In accordance with the event topic of Ministry of Culture, “World Reading Day,” in 2021 and the extension of the trend of “Series Activities in Memory of Architect Wang Da-hong,” organized by National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, the hall specially selects the books related to Mr. Wang Da-hong and will hold three forums and book lectures at Chungshan Lecture Hall from September 4. Welcome the friends who admire Mr. Wang Da-hong’s great career to join us.
Director-general of Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Wang Lan-sheng, said Mr. Wang Da-hong is a very important architect in the history of architecture in Taiwan as well as the designer of Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Most people know that he is a professional and outstanding architect. However, besides architectural design, Mr. Wang also has the astonishing performance in literature and music. The series of forums and book lectures organized by Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall present a successful architect and his different and splendid talents in life at the same time. We will understand that there is no border between art fields.
The first book lecture held on September 4 will invite Secretary-general of Wang Da-hong Association for Architecture Research and Conservation, Prof. Shyu Ming-song, to do the guided reading of his carefully written book, Architect Wang Da-hong 1942-1995. The book records Architect Wang Da-hong’s five works of conceptual architecture published in the U.S. after graduating from the graduate school of Harvard University and all the works from his starting a business in Taiwan to 1995, including his three residences. The book completely records the architect’s important works after war, which is not only the important foundation for the research on the history of architecture but also the important medium to have a glimpse of Mr. Wang Da-hong’s inner world. It is expected that Prof. Shyu’s guided reading will share the true stories hidden in the book with the public together.
After the compromise and torment during the design and construction of Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Mr. Wang Da-hong turned to concentrate on the mental work of writing despite his passion for architecture and design. At the same time, he started his literary career. The most representative work should be the translation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1966 from English into the Chinese version, Du Lian-kui. The book looks like a work of play, but the translation is the interpretation with multiple meanings. The forum “Wang Da-hong and Du Lian-kui” held on the morning of September 5 will invite three scholars from the different fields to present Wang Da-hong’s inner struggle and the atmosphere of that time through the exchanges and conversations at the forum.
Mr. Wang Da-hong has three wishes for his life. First is to write a song. Second is to write a good book. Third is to build a good house. In his complicated brain full of ideal thoughts, he spared no effort in life to complete the English science fiction, Phantasmagoria. At the second book lecture on September 12, Prof. Shyu Ming-song and Prof. Ni Ann-yue will have a splendid conversation leading us to the inner world of the poet of architecture and carefully reading his meticulous and sensitive thinking in the book.
Welcome to actively participate in the three forums and lectures. For epidemic prevention and activity quality, every lecture will be open to only 40 participants. In accordance with the CDC’s epidemic prevention guidelines, all participants have to follow the real-name registration and wear face masks at all times. For more information on the activities and registration, please visit the official website of the hall www.yatsen.gov.tw or call (02)2758-8008, ext. 535, 725.