Yuan Gu Ben Pu
Most Precious Treasure
The Preservation of Cultural Assets Begins from Old Houses
The mottled walls meeting our eyes are like an unfolded dusty scroll displaying the ancient stories and memories.
What Left Behind by the Ancestors are the Perfect Beginning for Telling Taoyuan's Stories.
As one opens the door, he will be greeted by the floor embedded with roof tiles, the mottled walls that have been weathered by time, and the furniture made of old wooden beams and columns. With the name after its origin from the Gu family, "Yuan Gu Ben Pu" (Gu's Original Pastry Bakery) erects solely in tranquility on the bustling Daxi Old Street emitting the tender yet firm foundation, just like how it has been in the past 180 years.
"The houses here are rarely sold, and the neighbors are of the same families for the last four to five generations. During the Japanese occupation period, our family opened the business called Gu Yu-Fa Pastry, from which people get their pastries to celebrate birthdays and festivals. Therefore, from a long time ago, this place has been a highly prosperous gathering place with many stories." said Gu Zheng-Jun, the owner of Yuan Gu Ben Pu and the fifth-generation descendant of the Gu family. More than a decade ago, Gu Zheng-Jun worked in an immigration consulting firm and could not understand the charm of her family’s old residence. It wasn't until she saw her hometown for the second time abroad that she thought of returning to her hometown of Daxi.
The renovation of a century-old house is a huge deal, which not only consumes labor and money, but also requires time and patience for dedicated maintenance. In the early days, Gu Zheng-Jun had no funds and her proposed renovation was understood by none of her neighbors, hence she decided to register the house as a Historic Building. Gu with advertising working experience has many novel ideas in her head. She invited the elders of the neighbors to lecture in the "Unaged Professionals" lectures to tell the history and stories of Daxi, and organize events together, which has made historical old house and the daily lives of the locale the focus, has made the old houses revitalized, and has allowed the elders to express themselves on a dedicated stage, and thus improved the visibility of the century-old house which helped them obtain the funds for house renovation. Unexpectedly, these "frictions" made fire, prompting Gu Zheng-Jun and local residents to conceive more brilliant events, such as fashion shows, modern dance, wine tasting, art galleries and photography exhibitions, etc.; In addition, they also participated in the light spot restoration project of the Lovely Taiwan Foundation to rejuvenate old houses and turn the premises of daily lives the stage to showcase radiance. "Don't define the old house as showroom of relics. The old house is not a burden, and it leaves great room for imagination." Gu Zheng-Jun said.
Building Restoration and Revitalization for Reuse
Taoyuan has a profound cultural heritage and preserves many historic sites with architectural features or historical and spatial significance, historic buildings, etc. With a view to pass down cultural assets and preserve the historical memory of the City, Department of Cultural Affairs of the Taoyuan City Government handles cultural assets investigation, research, restoration and reuse work in accordance with the "Cultural Heritage Preservation Act" to preserve the distinctive historic buildings while the new public buildings are under rapid development, so that these buildings that have witnessed different historical periods in Taoyuan can be revitalized and reused. For example, Zhongli Matsu New Village, Daxi Taiwu New Village and Guishan Xianguang 2nd Village belong to the post-war settlements for military dependents; Zhongping Road Story House, Forest Story House and Li Jing Ding in Zhongli District, and Chung Chao-cheng Literary Park in Longtan are the Japanese style architecture built during the Japanese occupation period; In addition, Lin Family Meihe Villa and Luzhu Dexin Hall in Daxi are the traditional residential architecture of Taiwan.
Yuan Gu Ben Pu, located at No. 48 and 48-1, Heping Road, Daxi District, is also one of them. Through the preservation of cultural assets, Yuan Gu Ben Pu is an excellent example of the preservation and restoration of the historic district with its combination with the leisure attractions around Daxi Old Street as the drive of local cultural tourism as well as the spot available for visit during the restoration period by students majoring in related studies.
Gu Zheng-Jun has her own philosophy in the restoration of old houses. She insists on leaving the broken roof tiles and embedding them in the floor tiles, so that they remain in the house in an alternative manner; instead of applying putty, she chooses to keep traces of dents on walls to maintain the historical charm of the house; furthermore, she does not throw away the wooden beams, columns and furniture gnawed by termites and decide to reuse them by trim them into materials for chairs and cabinets. "My dad wants to preserve the layout of the house. I hope that things that are interesting, historical and warm are here to stay." Gu Zheng-Jun explained with a smile that her persistence stemmed from her father's love for the house.
Preservation is the Pinnacle for History Showcasing
In addition to tangible cultural assets, Daxi also has precious intangible cultural heritage such as wood craft, festivals and folk culture. Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum promotes the "Education Promotion and Cultural Education Network Project", with actions such as establishment of Corner Pavilion, integration of mutual learning action partners and corresponding resources as well as restoration of the dormitory complex into operating base, the houses of you and I can be a museum, and the ideal of "Daxi is a museum" can be realized.
In addition, the "Puji Temple Holy Emperor Guan Birthday Festival" also known as "Welcoming of June 24th (Of Luna Calendar)", a crucial festival for residents in Daxi and regarded as the second Chinese New Year in Daxi, is also promoted. Through the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum project, the Government connects the various neighborhoods of Daxi with an expectation to allow locales and visitors to appreciate the profound beauty of Daxi by experiencing and appreciating the aesthetics of craftsmanship.
For Gu Zheng-Jun, to sum up what she did in one sentence, it will be "living life". Yes, these are the daily life of Taoyuan, which enriches Taoyuan and makes the local people proud. The Taoyuan City Government is also committed to preserving and promoting these cultural heritages with an expectation to preserve the spaces through positive interactions and to develop more possibilities in the future.