Taiwan Photos: A sketching class of ancient buildings in Taipei Confucius Temple

　　China News Service, Taipei, March 23: A sketching class on ancient architecture in Taipei Confucius Temple

　　China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen

　　On March 23, at the Confucius Temple in Taipei, children in an architectural painting class were using pencils to draw the entire Dacheng Hall.

　　The teacher is Li Qianlang, a researcher and painter of Taiwanese traditional architecture. The "class" is open-air. More than 10 students and their parents sit on the ground in front of the hall and in the granite courtyard. Also sharing the "classroom" are Yi students who practice Yi dance on weekends.

On March 23, at the Confucius Temple in Taipei, children in an architectural painting class were using pencils to draw the entire Dacheng Hall. Photo by China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen

　　The Taipei Confucius Temple is adjacent to the Dalongdong Baoan Temple. It was built on land donated by the Chen Yueji family and the Ku family of Lukang during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. Dacheng Hall was completed in 1929, with a width of five bays and a depth of six bays. There are 42 Quanzhou white stone pillars in the hall, with an octagonal caisson above and the throne of Confucius in the center.

　　Li Qianlang gave the students an hour. "You can draw symmetrically left and right, or draw diagonally. Experts can also imagine a bird's eye view." As he said this, Teacher Li chose the "basic" center perspective on the drawing paper. Every time he sketched a stroke, he would go to the students and guide them carefully. "If you make a mistake, erase it and start over."

　　The children who entered the painting of ancient buildings for the first time were attentive. Some kept revising and asking questions, and some were lying on the stone steps. Some parents also participated in "making suggestions" until the prototype of the main hall began to appear on the drawing paper. The teaching process was full of laughter. "Grandpa Li" encouraged a child: "You are so young, you can draw better than me." The child looked up and replied: "I am already in the first grade."

On March 23, Taiwanese traditional architecture researcher and painter Li Qianlang taught more than 10 children how to sketch ancient buildings at the Taipei Confucius Temple. Photo by China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen

　　"This is also the first time I have taught so many children to draw ancient buildings." Li Qianlang told a reporter from China News Service.

　　The origin of this painting class "Grandpa Li takes you to draw a house" was accidental. Chen Jiefu, the founder of Taipei's "Suyuan Book Collection" who hosted the event, saw a conversation between his daughter and Li Qianlang at a party, so he came up with the idea of ​​giving it to children. Inspired by the idea of ​​starting the class, Teacher Li readily agreed.

　　The original intention of "Grandpa Li" is not to train children to become painters, but to cultivate their interest in traditional culture and the habit of rationally analyzing things by deconstructing ancient buildings into lines. “But it doesn’t happen overnight.”

　　Li Qianlang suggested that everyone first conceive the layout, start from the roof, work from the sky to the earth, and then add the details of the four beams and eight columns before finalizing the draft.

　　Guo Huangfu, 12 years old, has been painting for 6 years, and his works were praised by Teacher Li. "Sitting on the floor tiles and painting is a very solemn thing. I feel that I must paint this painting well, otherwise it will be a kind of blasphemy to the Confucius Temple." He told reporters, "Teacher Li taught step by step, which made me understand With a better understanding of the structure of ancient buildings, I can pay attention to the details the next time I draw.”

On March 23, after finishing the class, Guo Huangfu showed reporters the results of his sketches at the Dacheng Hall of Taipei Confucius Temple. Photo by China News Service reporter Yang Chengchen

　　Zhang Mingshun, who used to be engaged in the restoration of ancient buildings, and his wife came with their children. "My elder sister likes painting. My younger brother says he doesn't like it, but when you see him in the temple, he may also be interested." In Zhang Mingshun's view, this is because Li Qianlang, as an architectural scholar, guides the children in every detail contribution to ancient architecture. "There are very few people willing to do this now."

　　The bookshelves in the cultural space of "Suyuan Collection" are filled with Li Qianlang's research books on Taiwan's ancient architecture. He believes that the lines of Chinese ancient buildings are soothing, which is similar to Chinese calligraphy. "In ancient times, craftsmen used a brush to draw designs when building a house. The brush must be cantilevered, so the lines will not be so straight. Children have watched too many Western cartoons, and their aesthetic thinking will also be Western-style. I teach them to draw ancient buildings. I hope to get them to come back and see the beauty of Chinese lines.”

　　Dalongdong, where the Confucius Temple in Taipei is located, has always been home to a large number of talented people. In ancient times, it had the reputation of "a show with ten steps, a lift with a hundred steps". Nowadays, many young people are still used to going to Taipei Confucius Temple to seek good luck before taking exams.

　　Songshan Airport is not far from Dalongdong. Every few minutes, a plane about to land would pass by at low altitude, and the huge roar did not seem to affect the young students in the Confucius Temple. Their attention was entirely on the drawing paper and the building in front of them. (over)