Comments on: The old and the new http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new Meanderings on living in Southern Taiwan Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:22:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Stephen http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new/comment-page-1#comment-44 Stephen Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:37:13 +0000 http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new#comment-44 That is interesting. There used to be a large army housing area close by us. The whole area was very squalid and certainly had a not-so-permanent feel. It has recently been demolished, though many years after Chiang Kai-shek would have intended. That is interesting. There used to be a large army housing area close by us. The whole area was very squalid and certainly had a not-so-permanent feel. It has recently been demolished, though many years after Chiang Kai-shek would have intended.

]]> By: cfimages http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new/comment-page-1#comment-43 cfimages Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:39:21 +0000 http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new#comment-43 Nice post. I heard somewhere that the reason all the ugly concrete box type homes started being built in the 50s was because Chiang Kai-shek believed that his stay in Taiwan would be short until he could retake the mainland, and so lots of supposedly temporary housing needed to be built. It was faster and cheaper to build a concrete box than a traditional brick home. Nice post. I heard somewhere that the reason all the ugly concrete box type homes started being built in the 50s was because Chiang Kai-shek believed that his stay in Taiwan would be short until he could retake the mainland, and so lots of supposedly temporary housing needed to be built. It was faster and cheaper to build a concrete box than a traditional brick home.

]]> By: Stephen http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new/comment-page-1#comment-42 Stephen Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:19:08 +0000 http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new#comment-42 Joel, That is so true. There are so many of the old houses around here that are simply left to ruin. I wonder if it is nostelgia, spiritual or just plain pragmatic reasons they are left standing. I particularly like the ones that had a pigsty attached. Joel,
That is so true. There are so many of the old houses around here that are simply left to ruin. I wonder if it is nostelgia, spiritual or just plain pragmatic reasons they are left standing. I particularly like the ones that had a pigsty attached.

]]> By: Joel http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new/comment-page-1#comment-41 Joel Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:37:23 +0000 http://www.shandinglu.org/blog/the-old-and-the-new#comment-41 Seems that families will keep the old red-brick farmhouses even for decades after they've been pretty much abandoned, allowing them to partially collapse. A new steel and concrete house might be the new living place, but the old farmhouse compound still holds the spirit of the home, the place for the ancestors at the household shrine at its center. The ugliest aspect of housing these days is, in my opinion, the tin and fiberglass used for awnings, enclosures, additions, and repairs to houses and apartments. Aside from that, although I love the marble floors, I worry about the brain damage they might be causing young kids learning to walk and run. I haven't seen a bamboo-beamed house before. Thanks for the look inward. Joel Seems that families will keep the old red-brick farmhouses even for decades after they’ve been pretty much abandoned, allowing them to partially collapse. A new steel and concrete house might be the new living place, but the old farmhouse compound still holds the spirit of the home, the place for the ancestors at the household shrine at its center.

The ugliest aspect of housing these days is, in my opinion, the tin and fiberglass used for awnings, enclosures, additions, and repairs to houses and apartments. Aside from that, although I love the marble floors, I worry about the brain damage they might be causing young kids learning to walk and run.

I haven’t seen a bamboo-beamed house before. Thanks for the look inward.

Joel

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