Weighing pros and cons:Faced with this question, the Chinese architectural scholar Wang Chen-hua responds that many specific questions need to be answered. He by no means opposes dealers buying up these precious old houses which are just hidden away and are perhaps so rickety that they are not considered by local antiquities specialists as being worth preserving.
But in fact there are many unscrupulous operators who will even convince poor people to destroy their old homes or altars just so they can get their hands on the merchandise. "Trampling on history in this way is an incredible crime," he says with deep regret. In order to acquire a few superficially beautiful objects, we shake the very customs, and even the living environment, of a society. Today the old mores and values of mainland Chinese are being swept away, and you cannot say that the way we do some things is not connected and that we bear no responsibility for it.
It is just as Liu Liang-you concludes: "To import mainland antiques without any scruples concerning how you do it, on the one hand just supports the corrupt officials and rich smugglers on the mainland, and on the other destroys the environment of Chinese culture. How can you call this the preservation of Chinese culture?"
Further, although antique furniture is mobile, it is also an ingredient in architecture. If the furniture is removed, valuable historic sites will become empty shells. "I went to Canglangting and discovered that the furniture inside was all wrong, so that a noble and elegant place had bizarre and misplaced furnishings," adds Wang Chen-hua.
Nevertheless, as it is true that controls and protective legislation for artifacts have not yet had the desired effect in mainland China, "taking the worst case scenario, if these things can be brought to Taiwan and given tender loving care, it's OK that they come over first," says Wang. He notes with exasperation that he has seen exquisite window frame carvings used as fences for pigsties or as warehouse doors because of the Cultural Revolution. He agrees that these artifacts are not being well cared for in the mainland.
Though the mainland does not treasure these objects, is it likely they will meet the same fate in Taiwan? Now that it has fallen to us, in our short lifespan of mere decades, to look after this old furniture that has been passed from generation to generation, surviving fire, flood, and manmade disasters like the Cultural Revolution, what should we do?
As an avalanche of antique furniture is transported across the Taiwan Strait, this is the new conundrum to which we will have to furnish the answer.
[Picture Caption]
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After contact with the mainland became legal, the flood of traditional cultural artifacts flowing out along the long coastline could not be stemmed. Taiwanese have the good fortune to live amid beautiful antique furniture .
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Antique furniture is brought to Taiwan in container after container. The photo shows antiques specialists doing an inspection at the customs station.
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Total Amount of Antiques Imported from Mainland China and Hong Kong
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It became popular for the restaurant industry to use Taiwan folk products to create a nostalgic atmosphere. This was the first stage in a return to the past among people in Taiwan.
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This show apartment in Tamshui is aimed at attracting the social strata of elevated tastes and even more elevated incomes, with the layout done in antique furniture. (photo by Yeh Yao-hung)
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Wang Shih-hsiang, an expert in Ming dynasty furniture, advises that patterns and embellishments are the best basis for verifying antique furniture. Based on the patterns in these pieces, they ought to be from the late Ming.
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Carved wooden windows and door frames torn off old houses in mainland China have been brought to Taiwan where they have become beloved among the decorating industry. The tables in these restaurants are made using such items.
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Wood carvings on window frames have been made into a variety of wall hangings to beautify rooms.
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Looking at old paintings is helpful for researching antique furniture. The photo shows a Sung dynasty painting held by the National Palace Museum. (photo courtesy of the National Palace Museum)
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During the Cultural Revolution in mainland China, many old artifacts were mutilated. The face of the figure at the right has been cut away.