Building Social Sharawadgi

“But their greatest reach of imagination is employed in contriving figures, where the beauty shall be great, and strike the eye, but without any order or disposition of parts that shall be commonly or easily observed: and, though we have hardly any notion of this sort of beauty, yet they have a particular word to express it, and, where they find it hit their eye at first sight, they say the sharawadgi is fine or is admirable, or any such expression of esteem.” window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot('/22590772197/pc_textbottom', [1, 1], 'div-gpt-ad-1639353180888-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1639353180888-0'); });

Sir William Temple, Upon the Gardens of Epicurus , 1685

In the end of 19th century, young Manchu emperor was considering some daring reform measures for the “self-strengthening” of China . The reformers, led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, suggested changing the traditional exam and education system to study modern math and science instead of mainly focusing on Confucian texts. It was a significant move, though short lived, to learn from the West.

In 1920, two decades after the failure of reform movement, Liang Qichao made it clear on the newspaper when he came back from a trip to the war-torn Europe : (1)

Another very important matter, if we want to develop our culture, we have to borrow from their culture as an approach, for their research methods really good and intricate, as indicated in the saying “for a better work, sharpen the tool beforehand”. ……… So I hope our lovable young people, firstly, to have the sincerity to respect and protect our culture. Secondly, need to us e the Westerners’ research method to study Chinese culture, to acquire her true nature . Thirdly, need to synthesize our culture and to take from other cultures to supplement. It is making a chemical transformation to formulate a new cultural system. Fourthly, need to extend this new system to let all human beings get benefit from it.

In 1925, Liang Qichao sent a newly discovered construction manual of Song dynasty, Yingzao Fashi, to his son, Liang Sicheng, who was one of the earliest Chinese students studying architecture at University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He gave a comment on the book: “A great work of one thousand years, the crowning glory of our people’s culture.”

In 1931, Liang Sicheng and his wife and research partner, Lin Huiyin, joined the Institute for Research in Chinese Architecture in Beijing . A year later, Lin Huiyin gave a theoretical overview in Some Characteristics of Chinese Architecture, by first stating “ Chinese architecture is an outstanding independent system in the East”. But, Vitruvius’ notions of firmitas, utilitas, venustas were soon taken into account as the canons for evaluating Chinese architecture. She closed her writing with a comparison to modern architecture: (2)

Coincidentally, Chinese timber frame system and modern method are the same principle. Only need to change the building materials in the future. The main structure won’t have excessive alterations. Owning to the possibility of materials, we can make new development. It is expected to have very satisfying new architecture.

In 1950s, the Chinese Communist Party picked up the trio and replaced “Firmness” with “economy” to fit Marx-Leninism. The criteria officially turned into the building design principles in New China. Under Soviet influence, the major concern was how to go on the right road leading to the new era. Liang Sicheng began to taste the bitterness in trying to protect the age-old Chinese legacy, including conservation of the old city of Beijing .

On the other hand, from t he measured documentations produced by Institute for Research in Chinese Architecture, it is clearer to see that Liang Sicheng could have consciously followed his father’s advice in his study. What he learned from his French teachers at Penn was applied to formalize the findings. The surviving buildings were mostly demonstrated in modern two-dimensional projection drawings (plan, section, elevation), in which the concept of a façade and proportional analysis were introduced. Especially, a single wood column with wood bracket set on top was portrayed as the counterpart of a Greek order.

These drawings presented a way of working very alien to the traditional builders in China . What’s more noteworthy is that these early drawings have constituted our imagery and understanding of so called “Chinese architecture” today. Architectural historian Zhao   Chen once warned: (3)

This experience made me realize that the “façade” of the traditional timber framed architecture is determined by building structure, which is mainly reflected on the “section”, especially the triangle shaped roof structure, that is, the most eye-catching aspect in Chinese architecture - big roof. Represented by Liang Sicheng, the first generation of architectural historians developed the research method to study Chinese architecture from façade. From above experience, I have doubts on this research method.

Being an intellectual against imperialism, Liang Qichao’s vision was also a nationalist    cry for self-esteem. Liang Sicheng may have referred to the history of Greek and Roman  architecture to single out certain grandiose structures according to his “grammar” book,   Yingzao Fashi . Moreover , h is scope was confined in the alignment of Han orthodoxy . T he study of ethnic diversit ies and peasant settlements in China were very limited.

T he fact is that traditional architecture often composes of a group of buildings . E ach building is a part of a network of spaces and constructions . The geomantic reading of the earth and sky guided its chosen relationship to the landscape. To examine a traditional building secludedly would be inadequate and losing the social and environmental dimensions. When the wholistic understanding and lived experiences were blurred through a Western lens left Liang Qichao’s request for the truthful nature of Chinese culture far from being responded ever since .

In 1972, Liang Sicheng died in misery during the Cultural Revolution. Ten years later, Maya Yin Lin (Lin Yin), who is Lin Huiyin’s niece, took a very different point of departure, showing a decisive anti-monumentality gesture in her Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington , D.C. . By following a slope gradually descending into the lower ground , she opened a fresh perspective at the time when post-modernist formal representations were prevailing. It can be seen as the reassurance of an inward looking position that her uncle was inclined to keep distance in the flow of westernization.

In 1940s, during World War II in Berlin, when Liang Sicheng was writing the first history on Chinese architecture, Hans Scharoun and Hugo Häring spent time together with a Chinese young man from Shanghai , Lee Chenkuan, on the research of architecture in China based on the translated materials. After the war, Hans Scharoun did pick up some notes to teach Chinese city planning and architecture in the university. These architects were among the very few on the non-formal side of modern architecture. They shared a conviction that architectural form need to be responsive in accord with human activities, resulted in the works distinctly away from the main stream of preoccupied geometrical composition.

Unlike Hugo Häring ’s functionalist viewpoint and Hans Scharoun’s expressionistic tendency, Lee Chenkuan maintained a quite simple view about architecture, which I think is close to the condition when lingering in a Chinese garden, as in his childhood, but taken into the daily life. His approach was to improvise the fun-loving mobile experiences in order to infer the provision of spaces, which created a process of discovery and led to the final shapes of the buildings.

In 1991, Lee Chenkuan moved to Taichung to continue teaching and working for the next ten years. His ideas appeared to be foreign to people in Taiwan , nevertheless, being appreciated by a small group of students and professionals seeking alternative direction. His talk was usually fragmented with heavy accent. The messages he conveyed could be cryptic as if in the episode back to the 17th century. When William Temple overheard the Japanese word sorowaji, he thought it was Chinese. He transcribed the sound into sharawadgi from elusive memory for his own record. Afterwards, sharawadgi became mythical for hundreds of years represe nting a very special treatment in Chinese garden.

We now know that either sorowaji or sharawadgi in the context of garden design stand for a concept about a kind of irregular positioning of things intended to simulate the nature. If we consider sharawadgi in a broader sense as spatial relationship, the organic school of thoughts in the post-war Germany may well link to sharawadgi and Lee Chenkuan should have found a comfortable position on this link.

In 1970s, when Mainland China was in turmoil of social movements to erase the old culture, Taiwan was under the call for the revival of Chinese culture to be in the rivalry. The first generation research on Chinese architecture was taken seriously as the reference for the architects in Taiwan . During the time of fast changing urbanization over the island, I witnessed the occurrence of monumental replicas of Chinese architecture made out of heavy concrete in the jungle of modern buildings.

In 1984, after my military service in the Navy, I entered Shinkenchiku(new architecture) International Competition, “The Style for the Year 2001” , in Japan . Inspired by the punky spirit up in the air that I came across on the medias from abroad, I decided to use hand drawing to illustrate the self-built illegal constructions commonly seen in Taipei on a map of a major plaza area in Rome. The simple structures, temporary shelters, parasite additions, half built unfinished buildings, weeds, lily ponds, and roaming people occupied the places originally sitting the obelisk, churches, town houses, plaza, axial roads, gardens and trees of Romanesque style.

Surprisingly, my entry was picked up. One of the judges, Aldo Rossi, however, did not put any word on it. Japanese critic Koji Taki made a keen observation: (4)

It is not depicting poverty or slum condition. It will be a mistake to see the village of free, primitive, and punk vitality as the fate awaiting the city, or to see it describing the ironic contrast between Asian city and Modern city. Through subversive energy and infinite high spirit, this drawing is saying what we need today is not the wit of traditional logic or pretentious cultural chauvinism , but a way   of thinking of totally different quality. This approach or attitude is what I mentioned as “optimistic”.

Then, what actually happened in 2001? It was Rem Koolhaas’ co-authored book Great Leap Forward out there in the end of that year. Supported by students of Chinese origin, the book is about the urban conditions of special economic zone in southern China , in which he made “Chinese architect” a specific term describing the architects’ role in the mass production line for buildings in China . His tone sounded flattering to Chinese readers in general: ( 5 )

CHINESE ARCHITECT the most important, influential, and powerful architect on earth. ….. There is 1/10 the number of architects in China than in United State, designing 5 times the projects volume in 1/5 the time, earning 1/10 the design fee. This implies an efficiency of 2500 times that of American architect.

In addition, he used the Maoist slogan in the late1950s for the name of the book, which to some Chinese connoted the “Great Leap Forward” project can be revived preferably, despite the fact it was a blind pursuit of big production resulted in 20 millions deaths of hunger.

In the late 1970s, the urbanized area in China is about 1 4 %. In 2008, it is reaching 50%. Ironically, the “Great Leap Forward” project was finally resurrected in the big production of cities. Hundreds of new cities, each with population over one million, were created in the unified fashion with boulevards, monumental sculptures, over-sized squares, office towers, shopping centers, high-rise residential blocks, and industrial parks. In these vacuum cities, t he old city fabric is completely unrecognizable . It is usually strenuous and unpleasant to cross a street. Very likely, you will see the sign of Kentucky Fried Chicken. T he destructi on of this new “Great Leap Forward” has s tretched all over China . The CCTV tower by Rem Koolhaas was just one of the consequences.

My prediction on the style for the year 2001 was looking quite opposite to what’s going on now. Only when we wander into the alleyways behind the façade of the major streets, it proved not so wrong. Notorious “urban villages” and left over old quarters in the appearance of chaotic adaptations and additions can be found easily in the urban areas. They are densely populated enclaves in the modernized cities and the asylums for the migrating workers from countryside seeking for basic lodging.

Each of these territories within the regulated urban structure is more or less an autonomous community. Houses are mostly being remodeled by the owners to add more floor areas. Consequently, spaces, walls and circulations are shared and interconnected on three dimensions. In the gaps between the houses, people manage their public spaces and facilities by time and uses. Elderly can find their ways to the meeting points. Kids could define their own playground nearby. The smell of cooking is coming out of the attached kitchenette when pass by. Varieties of plantations in the reused jars are placed on the window edges or door sides. These phenomena reveal the communal living condition of long history in China . It is seemingly collective, yet rather anarchic, reflected vividly in the built environment.

Despite that the house owners might be in favor of the relocation plan proposed by the government for the sake of compensation, a kind of social sharawadgi is being preserved in these inferior looking neighborhoods. Beneath the Confucian norms, it is this fundamental relationship of spontaneous association and interconnectivity in the Chinese society, which stands firmly as the final resistance to careless planning and architecture.

When Berlin Wall fell down in 1989, the world is leaning obviously to the right, especially evidenced in China . The social concerns in modern architecture were almost gone with the Team X members in recent years. The death of interests in anything beyond spectacles has been on the fore. As a result, a vanguard is mainly about formal and technological innovations and the design culture is into the unprecedented heyday of image consumption.

It is an urgent issue that we need to face our political and social struggles. Architects can be active in the building of social sharawadgi to resume the role as reformers. T he social sharawadgi is not a utopian ideal but a natural social and spatial relationship which may be described as elaborated Open Form. To represent Open Form, Oscar Hansen used to cut the square into half and shift these two parts parallelly to a new position. That’s the moment of setting free and the beginning of reconstruct ion of our society .

Notes:

(1) Liang Qichao, Notes of the Mind Shadow on the Trip to Europe , Shanghai : New News, March 3-25 1920

(2) Lin Huiyin, Some Characteristics of Chinese Architecture, Collected Publications of Institute for Research in Chinese Architecture, Issue 1, Volume 3, March 1932

(3) Zhao Chen , The Misunderstanding of “Façade”, Beijing : Shan Lian Books, pp.119 -  120,2007

(4) The Style for the Year 2001, Shikenchiku 60th Anniversary Special Edition, Tokyo : Shinkenchiku, 1985

(5) Great Leap Forward , Edited by Chuihua Judy Chung , Jeffrey Inaba , Rem Koolhaas , Sze Tsung Leong , London: Taschen Publishers , 2001

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