The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall () is a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

and tourist attraction erected in memory of Generalissimo

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

, former

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had ...

. It is located in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. The monument, surrounded by a park, stands at the east end of Memorial Hall Square. It is flanked on the north and south by the National Theater and National Concert Hall.

Description

The Memorial Hall is white with four sides. The roof is blue and octagonal, a shape that picks up the symbolism of the number eight, a number traditionally associated in China with abundance and good fortune. Two sets of white stairs, each with 89 steps to represent Chiang's age at the time of his death, lead to the main entrance. The ground level of the memorial houses a library and a museum documenting Chiang Kai-shek's life and career, with exhibits detailing Taiwan's history and development. The upper level contains the main hall, in which a large statue of Chiang Kai-shek is located, and where a guard mounting ceremony takes place at regular intervals.

Development

20190416 Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall statue-2

Military parade in front of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

After

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

died on 5 April 1975, the

Executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...

of the government established a Funeral Committee to build a memorial. The design, by architect

Yang Cho-cheng Yang Cho-cheng (; 1914 – 26 November 2006) was an internationally renowned Chinese architect. One of his best-known works is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a major landmark in Taipei – with his design being chosen from entries in an in ...

, was chosen in a competition. Yang's design incorporated many elements of traditional Chinese

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

to mirror that of the

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain (Nanjing), Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was L ...

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

in mainland China. (The

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

(KMT) revered Dr.

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

as founder of the party and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

Chiang had led.) Groundbreaking for the memorial took place on 31 October 1976, the 90th anniversary of Chiang's birth. The hall officially opened on 5 April 1980, the fifth anniversary of the leader's death. Yang's design placed the main building at the east end of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park (), covering over in

Zhongzheng District Zhongzheng District (also Jhongjheng District) is a district in Taipei. It is home to most of the national government buildings of the Republic of China (Taiwan), including the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, the Control Yuan, the ...

. A main gate, the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness () was placed at the west end on Chung Shan South Road, with a Gate of Great Loyalty () standing at the north side on Hsin Yi (Xinyi) Road and a Gate of Great Piety () standing at the south side on Ai Kuo (Aiguo) East Road. A Boulevard of Homage, bordered by manicured bushes, connected the main hall with the square.

Subsequent history

The square became Taipei's site of choice for mass gatherings as soon as it opened. The nature of many of those gatherings gave the site new public meanings. The hall and square became the hub of events in the 1980s and early 1990s that ushered Taiwan into its era of modern

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

. Of the many pro-democracy demonstrations that took place at the square, the most influential were the

Wild Lily student movement Taiwan's Wild Lily student movement () or March student movement was a six-day student demonstration in 1990 for democracy. The sit-in at Memorial Square in Taipei (since rededicated as Liberty Square in commemoration of the movement) was init ...

rallies of 1990. The movement provided the impetus for the far-reaching political reforms of President

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...

. These culminated in the first popular elections of national leaders in 1996. The site's importance in the development of Taiwan's

led to the plaza's rededication as Liberty Square by President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

in 2007. Memorial Hall was also renamed in a dedication to democracy. The announcement of the new names were greeted with hostility by Kuomintang officials. The original dedication to Chiang was subsequently restored to the hall by President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

, while the name Liberty Square was eventually affirmed by officials across party lines. In 2017, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the February 28 Incident and the 30th anniversary of the lifting of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

, Taiwan's Ministry of Culture announced plans to transform the hall into a national center for “facing history, recognizing agony, and respecting human rights.” Scholars and experts were invited to form an advisory group to help plan the hall's transformation. Public discussion of the transformation began the following year in forums held throughout Taiwan. The Chinese inscription now over the main gate declares the plaza '' Liberty Square''. The calligraphic style recalls that of

Wang Xizhi Wang Xizhi (; ; 303 AD361 AD) was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, general and writer during the Jin dynasty. He was best known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. Wang is sometimes regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher in Chines ...

in the

East Jin Dynasty East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

(see

Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...

). The style is noted for its sense of vitality, movement and freedom. The

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

in the inscription are placed in left-to-right sequence to follow modern practice in Taiwan. (The right-to-left order of ancient Chinese tradition had been observed at the site up until then.) See: In 2018, pro-independence student activists stormed the hall and threw paint on the statue of Chiang Kai-Shek, two were arrested and penalized for NT$2000. In 2019 the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall hosted an exhibition by the Chinese artist Ling Feng (靈峰). The 88 works exhibited were sharply critical of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

and authoritarianism in general.

Gallery

References

External links