Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 25°2′4″N, 121°31′18″E

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The view of the memorial hall from the Concert Hall.
The view of the memorial hall from the Concert Hall.
The Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness is the main entranceway to the memorial.
The Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness is the main entranceway to the memorial.
A pond near the main building, which is visible through the trees.
A pond near the main building, which is visible through the trees.
The main vault of the memorial contains a statue of Chiang Kai-shek. It is under guard during daytime.
The main vault of the memorial contains a statue of Chiang Kai-shek. It is under guard during daytime.

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (Chinese: 國立中正紀念堂; pinyin: Guólì Zhōngzhèng Jìniàntáng) is a memorial located in Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China, for the late President Chiang Kai-shek. It shares the grounds of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park with the National Concert Hall and National Theater and is one of the city's defining landmarks.

Contents

[edit] Development

After Chiang Kai-shek's death on April 5, 1975, the Executive Yuan established a Funeral Committee to build a Memorial Hall to commemorate him. The design of architect Yang Cho-Cheng was chosen in a competition and groundbreaking took place on October 31, 1976, the 90th anniversary of Chiang's birth. The CKS Memorial was officially opened on April 5, 1980, the fifth anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek's death.

[edit] The Memorial Park

The memorial is situated in a park covering 240,000 square metres in Zhongzheng District. Its main gateway, the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness, borders Chung Shan South Road to the west. To the north is the Gate of Great Loyalty bordering Hsin Yi Road and to the south is the Gate of Great Piety bordering Ai Kuo East Road.

The Chiang Kai-shek Square is flanked on both sides by the National Concert Hall and the National Theater. During festivities, these buildings are a backdrop to the stages. It is very common to see schools and/or military groups practicing drills and dance routines in front of these buildings. Annually, more than 800 performances utilise these buildings. They are designed acoustically to minimise outside sound and maximise the propagation of sound from their stages to the audience within. The Boulevard of Homage is bordered by manicured bushes and connects the Square with the Memorial Hall.

There are several ponds and parks throughout the memorial, with well-maintained lawns, trees, and walking pathways. The ponds are filled with the colourful goldfish that are also found in many sacred places and temples throughout Taiwan.

[edit] The Memorial Hall

The main building is white with four sides. Its roof, rising 70 meters above the ground, is octagonal with blue glazed glass tiles. The blue and white colors of the building and the red color of the flowerbeds provide the symbolism found in the flag of the Republic of China.

Two sets of white stairs, with a total of 89 steps representing Chiang's age of death, lead up to double doors, 16 meters high and weighing 75 tons. At the top of the stairs is a large vault containing a bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek. Behind him are inscribed the words "Ethics, Democracy, Science" and Chiang's accompanying writings. On the side walls are inscribed "The Purpose of Life is to further improve the general life of Mankind" and "The Meaning of Life is to create and sustain subsequent lives in the universe." The vault is under guard during opening hours (9 A.M. to 4 P.M.) by an honor guard drawn from a branch of the ROC military and rotated periodically among the branches.

The ground-level of the memorial has a library and museum that displays photos and mementos of Chiang Kai-shek's life.

[edit] Renaming Proposals

In 2006, 37 DPP legislators proposed that the CKS Memorial be moved to Chiang's tomb at Cihhu, and that the current site be renamed the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (Traditional Chinese: 台灣民主紀念館).[1] The legislators say that current legislation does not specify the site of the Memorial, and thus the change would only require an executive order.[2] Pan-Green Coalition politicians consider this proposal part of a movement to rectify names and symbols to be more in line with local Taiwanese culture (Traditional Chinese: 正名運動), while their Pan-Blue Coalition opponents criticize it as desinicization (Traditional Chinese: 去中國化) .[3] The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall has now been designated as a historical site by the Taipei City government, so therefore it cannot be touched even by the central government[citation needed].

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ (Chinese) 營區蔣公銅像 二二八前撤光, China Times
  2. ^ CKS statues' removal nears completion, Taipei Times
  3. ^ Template:Zh-icon 綠委:中正紀念堂更名 不須修法, China Times

[edit] External links

In other languages