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The Stories of Homes
Hu Hsing-Chang is a Taiwanese architect who works in preserving and restoring Matsu’s traditional Mindong (east Fujian) architecture. While on a work trip on Matu's Nangan island, Mr. Hu shared his views on the importance of maintaining this cultural element to the future of Matsu. An edited version of our conversation is below.
DA: Do you think that there is a big difference in the way Matsu's young and old people think?
HHC: Actually I think there is quite a big difference. Right now I guess you can say I'm making an inventory of these old homes, looking at which ones can be restored. To be frank, if I tell young people that I hope they will spend a little to restore their homes, they don't have any feeling, because for the most part they've lived here a comparatively shorter time.
Are you referring specifically to local young people?
Young locals. Actually a lot of young people's parents originally came from Taiwan. There are not a lot of young people that were born here and then stay here.
So when I’m surveying these old homes, I’m often talking with people forty-five years old and up. I listen to them start to tell stories of how they lived when they were younger—this house was just this small; in one small room we'd have two five-person families, ten, twenty people living inside. They tell me how they lived—the kitchen was outside; the bathroom was outside. How did they usually have fun?
Hearing them talk, I realized when surveying these old homes that lifestyles were quite different between Taiwan and Matsu.
Among the many draws to the Matsu islands are its many examples of traditional eastern Fujian architecture. This architecture is characterized by yellow granite or blue limestone bricks and high gables. The roofs have removable red tiles that are held down by rocks for easy repair and to make the homes more “breathable.”
After hearing them tell their stories, they think that if they pay a little to fix their homes—it's history, a memory—and the homes can be preserved. The county government can make them available for the public to explore, or you can live there yourself, or turn it into a hostel. The houses will be preserved and won’t continue to fall apart. So I start to try and convince them—is there any way we can use these homes to allow the youth to experience how life used to be like?
So if it weren't for the middle aged and old people preserving their homes, young Matsu people today wouldn't feel any connection to the homes on Matsu. The land value actually is pretty high, but the buildings themselves actually aren't worth anything. They would rather tear them down and put up high rises. But if that happens, people won't come to Matsu as tourists. People come here for the history, the old buildings, environment, that whole vibe, because it's different from Taiwan and the mainland. The tourism here depends on that atmosphere, so the culture department wants to preserve these old homes as much as possible.
Qinbi village is the best example of Eastern Min (or Fujian style) architecture on Matsu, and due to its layers of light granite homes climbing up the mountainside, is often described as a little Greek town in the Taiwan Strait.
How do you think your work affects the younger generation?
We hope that by restoring the homes, we can attract more of the Matsu youth (or young people that like this place) to come back to live and establish themselves. Matsu's outflow problem is pretty serious. There are not a lot of young people here. If things continue like this, there won't be any people living on Matsu. They might live in Taipei, because it's more developed and there are more economic opportunities, but it's not the same.
A restored home in Hou'ao village on the west of Beigan island.
Matsu has maintained so many examples of eastern Min architecture because during the period of martial law (1949-1992), Matsu was virtually closed off to the outside world. Efforts to preserve the architecture began in 1997.
Although Qinbi is the most famous example of traditional architecture on the archipelago, villages like Hou'ao are also working on restoration efforts.
I've heard of a lot of young people coming back, but I've also heard of Taiwanese coming to Matsu to work.
The people that really like this atmosphere are those that came here to do military service. Before, military service lasted for two or three years. After living here for so long, they grew to like it. So when they're working in Taiwan, sometimes they might not feel satisfied with their work, or that life is pretty stressful. They think back on how good their life on Matsu was and think "Well, I'll go back and give it a try."
I know guy like that who opened a guesthouse. I've also met a woodworker. He used to be in Taiwan, and competition was high, and he didn't have much of an advantage. Sometimes he'd come here to travel and realized there was a chance to make a living. He has been working here for twenty-five years and is doing pretty well. More and more people fall in love with this place after their military service or traveling here and decide to move.
Another guy—his mom is from Matsu and his dad is from Taiwan. He asked "Where should I go to find a job?" His mom suggested he try out Matsu, her hometown. So he just got here and is also learning woodworking. He thinks that life here is not bad, and the salary is not lower than on Taiwan. He likes the pace of life, the village's traditional architecture, and also nature like the "blue tears."
Young recruits exercising on Nangan island.
Taiwan has mandatory military service for young men. Men born after 1994 need to serve only four months. In contrast, Taiwanese men had to serve for 2-3 years under martial law, and Matsu men were conscripted in the self-defense forces from age 18-45.
During this period of high tensions, young Taiwanese soldiers feared the isolation and perceived danger of being stationed on Matsu. But nowadays, you can often hear soldiers say of Matsu: "pretty mountains, pretty water, pretty boring."
The "blue tears" (蓝眼泪) is a natural phenomenon in which the water glows blue as a specific type of algae is agitated by waves. Before it became a tourist attraction, locals called the sight "silver anchovy" (丁香鱼) because the silver fish appear shortly after the blue tears to feed. This is a photo of the blue tears taken from outisde Hou'ao village on Beigan island.
Besides nature and job opportunities, is there anything else that is appealing to young people here?
We have very close ties with China here, and you realize you're not stuck on a small island. They like going to Beigan, and from there they take the 9 a.m. boat to the Huangqi on the mainland, buy some fish, groceries, talk with some people, then take the 3 p.m. boat back. It's not bad. They really like this kind of life. We in Taiwan think that going to another part of Taiwan then leaving the country is a big deal. Not at all. Although these are small islands, transportation makes their lives is quite convenient.
More and more young people who want to start a business may think of coming here, because trying to be innovative in Taiwan is not easy. I've seen lots of young Matsu locals become teachers, but are also working online, selling things. They don't have to open a store and wait for people to come visit, but can still earn money and enjoy a quiet and beautiful life.