Red Brick

Brick is the soul of traditional Taiwanese architecture. The fascination that painters and photographers have with portraying country houses must largely be due to that deep, familiar red. As master painter Yang San-lang has pointed out, nothing quite bears looking at as well as the brick walls of an old house set off against the multitudinous hues of green that spread out year-round from branches all over the island's south.

Bricks are made from clay. Rich in clay and in acacia trees that can be used for charcoal, Taiwan is ideally suited for brickmaking. Except for the Penghu Islands, Keelung in the north, and the southern peninsula, where sandstone is favored, traditional buildings around the island are chiefly brick.

Earth can be shaped in many ways, and the flexibility of brick has been skillfully exploited by generations of masons. Witness the brick-laying patterns on pages 52-3, expressing effects from heavy solidity to dynamic order. Brick shapes are too numerous to list, from square floor slabs to tortoise forms symbolizing longevity to octagons that can be arranged into the eight trigrams from the Book of Changes.

Decorative brick offers further possibilities. Set off against green leaves, a round grid resembles a wreath of flowers (p. 54), while another, inlaid in a low wall, breathes the fresh air of a courtyard within (p. 55, below). Glazing can further accentuate an intricate design (p. 55, above).

Modernization has brought with it steel and concrete. The traditional red of brick is gradually withdrawing into the green of the forest. But bricks still pass through the hands of the women in the brick-kilns, and brick seals embossed with little red teapots still possess a flavor all their own.

Where can bricks still be found? Taking the train past Taoyuan, one suddenly discovers--the bricks have built for themselves houses. Wave after wave they stretch, chimneys rising bold and upright. Accompanying them is the rich green of the grass, the deep blue of the sky.

Earth can be shaped in many ways, and the flexibility of brick has been skillfully exploited by generations of masons. Witness the brick-laying patterns on pages 52-3, expressing effects from heavy solidity to dynamic order. Brick shapes are too numerous to list, from square floor slabs to tortoise forms symbolizing longevity to octagons that can be arranged into the eight trigrams from the Book of Changes.

Decorative brick offers further possibilities. Set off against green leaves, a round grid resembles a wreath of flowers （p. 54）, while another, inlaid in a low wall, breathes the fresh air of a courtyard within （p. 55, below）. Glazing can further accentuate an intricate design （p. 55, above）.

Decorative brick offers further possibilities. Set off against green leaves, a round grid resembles a wreath of flowers （p. 54）, while another, inlaid in a low wall, breathes the fresh air of a courtyard within （p. 55, below）. Glazing can further accentuate an intricate design （p. 55, above）.

Decorative brick offers further possibilities. Set off against green leaves, a round grid resembles a wreath of flowers （p. 54）, while another, inlaid in a low wall, breathes the fresh air of a courtyard within （p. 55, below）. Glazing can further accentuate an intricate design （p. 55, above）.

Decorative brick offers further possibilities. Set off against green leaves, a round grid resembles a wreath of flowers （p. 54）, while another, inlaid in a low wall, breathes the fresh air of a courtyard within （p. 55, below）. Glazing can further accentuate an intricate design （p. 55, above）.

Bricks are made from clay. Rich in clay and in acacia trees that can be used for charcoal, Taiwan is ideally suited for brickmaking. Except for the Penghu Islands, Keelung in the north, and the southern peninsula, where sandstone is favored, traditional buildings around the island are chiefly brick.