Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HISTORY
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia.
Neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to
the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taiwan is the most populous
non-UN state and the largest economy outside the UN.
Thehistory of Taiwandates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest
known evidence of human habitation.
The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is
believed to reflect the arrival of the ancestors of
today'sTaiwaneseaborigines.
In the 16th century, Portuguese ships sailed to Southeast Asia and
discovered Taiwan.
Sailors aboard these ships were enchanted by the island's natural beauty
and majestic scenery. They exclaimed "IlhaFormosa!" This means
"beautiful island" in Portuguese.
The Dutch forced out the Spanish in 1641 and controlled the island until
1661, when Chinese general Koxinga took it over and established an
independent kingdom.
The Manchus seized the island in 1683 and held it until 1895, when it
Geography, Geology, Climate
Buddhism- the faith was carried toTaiwan around 400 years agoby the
earliest waves of Han Chinese settlers. Appropriately, whats thought to be
Taiwans oldest Buddhist house of worship is inLugang, one of the most
ancient towns on the island.
Among the earliest architectural styles was the local domestic (home) style of the island's
original inhabitants. These homes were generally made from wood, bamboo, and other
materials that could be found on the island. Few have lasted, but the heavy use of wood in
their architecture has continued to this day.
During the onsens construction, Japan invaded China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of
1937. The Japanese authorities urged Taiwanese to use bricks in camouflage colors to hinder
air raids. It is used to reduce buildings visibility to enemy aircraft by reducing the bricks
reflectiveness.
After theJapanesefaced defeat in World War II Taiwan found itself to be the recipient of
numerousChineseagain when the fleeing Nationalist Party arrived and made Taipei their capital.
This led to a large number of modern buildings, including the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and
the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
In recently years this building has continued, but now truly in the post-modern style as the Taipei
101 was built, one of the tallest buildings in the world. However, a stronger and more influential
movement that has also arisen in recent years is a push to build structures that better suit the
local culture and function of the people. This has been translated to mean few large buildings
Architectural Character