Architecture of Taiwan

The architecture of Taiwan can be traced back to

Republic of China in 1945 from Japan at the end of World War II, Chinese classical style became popular and entered into international mainstream as a postmodern design style. Today, Taiwanese architecture has undergone much diversification, every style of architecture can be seen.^[1]

Prehistory (−1621)

The architecture of prehistoric Taiwan saw structures ranging from

stone masonry. Primarily of Austronesian architecture.^[2]

An observational painting of a stilt house of one of the
plains indigenous peoples as depicted in Liu Shi Qi’s Taiwan Panorama Prints
(六十七兩采風圖合卷).

A stilt house of the
Truku people
Modern and traditional houses coexisting in present-day Tao settlement on Orchid Island

Cave dwelling

Prehistoric man made use of caves for their dwellings, and Taiwan's oldest known civilization is the

Bashian Caves in Changbin Township, Taitung County which is dated from between 5,500 and 30,000 years. The actual cave itself has a height of around ten meters

and can accommodate some ten persons.

Stilt housing

Spread over the vast prehistoric Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean areas, stilt houses vary greatly. In more recent times, Taiwanese aborigines make use of them for holding church meetings, as places to cool down and to hold ancestral activities. Apart from their cooling effect, stilt houses also have various functions such as avoiding miasma, dampness, flood, and insects and snakes from entering, it is also easier to construct.

Stone-slab housing

The Paiwan and Bunun peoples made houses using thatched roofing and made walls from stones. Homes of nobles were decorated with elaborate wood carvings. The special characteristics of such houses is that dark colored building materials help conceal the buildings in its environment and the layered use of rocks mimic the scales of the hundred pacer snake that they worship.^[3]

Aboriginal architecture

Chinese and aborigines made use of natural materials such as straw, wood, bamboo, grass, stone, and soil as basic construction materials. The types and styles of building vary depending on the environment, climate, and cultural influences of each ethnic group. For example, the Amis tend to live in larger communities and planned the layout of their community such as placement of communal homes and a plaza for matters of governance inside, planting a bamboo forest around the outside with camps and guard stations to defend against foreign aggressors.^[4] The Atayal and Saisiyat peoples made their homes out of wood and bamboo, while the Tao people who lived further away on Orchid Island and faced strong changes in seasonal weather such as typhoons, developed houses that made use of digging vertically into the ground to strengthen their foundations.^[5]

Stone-slab house of the Paiwan people in Tjalja'avus Tribe (來義部落) taken by Japanese anthropologist Ushinosuke Mori prior to 1945
Stone-slab houses in Pingtung Park
Stone-slab housing of the Paiwan people in Tjuvecekadan Tribe (老七佳部落)
An imitation slate house of the Paiwan people at the National Museum of Natural Science
Traditional house of the Atayal people
Inside an imitation of a traditional house of the Atayal people
Houses of the Seediq people in Paran Tribe (巴蘭部落)
Houses of the Bunun people
View of a Tao tribe
A house and its surroundings in a Tao tribe
Inside a Tao house
The Kakita'an ancestral house of the Amis people in Tafalong Tribe (太巴塱部落).
Stilt-house of the Puyuma people
An imitation kuba (men's house) of the Tsou people in Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
An imitation animal bone hut of the Tsou people in Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
An imitation granary of the Rukai people in Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
An imitation of a ceremonial rack of skulls of the Paiwan people in Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
A temple (公廨) of the
plains indigenous peoples

Dutch and Spanish settlement (1624–1662)

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[1] "{{in lang|zh}} History of Taiwanese architecture". Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2017-04-25.

[2] "Pre-historic Taiwanese architecture, National Chiayi University – Dead link" (PDF) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2017-04-25.

[3] (in Chinese) Kungdavane – Dead link

[4] "Building structures of the Amis tribe, Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-25.

[5] "Housing layout of the Yami (Tao) tribe, Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-25.

[6] "Origins of Tamsui's Fort Zeelandia" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2017-04-25.

[7] ISBN 9789571191904
.

[8] 傅朝卿. "日治時期現代風情建築" (PDF). 傅朝卿教授建築與文化資產資訊網. Retrieved 2020-08-04.

[9] "國家攝影文化中心台北館導覽手冊" (PDF). 2021-03-18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-03.

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Category Asia portal

Architecture of Taiwan

Prehistory (−1621)

Cave dwelling

Stilt housing

Stone-slab housing

Aboriginal architecture

Dutch and Spanish settlement (1624–1662)

Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1682)

Qing dynasty (1683–1896)

Period of Japanese rule (1896–1945)

Republic of China (1946–present)

See also

References