He-der Hall
You can see heritage along the street while walking on Lukang Old Street. Do not miss the old house He-der Hall when you come to Yaolin Street, since it was the former home of Professor Jen-hao Shih.
Professor Shih was born in a literary family and was a scholar respected by the Lukang people very much. He established Lukang Culture and Education Foundation. Let’s appreciate the former home of this literati model together.
Professor Shih was born in a literary family and was a scholar respected by the Lukang people very much. He established Lukang Culture and Education Foundation. Let’s appreciate the former home of this literati model together.
Study Building
(Figure 1) The location of the Study Building.
He-der Hall was built 180 years ago. The Study Building has been completely preserved until today. The major function of the Study Building was to provide children a place to concentrate on studying. The stairs were removed so that the children could concentrate only on studying in the attic. The stairs would be put back at mealtime so that children could come down to have meal. If a child did not study hard that day, parents would not put the stairs back, and the child would be forced to starve for a meal as a warning
Red Brick Imprint
(Figure 2) Mr. Shih stood beside the window of son-in-law room to tell us the far away history of the house.
Bright sunshine softly sprinkles on the red brick floor （see Figure 2）, and highlights a kind of disorder time to bring us back to 200 years ago. The brick in front of living room shows a “V” shape, indicating “welcome”. The one in front of back door is a trapezoidal shape indicating “stop”. Next time when you visit an old house, you need to watch these clearly, and do not make a mistake.
The wall besides the back door was built with red brick. The red brick shows a “people” shape. People in the past liked boys better than girls, so this indicates having more boys. The higher red bricks was arranged to be a “turtle” shape indicating long life.
The wall besides the back door was built with red brick. The red brick shows a “people” shape. People in the past liked boys better than girls, so this indicates having more boys. The higher red bricks was arranged to be a “turtle” shape indicating long life.
The symbol of good fortune
(Figure 3) Red brick floor
Mr. Shih also introduced the carving on the pillars and the walls to us. For example, the bat indicates five fortunes coming to the house, and the supporting portion under the pillar was carved with an elephant head. Since elephant is very strong, this indicates that the entire family will be supported, and the house is very firm.
