A Japanese colonial-era home where calligrapher Tai Ching-nung (臺靜農) lived after he moved to Taipei in 1946 is to be preserved, after initial plans to destroy it drew strong protest, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs said on Friday.
The building is to be converted into a memorial for Tai after a motion to preserve it was on Friday unanimously passed by the department’s 17-member cultural heritage committee.
The building, which is on property owned by National Taiwan University (NTU), where Tai was a faculty member, would not be quietly destroyed by the school, NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) told a news conference at the school to allay public concerns.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
Tai was head of NTU’s Chinese-language department for 20 years, during which he made great contributions to the university, Kuan said.
In 1984, Tai won the National Literature and Art Achievement Award along with author Liang Shih-chiu (梁實秋), and in 1985 Tai won the Executive Yuan Cultural Award.
Tai originally lived in another Japanese-style building on the campus, but was later required to move for administrative purposes.
However, the original building Tai lived in has already been demolished, the university said.
Although Tai only lived at the remaining building for six months, it is the only building left with a history tied to Tai and therefore it would be preserved, Kuan said, adding that it would be converted into a space where people could learn about Tai’s literature and history, as well as his influence on the university and literature.
Tai’s former residence is not only a building, but an asset belonging to all Taiwanese, an NTU Student Association representative told the cultural heritage committee meeting.
The association hopes to participate in any decision regarding how the building is used, the representative said.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), who is an NTU alumna, said that the building should be recognized not just as a cultural heritage site, but also as a place of historical interest.
The additional recognition would empower the university to dedicate resources for it to be appropriately preserved, she said.
However, pressed on the issue, only three of the 17-member committee voted in favor of additional recognition for the site.
Department of Cultural Affairs Deputy Director Tien Wei (田瑋) said that recognition of the site as a memorial is still significant, as it was tied to an individual of historical interest.
Tien said that he would ask the university to draft a plan for the building’s restoration and use.
The university would be fined under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) if it does not come up with a plan for the site, or if it attempts to demolish it, he said.
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