Ho Puay-peng
Director of the Centre for Architectural Heritage Research

Professor Ho Puay-peng received his First Class Honours degree in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He currently serves as Director of the Centre for Architectural Heritage Research (CAHR) and undertakes academic and research work including conservation and consultancy services for historic buildings in Hong Kong. He is also Honorary Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, a member of the Town Planning Board, the Antiquities Advisory Board, and the Expert Panel of the Museum of History and Heritage Museum, and Chairman of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust. Professor Ho is a researcher in the areas of Chinese architectural history, Buddhist art and architecture, Dunhuang studies and vernacular Chinese architecture. He has published widely, including two books and many book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.

Professor Ho Puay-peng first explained the title of his talk. He pointed out that "identity" refers to the intention of constructing a building and "form" is a method of translating the intention into a building. He discussed the intention and method of buildings that combined different Chinese and Western elements in early Republican China with a good number of examples in both mainland China and Hong Kong. Below is a brief summary of Professor Ho's talk.

Professor Ho pointed out that in addition to the traditional Chinese imperial-style buildings in Beijing, there were already Western-style buildings in China during the late Qing. One example is the Church of the Saviour (1888), which was a very important symbol of Western imperialism at the time. Even then, the Western-style building was mixed with Chinese elements. For example, Chinese-style stone lions were built on the roof of the Church of the Saviour.

Professor Ho explained that in early Republican China, when Western churches started to help China develop modern education and medical services, many universities and hospitals were set up, and these buildings were designed with an interesting mix of both Western and Chinese style by Western architects or missionaries. Professor Ho shared many examples with us, including the Private University of Nanking, Nanking Normal University, Yale-in-China College and Hospital and Yenching University. Yale-in-China College and Hospital, sponsored by the Yale-in-China Association is a typical example. The college was designed by Henry Killam Murphy, who later participated in the design of many other buildings in China. Professor Ho pointed out that the intention of the building style for Yale-in-China College and Hospital was reflected in the report of the Yale-in-China Committee in 1914: "It was felt that in addition to the educational, medical and religious objectives of the Yale movement, there was also an opportunity for good in the buildings themselves, by showing the Chinese the possibilities of preserving their architectural heritage in a group of buildings embodying the most modern American ideas of plan and construction." Chinese architectural heritage and modern construction were the two important concerns of the Western sponsors. The building of Peking Union Medical College and Hospital, designed by the company of Shattuck & Hussey, shared a similar consideration. When the company inspected the hospital site in 1917, they recorded that "an adaptation of Chinese architecture has served a double purpose: first, it has made it possible to use Chinese materials almost exclusively in the construction of the buildings; secondly, it has made it possible to give to the buildings in addition to the usefulness for which they were planned architectural beauty in harmony with the great architectural monuments in Peking". Their intention was to adopt Chinese elements to make the building blend in with the environment in Peking. How to combine Chinese styles in these modern buildings became a major concern of the foreign designers. When Henry K Murphy later designed Ginling Girls' College in 1923, he received a letter from Matilda Thurston, the President of the college. She wrote: "Personally, I want them to be Chinese below the roof as well, if we go in for Chinese style at all. I think your sketches for the Yale-in-China buildings are nearer to having a real Chinese look than any other buildings I have seen." Murphy replied, "I sympathise entirely with your feeling that your buildings should also be Chinese below the roofs. The roof is, of course, the most distinctive feature of the Chinese style; but the essence of the style runs all through, in the fenestration, the relation of voids and solids, the mass and the detail. We feel that it is worthwhile to attempt to get the spirit of these wonderful Chinese buildings at all, in modern work, unless we can work with something more than the top."

In addition to universities and hospitals, Professor Ho showed us examples of church construction in early Republican China. He pointed out that in churches, the Chinese building style became a problem, for it was commented that "the Chinese style, as a way of building, consists essentially of a monumental roof placed on columns, extremely expensive and very inappropriate to suits its purpose. (…) This is not what we want for our church buildings". Churches in early Republican China, including the South China Regional Seminary/Holy Spirit Seminary and others, adopted many Chinese elements, which reflects the efforts of missionary architects to make church buildings blend in with the Chinese environment.

Professor Ho concluded that the intention behind combining Chinese and Western styles in buildings in early Republican China was to maintain Chinese architectural heritage, and this was achieved by different architects in different ways. As a large number of these buildings flourished in China, Henry Murphy described the buildings as examples of "Chinese Renaissance Architecture", which Professor Ho did not agree with. Professor Ho considered these buildings to be examples of "Eclectic Architecture" in which different elements mix together.