 THE HISTORIC SITES IN TAOYUAN COUNTY
Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County Government
Date of Announcement: January 13, 2004
Registered Category: ArchitectureAddress: 33 Puji Road, Dasi Township
Tel: (03) 3882201 (Dasi Township Administration Office) |
Wude Hall was the martial arts training center for the police during the Japanese Occupation Period. Each county and town built one Wude Hall at that time and there were over 70 martial arts training centers in Taiwan.
Completed in February 1935, Dasi Wude Hall belonged to Dasi Town, Sinjhu County during the Colonial Rule. As encephalitis broke out at that time and then a major earthquake hit central Taiwan in April, the opening ceremony of Wude Hall was postponed to May 20th. Wude Hall and the Convention Hall – one in Japanese style and the other in western style were considered as new fashion architecture in Dasi Park.
The Convention Center was changed to the Presidential Residence in 1950. Military Police Corps were established for the needs of security and defence and Wude Hall was used as their base. When the Military Police Corps moved to Dasi Presidential Burial Place in Touliao in 1998, the army turned over the architecture and the land of Wude Hall to Dasi Township Administration Office.
Township Administration Office did some renovations of the old dormitory in the north of Wude Hall and turned it into an activity center for parents and children in no time. Renovations of the main hall started on November 10, 2000 and completed in December 2001. In the meantime, the three-level sleeping quarters in the south of Wude Hall were rebuilt and became a township library. The old Wude Hall full of masculinity was completely made over and changed into a place of arts and literature. |
Wude Hall just completed in 1935 |
Wude Hall used as the base of Military Police Corps |
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Dasi Wude Hall is presently the one among all others that remains most intact in Taiwan. Like most other Wude Halls during the Colonial Rule, it is built of new building materials such as reinforced concrete and modeled after Japanese traditional temple of wood structure which was in fashion in Japan as well as in its colony in 1930s and known as Modern Japanese Style Architecture. Wude Hall features a hip-and-gable roof called irimoyazukuri and bargeboards on the gable end called irimoyahafu. a roof of the unique style of Japanese Shinto architecture and a western roof truss.
To meet the police’s needs of practicing martial arts, a shrine was set up on the wall opposite to the front door of Wude Hall and the raised floor was divided into two parts. Half of the floor paved with tatami provided the space for practicing judo and the other half paved with wooden boards was used to practice kendo. To accommodate Military Police Corps after the war, the Hall underwent minor renovations – the shrine was torn down and the wood floor was changed into RC floor. Furthermore, a three-level sleeping quarters was built in the south of Wude Hall. |
A hip-and-gable roof construction, called irimoyazukuri |
Western roof truss exposed when the ceiling was dismantled |
| An animal with a dragon head and a fish tail is added to each side of the ridge of the roof, which is of the architectural style of Tang Dynasty. Such a decoration is very unique as an ordinary Wude Hall uses tiles of special forms in Japanese style at the end of the ridge. The roofing is covered with shingles of asbestos and modeled after the effects of red copper tiles. The external walls are decorated with a coating of pebbles as well as moldings in imitation of the exterior of a certain wall. There are RC railings modeled after wooden railings outside most windows which resemble those of shrines and temples in Taoyuan, thereby making the architecture full of interesting variations. |
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Japanese component parts called Kaerumata made of concrete under kouryou of irimoya-hafu.
JPorch outside the door of both wings with RC railings . |
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Legitimate Japanese construction techniques –Sihun, gegiyo & bargeboards on the roof.
Veranda with RC railings outside the front and rear window. |
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The roofing is covered with shingles of asbestos and modeled after the effects of red copper tiles. |
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By Bus  Take Taoyuan Passenger Bus in Taoyuan or Jhongli to the last stop, Dasi. The journey takes about 60 minutes and regular buses are scheduled.
By Car Take the 2nd Northern Highway to Dasi exit; take Tai-4 Route, cross Wuling Bridge and arrive at Dasi; turn right to arrive at the parking lot beside the Jhongjheng Park; walk to Dasi Wude Hall.
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Please note:
Wude Hall is not open to the public. For visiting arrangements, please call Dasi Township Administration Office.
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Supervised by: Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County Government
Administered by: Mei Shan Jin Co., Ltd.
Organized by: Graduate School of Architecture and Historic Preservation, Taipei National University of the Arts
Text: Yihong Lin
English Editor: Mingsyue Lai
Calligraphy: Yihong Li
Layout: Huaisyuan Huang
Published in May 2004
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Map:
Location of Dasi in Taoyuan County
Location of the historic site in Dasi Township |
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