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National Monument: Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden

2025-05-16
886-4-23393071#228
台中市霧峰區萊園路91號
The Wufeng Lin Family Mansion is the collective name for the gardens and residential complex in A-tao-bú (Atabu). It consists of three main parts: Dingcuo (Upper House), Xiacuo (Lower House), and Laiyuan (Lai Garden). The “Lai Garden” where Mingtai High School now stands was built by the Lin family juren Lin Wen-qin to serve his mother; later it became famous throughout Taiwan as the Wufeng Lin Family Garden. Begun in the mid-Qing period, the garden has undergone many eras and great stylistic changes; in its later phases it even produced new buildings and landscapes combining Chinese, Western, and Japanese elements. The Taichung Wufeng Lin Family Garden, established in 1893, was severely damaged in the 921 Earthquake. Because the garden is a site of major historical and cultural importance, descendants of the Lin family have worked continuously to restore the ancestral home and present its original appearance. The garden was first created by the first-generation owner Lin Wen-qin as a place of retirement for his mother, Madame Luo. The Lai Garden now on the campus of Mingtai Senior High School is thus a garden of filial piety. In its early days it contained twelve scenic spots; the most important structure is the Wugui (“Five Osmanthus”) Pavilion. Research shows it was first built in 1887 under the name “Buyinge” (“Ascending-the-Moon Terrace”); it is a two-storey timber building in the Minnan style with upswept swallow-tail eaves. The ground floor served as a reception hall, the upper floor as Madame Luo’s living quarters. The second-generation owner Lin Hsien-tang was the key figure in carrying forward the spirit of Lai Garden. In 1905 he rebuilt Wugui Pavilion in a Chinese-Western hybrid style: the ground floor is of red brick with Baroque round arches, while the upper storey is timber with a traditional Chinese hip-and-gable roof, giving it both Western flavour and Taiwanese character. During the Japanese period Wugui Pavilion was the meeting place of the Lî-siā (Lishe) poets, the summer-school classroom of the Cultural Association, and the venue for the “New-Start Society” and “New-Start Academy,” making it a stronghold where Lin gathered Taiwan’s elite and preserved Han culture. The Lin Hsien-tang Memorial Museum opened in 2000 and was expanded in 2019 into the Wufeng Lin Family Garden Lin Hsien-tang Museum. Located within Lai Garden on the Mingtai campus, it displays Lin Hsien-tang’s original diaries, personal letters, calligraphy and paintings, as well as early photographs, furniture, clothing and other precious artefacts. The history of the Wufeng Lin family is a microcosm of Taiwan’s past century; through exhibitions and outreach, the public can gain deeper insight into the historical culture transmitted by one of Taiwan’s most important families. After the 921 Earthquake, ten years of research and perseverance brought support from the Council for Cultural Affairs’ Bureau of Cultural Heritage. Reconstruction of Wugui Pavilion in Lai Garden finally began, with traditional master carpenter Lai Qi-lin, carver Cao Ren-sheng, and plasterer Shi Kun-yi collaborating. Using thousand-year-old Taiwan cypress and handmade bricks, they combined modern technology with traditional craftsmanship to restore the pavilion to its 1905 appearance.
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