written by Luis
photographed by all activity staff
Nothing gets me more excited than visiting ancient dwellings in the Zuoying old settlement. This place is also called Fengshan Old Town since this is the place where it all started here in modern Kaohsiung City. It’s intriguing to see how people lived hundreds of years ago. These old houses speak volumes about their values and philosophy; and they’re in fact a gateway taking us on a journey back in time. Now that there’s no exact translation in English for such historical relics, we’ll just call them “old house” for the sake of simplicity; even though “historical house”, “old mansion” and the like can all be viewed as the same thing technically speaking. If you are interested in more content about this topic, please go to ourtown.tw and check out another coverage I’ve written called “Living in silk and satin–Opulent mansions of the Old Town.” Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, let’s go!
Getting ready for the walking tour
Team coordinators and speakers of the day: Arthur 2nd left, Bobby 3rd left, Summer 4th left, May 5th right at the back, and Jay 1st right
First Stop: The Yu Family’s Old House
by 梅伊
Yu Family ancient mansion is located in the1st district (一甲) in the old settlement of Zuoying, and it was built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. From this family came a military attaché as well as a former county magistrate, Yu Dengfa.
Why we call “一甲” , because it’s from the Japanese occupation era ,10 families form a 甲, it’s a unit to let the official to count how many families in this area, so they can calculate how many soldiers they can recruit.
We can see from the appearance of the house , it’s a Fujian style architecture, for example the roof is like the scale of the fish (Pic. 4) and there is a “山海鎮 lintel plaque hung at the entrance of the house. It was originally a feng shui treasure that can help control the house and turn evil into auspiciousness. It is common door lintels in Taiwan to expel evil spirits. It is connected by a mirror or a wooden sign, with five mountains and a sea painted on the head, which reads My home is like mountains and seas, and the rest has nothing to do with me. It means “My home has turned into a natural landscape, and any evil spirit will have no effect on my house.”
During the most prosperity period, there was a red brick pigsty aside the house. Livestock is a kind of their property; they need to keep an eye on it day and night.
There were even two deep wells. In an era of conservative thinking, water use must also comply with gender norms. The front left is called “dragon well”, which is normally used by men, and the front right is called “tiger well” for women only. We can feel the splendor of the ancient house and the full happiness.
In the 1950s Zuoying area was an entire agricultural land, and the main crop was “water chestnut” ; it was also a distribution center for peanuts. Back then, many shops around Zuoying old town went to Kaohsiung and Pingtung to purchase peanuts to sell them as processed goods. With industrial changes and urban renewal, all agricultural land was converted into construction land, and the number of peanut processing shops dwindled, with only a few still operating today. Yung Feng永豐peanut candy is the store that fit up its signboard in that time. It was found in this ancient house of the Yu family. Now the shop owner is the third generation, meanwhile in charge of keeping this old mansion.
At the Yu family old house with May
roof tiles resembling the scales of a fish
Second Stop: The Su Family’s Old House
by 林一成
Visit to the old house of Zuoying Old City to appreciate their value delivered and historical and cultural memories passed on.
Welcome you all and thank you for taking your time to get acquainted with the old houses in the Zuoying area. Your moves keep the value impact in wider scope and the buildup of memories for the future.
This is I-Chen and kindly please allow me to introduce you to the Su Family in the 2nd Zone (2甲) of Zuoying Old City. Fortunately, this Old House has been one of the somehow properly and proportionally conserved and is one of the 20-30 existing old houses nowadays. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that roughly 80% or more out of the original 150-200 units have been torn down to rebuild in modern use or just let them turn into ruins as the time went by for whatever reason, economic concern or disputes in ownership and…etc., rather than the culture and value preservation purpose.
Let me give you some background overview about the Su family. This old house was built in 1926 during the Japanese occupation period. It was a 5-open-section big house when built up. It goes with the so-called right and left arm of building for the family members and/or the younger generations to live in. Rather than an ordinary small house, that 5-open-section big house shows its wealth, prosperity and high social status.
What makes the Su Family influential enough in local 2甲 falls on its family inherited value and spirit. Their ancestors played a role of providing medical care for local residents as a doctor. However these were uncertified, informally trained physicians called “barefoot healers” ‘赤腳仙仔’. The name means a learn-by-nature doctor illustrated by extensive reading and studying at a time when a significant part of local people were illiterate (not acquainted with words and not being able to read). An old Chinese philosophical thought says clear the value of ‘Nothing is more important than learning (Studying) '萬般皆下品、唯有讀書高’. Such philosophy is passed down from generation to generation.
Why not take a glance at the building and you’ll be able to find out possible evidence to tell the inherited value of Su Family Old House now? Raise your hand and speak up to show us if you get it please. Yes, the Chinese brush pen indicates…what?
It tells the writing, words and implies knowledge acquisition as well as the intrinsic spirit of inner hearted tranquility and consistency. What about the fine stone wall and the shaved hexagonal limestones? Rather than thorny bamboo or mudbrick- or clod fence or wall of other resident houses, the fine limestone material used for the building you see shows the Su Family’ economic wealth at the time. Any other findings can prove the Su Family’s prosperity, anyone? Sure, the colored tiles named ‘Flower Tile’ do catch our eyes. The conventional hand-made and glaze firing through the process of heating temperature of 1000-1200 degree Celsius. The flower tiles at that time were extremely expensive imported goods and are no longer produced today. They are priceless treasures as well as cultural heritage. The flower tile craftworks with convex surfaces were originally from European countries such as Great Britain and France. However, they were mainly imported to Taiwan for building construction since 1900 from Awaji Island (淡路島), Japan (pic. 5). The localized tile design with symbolic sign like pomegranate (石榴), apple, peony(牡丹花), peach, representing conventional and everlasting meaning of more children offspring, peace, fortune and longevity. The flower tiles are thought to be gorgeous enough among the old houses in Zuoying Old City.
At the Su family’s old house. Notice the color tiles from Awaji, Japan.
Third Stop: The Ko Family’s Old House
by 夏天
Ko family came from Tung-An (同安縣) in Fujian province of China in early time. Their ancestors originally lived in Liu Chia (六甲), Tainan, when they came to Taiwan, and then moved to Zuoying to make a living.
Nowadays, their members in Zuoying are divided into 4 families. The oldest and second families live in the 2nd district(二甲), the rest live in the 3rd district(三甲) in Zuoying.
This particular old house is located in the 3rd district(三甲) area in Zuoying old settlement, and was built during the Japanese occupation period. There’s a plaque on the top of the door in the hall, this is common practice for famous and rich families. And it states the clan name of the family, Mei Kuei梅魁. Spring is the beginning of the year, and plum blossoms are the queen of all the flowers . Mei Kuei梅魁 means a family with many children, only girls but no boys. In the Chinese tradition, if there is no one who can continue the future generations, it’s just like a cold winter.
People hope spring comes soon, because it is the season when flowers bloom. They expected flowers to bloom like more and more sons.
Maybe time will change their views on men, but these prestigious big families will always hope that their descendants are great and successful in every generation.
at the Ko family’s with Summer
the “right arm” seems to be in shambles
Fourth Stop: The Huang Family’s Old House（part I）
by 巴比
You had seen the side door before you entered the old house. And its name reads “五福臨門” , which means “herald of all fortunes,” the family was obviously a wealthy one (Pic. 8). In addition, the name of the lintel plaque at the entrance indicates its owner might have been an adopted son.
The ancestor, named Huang Sih (黃仕), served as an official in charge of guarding 左營 Zuoying town in Chin dynasty. And then his later generation in Japanese-colonial period, Huang Wu Chiu (黃鳥秋) had three sons, Huang Tu (黃土), Huang Sih(黃仕) and Huang Hong (黃鴻). The Huangs were getting more and more influential because they ran a rice mill, grocery stores and transportation business of ox carts. Furthermore, they also played an important role in the area because of their position of borough leader.
We're so honored to see the current female owner, who is also one of the descendants of the family showing up here！
Fourth Stop: The Huang Family’s Old House（part II）
by Luis
According to the accounts given by the owner, their early ancestor arrived in the Old Town in the Qing dynasty as a member of the garrison stationed at the south gate of the city. During the Japanese colonial period, they were forced to relocate to the present location as a result of their property being commandeered by the government for military application. The scale and opulence of the old house reveals the prestige and social status that they enjoyed at that time. Throughout the years, the family was involved in many different local business activities such as rice dehusking mill, food grocery, ox cart transportation (namely “logistics” in modern terms), local sheriff or leader of the borough (保證), banking cooperative trustee, director of the water resource bureau, and more. And again, from the perspective of the era, all the above gives us an idea on how influential they were in the nearby area.
After walking around enjoying a feast for my eyes, we finally arrived in the 4th district to see one more spectacular timeless piece of art. Of all the houses we’ve visited today, this one is by far the largest. The main section of the house is built into two tiers with yet another patio in between. This time we only got to see the first tier; and even so, we were more than impressed by the decorations in every part of the house. The lower part of the facade displays a building technique called stuco-washing, a common practice of the time. A mixture of fine gravel and cement was applied to the surface of the wall, and before it was dry, a thin layer of cement was wiped off with a damp cloth to reveal the intricate beauty of the little pebbles arranged in random order. Above the windows were scrolls and paintings that conveyed the best wishes for the forthcoming generations: skill in calligraphy and art. This may not sound extraordinary in modern terms, but in those days, being able to write and possessing a good taste in art was a matter of utmost importance and priority. As for the doorposts and the lintel, granite was used in generous amounts. This displays superb luxury since such material could only be procured from China. And let alone the bricks that covered the walls, which are also imported from the other side of the strait. It seems that they couldn’t care less for the building budget, the message delivered through the extravagance was the only thing that really mattered.
Welcome to the Huang family’s old house
at the Huang’s with Bobby as the speaker. The lintel plaque indicates Mei Kuei梅魁
traditional floor tiles in the patio
a small detour to check out the rubbles and find details about building materials and techniques
Epilogue
Learning the history of these old houses was another way of learning the history of the Zuoying old settlement. In this day and age, education is full of alternatives, while some of them are still very old school, others are pretty cutting edge. Nothing compares to the experience lived in first person; furthermore, “walking into the book” is way better than just opening it. The tour provided everyone with an abundant harvest and first hand experience. Among the attendees were children and adults (pic. 12), audience and volunteer speakers as well. It was the best showcase in which the guests enjoyed just as much as the hosts. Thanks to the passion and effort that the speakers put into their stories, everyone present that day in some ways became the ambassadors of the nostalgic and silent past. Let’s hope next time more members from the audience would take over and lead a mini tour of their own. After all, this is exactly what the foreign language tour group was meant for, to combine your passion in history with the ability to speak another language. If you’re interested in what we do, please join us in this journey to keep ever growing. Contact us at ourtown.tw and make a change in your life.
Happy times for adults and children alike!
finishing their worksheet
Eureka!
