This lecture focuses on how architectural styles served as a political tool during Chiang Kai-shek’s authoritarian rule in post-war Taiwan (1945–1975). It examines their key role in constructing state ideology and the spatial practice of power. Tsai’s research indicates that the authoritarian government translated political will into concrete architectural forms through a specific ‘visual rhetoric’, thereby shaping public collective memory and cultural identity. Through an examination of iconic landmarks such as Chung-shan Hall, the National Palace Museum, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the lecture demonstrates how the authoritarian regime employed a visual rhetoric of 're-Sinicization' to reconstruct the legitimacy of Chinese orthodoxy on Taiwanese soil, effectively erasing the ‘remnants of the colonial landscapes’ from the Japanese era. Beyond the archaic appearance, this architectural language is not merely an aesthetic choice, but a profound political manifesto.

Jung-Jen Tsai is a faculty member in the Department of Architecture at National United University in Miaoli, Taiwan. His research interests lie in religious architecture during the Japanese colonial period and post-war modernist architecture in Taiwan. He is currently authoring a monograph on Japanese Shinto shrines in Taiwan. Beyond his theoretical work, Dr. Tsai has led numerous regional historical building surveys and restoration projects, with a specialized focus on traditional Hakka dwellings, which are published as expert reports. Believing that "history is the key to understanding the essence of space," he is dedicated to cultivating a profound humanistic perspective in future architectural practitioners.

For more information, please refer to the attached PDF

• DATE: Thursday, 18 June, 2026
• TIME: 17:00-18:30
• LOCATION: SIN 1, Department for East Asian Studies/Chinese Studies, Altes AKH, Campus, Spitalgasse 2, Yard 2, Entrance 2.3