the rough photos, I just had a point and shoot with me for the trip. The "sculpture" below was my favorite piece.
 

He had several stories of furniture, trunks, statues, etc. Often time he makes or preserves these pieces himself. Some are even made of trunks that are hundreds of years old, or so he tells me! The trees have all fallen naturally as such ancient forests are preserved by the government. He was telling me that Taiwan is very strict in their preservation. He has traveled to Japan frequently because the Japanese government is even more strict in their attempts to preserve virgin forest lands. His personal obsession has grown so much that Taiwan just awarded him "museum" status to preserve his collection so he can open it to the public.

photos by me, please credit if you borrow, thanks!

the lee teng-fang house

While in Taiwan, we toured the  Lee Teng-Fang Archaic Mansion in Daxi, Taoyuan. Our hosts know I love a good house tour! The main house was built around 1860. The original owner was the son of a wealthy merchant who devoted his life to scholarship. Apparently between 1856 and 1868, he passed a series of examinations to become a high ranking official - Jiachuan Neigezhongxu. He commissioned the house to commemorate his ascension and achievement. ref

The house itself had some beautiful details and luckily our host hired a wonderful tour guide to explain many of them. She was so thorough in explaining all the details so I'll try to remember as much as I can despite this pregnancy brain.  This is the rear facade off the courtyard. The tour guide explained that the roof shape is meant to look like the horns of a dragon. As if the dragon is crouching over and protecting the house.

Standard bearer, or base for displaying the flags. There was some language barriers but I believe the guide said, thanks to my lovely translator, that the symbols were of his position within the government. I wish I had better pictures of the plants in the courtyard, there were a few pear trees, Apparently they are a symbol of welcoming.

 The guide also said that the wings would be added continually as the family grew. However these brick buildings, in contrast to the white plaster, were original. Additionally the two styles are representative of two local communities in Daxi at the time. The brick buildings are common in Shaoan Hakka architecture, if I remember correctly. And the white plaster walls are more indicative of local craftsmen native to Taiwan. I noticed the plaster buildings, being more living quarters for family than showplaces of the central house, seems brighter, perhaps because the sunlight was reflecting off of adjacent outer walls.

this image is from here, the rest are mine

The guide also explained that the doorways were built with these obstacles forcing you to look down as you stepped into the threshold, thus bowing your head.

Lovely details and carvings.

 Central courtyard replete with rain gutters that drained out to the pond adjacent to the house. The guide mentioned that in order to keep the drains clean they would employ turtles to eat any debris that may accumulate. What happens when a lazy turtle decides to lay down on the job? Apparently the popular remedy was to smoke him out!

 The house belonged to an official calligrapher so some of his original work is still prominently featured. This was painted in ink onto the plaster while is was still wet in a technique not unlike frescoes. 

Original kitchen stove with horizontal stone window slats to protect the cooks from invaders and robbers but still allow for the passage of dishes. The guide made an interesting point that in Feng Shui the window slats should be an even number for horizontal windows while an odd number for vertical windows.

Beautiful brick and tile details. I love the teal glaze on the vents.

 

Original courtyard well. Much like Georgian design, there was a false well adjacent to achieve a sense of balance - all in the name of Feng Shui.

 Cat holes and tunnels for natural pest control.

The gallery.

Incidentally while the tour guide worked for the local government, her family has owned a famous tofu house for generations. So after the tour we were treated to some unique tofu varieties. Architecture then food, my kind of tour!

All photos by me, please credit if you plan to share, thanks!

orchid bonanza

As promised, finally posting some Taiwan photos! While our trip was very brief, we had some very gracious hosts who planned all kinds of amazing activities. One of my favorites was touring Kin Shins Orchids, an award winning orchid grower. And with good reason!

The arrangement's true size.

And their very serious trophy case.

 

All photos by me, please credit if you plan to share, thanks!