Progress is fine, but it has its costs. In Taiwan, as the traditional agricultural society has been gradually transformed into an industrial and business community, traditional Chinese houses have been replaced by western-style high rises. Today, since the dismantling of the Lin family complex in Panchiao, the only ancient house with five courts stands at Chiatung Village in Pingtung County on the southern tip of the island. It belongs to a Hakka family named Hsiao who have been in Taiwan more than two centuries.
The Hsiao's did well in Taiwan, and after they became rich from brewing wine, dyeing cloth and bargaining in rice and crops, they decided to construct a house similar to their old home in Mei County of Kwangtung Province. The project was conceived at some time in the mid-nineteenth century, but because all materials had to come from the mainland, First by ship, then from Anping Harbor by oxcart to a place called Tungkang and finally to Chiatung Village, construction was not completed until 1872.
The house the Hsiaos built had its origins in China's historical architecture. Though records show that Chinese architecture had considerable development before the Chin and Han Dynasties, it was only after the Tsin Dynasty, founded in 265 A.D., that two main styles based on differences of terrain, climate and construction materials began to develop. In the north of China, solid and durable construction materials and strict construction patterns were the order of the day. In the south, materials allowing for good ventilation and a freer format led to a distinctive southern style. Some people say that these two styles reflect the personalities of the people of southern and northern China. Northerners like to think they are more straightforward, upright and chivalrous, while southerners value grace and gentleness. As Taiwan's settlers were chiefly from Fukien and Kwangtung, their houses reflected the southern style.
To go into more detail, there are five characteristics of Chinese southern style architecture. First, most houses are placed north to south to take advantage of prevailing winds. Second, ridgepoles are round instead of rectangular, and decoration is emphasized. Third, buttresses are constructed from red tiles instead of green-gray tiles. Fourth, courts recede in depth rather than being organized around a central courtyard, and wings are often added. Fifth, to lessen the impact of earthquakes and typhoons, houses are usually one-storied, featuring low ceilings, narrow gates, and solid buttresses. The Hsiao family house has all of these features, and one can hardly doubt that a "mainland master" was imported to supervise its construction.
The Hsiao family house is the most prominent structure in Chiatung village. In front is a small stream trickling by. Banyan trees and bamboos are planted along its banks.
As you enter the first court, you will see the ancestral room decorated with Hsiao ancestral portraits on its four walls and an armchair with a curved back placed for the convenience of senior members of the family. Gates in the center and both sides of the hall open the way to other parts of the house.
The patio between the first and second courts is paved with red tiles except for the passage in the middle. Plants are placed on both sides of this court. The walls separating the court from the wing attached to it are cut by four poetic looking windows and by doors patterning after the "pa kua," the famous eight trigrams supposed by the Chinese to help in diagnosing events and fortunes.
On the beam of the doorway leading to the second court are inscribed three big characters "Chin Yeh Tang" literally meaning "hall of hard work." This room holds ancestral tablets, and incense burner and a pair of couplets. The couplet on the right says: "Considering the diligence and austerity practised by our ancestors, we must always remember how difficult it is to get a meal." The couplet on the left says: "Posterity must bear in mind to make a harmonious and orderly home and remember the importance of making both ends meet." The windows at the back of the second court are carved with legendary figures, and the two doors standing in between are carved with four kinds of flowers - peony, plum, lotus and chrysanthemum.
Corridors constructed on both sides of the courtyard connecting the second and third courts provide sheltered walkways on rainy days. Pa kua doors lead to the wings, and plants are placed to give a green touch. On the doors are written two adages: "To do good is the greatest pleasure." "Never lag behind in cultivating virtue." The four doors opening to the main hall of this court are painted with fairy tales. This court was overhauled during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, and the pillars and walls are constructed from stones available locally. Religious images are also placed in this hall.
The patio between the third and fourth courts is a closed unit, because no doors open on the wings. This court is more original and primitive than the first three because no painting, calligraphy, or other decoration can be found. This room's basic purpose was to store bulk grains and agricultural implements.
The spacious last patio of the complex serves as a place to dry grains. It was added on during the Japanese occupation and thus looks no different than other ordinary village buildings.
A bird's eye view of the complex shows that the pattern and structure of each court are different. The roofs of the buildings also decrease in height with the descending significance of their occupants. The highest building is the fourth court, followed by the third, the second and first. Unlike the roofs, the patios decrease in size from the first to the third, and then become spacious again in the fourth. The structure thus shows rhythmical variations. In general, each court consists of a main hall and two side rooms, flanked by wings on both sides. The roofs of the wings are lower than those of the main hall. The simple interior furniture of the Hsiao family complex is painted in red and black. The roof has a horseback shape, and a bamboo curtain hangs on each door.
Outside the fifth court, separate but related, stand the remnants of three small houses. It is said that when the Manchu court ceded Taiwan and the Penghus to Japan in 1895, a severe fight occurred. More than a hundred local residents were killed and the village burned. The three small houses probably met their fate at that time. However, on one of them can be seen a swallowtail roof, a style restricted to the residences of officials, so one of the Hsiao family must have won honors in a national exam to have been entitled to it. Nothing else remains except crumbling walls on which still can be seen sculptures and red tiles.
The Hsiao family complex covers an area of 1,340 ping, and in its prime could accommodate more than one hundred people. Members of the Hsiao family made outstanding contributions in scholastic and political circles for more than a century, but with the development of industry and commerce and the flight of people to the city, the family lost its former greatness. At present, only ten families related to the Hsiaos still occupy the quarters. Visitors can often see women sitting in a circle on the patio knitting sweaters, cleaning vegetables, and hobnobbing with each other. Sometimes an old grandma can be seen sitting by a cradle humming a lullaby. The leisurely and pleasant air of rural villages in old China can still be sensed here.
Sad to say, the rooms in the right wing between the fourth and fifth courts became so dilapidated that they were torn down a few years ago, and replaced by a two story western-style building. Every year, on Tomb Sweeping Day, members of the Hsiao family return to worship their ancestors. Some family members have begun to worry about the future of their ancestral home and have begun to make serious plans to maintain and overhaul it so that it won't fall victim to the ravages of time. Given this spirit, the Hsiao family complex may be around for a long while.
[Picture Caption]
1 & 3. The Hsiao Family Complex, the only house in Taiwan with five courts, situated at Chiatung Village in Pingtung County near the southern tip of the island. 2. The horseback-shaped roof is decorated with a row of urns.
1. Plants are placed in the courtyard between the second and third courts, to give a touch of greenery to the old house. 2. The main hall of the first court is decorated with Hsiao ancestral portraits. 3. A pa kua(eight trigram) gate and a window lie between the patio and the wing of the building.
1. A room in the second court contains ancestral tablets. 2. A bedroom in the Hsiao family complex used to be a bridal chamber. 3. Children use the old pump in the courtyard of the house. 4. Women chat to each other as they clean vegetables to capture the leisurely and pleasant atmosphere of rural villages in ancient China.
The horseback-shaped roof is decorated with a row of urns.
The Hsiao Family Complex, the only house in Taiwan with five courts, situated at Chiatung Village in Pingtung County near the southern tip of the island.
The main hall of the first court is decorated with Hsiao ancestral portraits.
A pa kua（eight trigram） gate and a window lie between the patio and the wing of the building.
A pa kua（eight trigram） gate and a window lie between the patio and the wing of the building.
A room in the second court contains ancestral tablets.
A bedroom in the Hsiao family complex used to be a bridal chamber.
Children use the old pump in the courtyard of the house.
Women chat to each other as they clean vegetables to capture the leisurely and pleasant atmosphere of rural villages in ancient China.
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