Post mainly existing architecture of Taiwan after 1945 but other visual arts including painting,drawing,horizontal graphics,photography,sculpture,urban /community designs,etc.will be included too.
Taiwan is a 37,000 square km Island,population 23,000,000,150Km east-south to the mainland of China.The average temperature of July is 27-28 C & 15 c in January,tropic climate in the southern part, subtropic climate in the northern part. The height of the tallest peak of its south-north going central mountain range is 3,997 m. Rivers are short in length,but fast drop rivers floors create profits to the build of hydraulic structures.tens of reservoirs have been erected since 1945. The Island is on the brink of Pacific seismic belt,and Tropical Typhoons mostly happen in-July,August,September and October.Habitants comprise of Han and ob-original ethnics the latter is believed to be Malay or Polynesian descendants.
Owing to the highly developed education,unification of common language and unified literacy,sophisticated vocational education,create a fertile earth for wealthy life and artistic creations.
A combination of Buddhism,Confucianism and Taoism is the main religion on the Island
Christianity,Catholics and Islam occupied 7% among the whole population.Temples, Shrines and sculptures of Buddha are scattered all over every places on the Island.
The Buddhism architecture,like other traditional architecture,are classified into palace style,non-palace style and miscellaneous.The timber frame of the first catalog have been replaced by reinforce concrete but the plans and other significant decorations still in old traditions.Such as greenish or sienna glazing tiles,curved segment roof ,ceramic & lithographic sculptures , reliefs of folk lore mythology figures,paintings of cloudy and sea weeds patterns along with narration of epic fictions.The singular or groups of temples complex that are at first to be erected in remote rural areas, but gradually enclosed up by the chasing steps of urbanization and finally become a part in the commercial markets of expended townships.
The non-palace style shrines are pitched-roofs ,brick wall constructions,elaborately or plainly decorated with paintings of religious tales, reliefs of quotations from doctrines,inscriptions,sayings of Confucian,....,etc.
Pagodas are smaller in size and not for scenic observation, Bell and drum towers,incense burners,paper tribute furnaces and portals of honorable are in conventional forms,but has more skillful craftsmanship. as the progress in manufacturing processes.the sameness will be find in the worshiping utensils too.
The churches of Christian and Catholic are conventional.,they are built after models from the missionary's homeland,with little alternations in size and change in appearance , are examples of Colonialism or
Post-Colonialism. in latter time,Eclecticism, rationalism , tradition Chinese and modernism churches
have been found in various cities.some are among street houses or in the neighborhood apartments.
Religious parties can collect great amount of fund from donation are used to erect school ,hospital & midway houses,...etc.The eleemosynary hands have been already reaching out into remote under-privileged villages & people in poverty.
Taipei City
Million years ago, Taipei was a swamp in the north part of Taiwan, surronded by small hills to the East, North and West. Rainfall rushed down from the hills carried sand, clay,pebble and rock to preceed the geological frowth movement, the accumulating sediment formed a river basin which spread over with brooks, streams and wildness. All untained water gathered into a major river that flowed along the west fringe of Taipei and entered the East Sea at Tamsui was so named Tamsui River.
In old time, traders from main land used to anchored their vessels by the piers along the east bank of the river. The sales of living mainteance and transactions between the passengers and original habitants flourished the settlement , brought wealth as well as prosperity to the immgrant. Houses were built with tile, timber and brick in the adaptation of skill and outlook of Chinese civilian dwellings, many were preserved by city government up to the present date. Lungshan Temple was a merit structure of this period.
