Travel to Taiwan’s island – Matsu (6)
Matsu’s decision to walk rather than run is directly reflected in its focus on preserving the architecture of its traditional villages.
After many decades of tight government control, the old architecture has been remarkably preserved in Matsu, particularly in Nankan’s Niuchiao Village, Peikan’s Chinpi Village in Peikan, and Fuhsi in Chukuang. All are excellent examples of traditional eastern Fujianese village architecture. Elsewhere in the ROC the traditional Han Chinese culture was southern Fujianese. Meanwhile, eastern Fujian itself has experienced such rapid develpment that almost all of its traditional architecture has been destroyed. The traditional eastern Fujianese settlements on Matsu are just about the only ones left in pristine condition anywhere in the world.
“We only started to restore these buildings two or three years ago,” says county government employee Tsao Yi-hsiung. “The people had a lot of doubts, but the county established a ‘town and country workshop’ in order to bring about coherent regional planning that would preserve whole neighborhoods of these old buildings. It instilled in people the notion that preserving architecture was a way of helping the local economy. The results have been surprisingly good.” Matsu has a high rate of outward migration, and these people living elsewhere are naturally happy to have others care for their ancestral homes. People are now clamoring to sign restoration contracts with the county government.
What with the three links and the tourism industry, the economic outlook for Matsu appears bright, but might a pure focus on economic development and architectural preservation prove, however beautiful on the outside, to be empty on the inside? With these concerns, county legislators Tsao Yi-hsiung and Chen Kuei-chung have promoted a campaign to get artists to live in traditional buildings, so that residents can see how art might become rooted in their daily lives.
Chiu Chin-pao explains that the exodus of youth from Matsu is very serious. Moreover, the fact that children aren’t learning the Fuzhou dialect these days is putting the traditional local culture under even more pressure.
In response to these concerns, 40 members of the local community, including teachers and public servants, have formed a group called the Yuntai Music Hall, which compiles local operas and folk songs and then asks the schools to teach them to children.
