Yuan Gu Bookstore Introduction
Yuan Gu Bookstore is a historical building with a history of 185 years. After its restoration was completed in 2019, it transformed into a common people's living museum, becoming a model for the revitalization of cultural heritage in private spaces. The museum is notable for being the only historical building in Taiwan to have received two special performance awards for the management and maintenance of historic buildings across 104 and 110 years, as well as excellent recognition in the evaluation of management and maintenance of historic buildings. The award reasoning for 2021 states that Yuan Gu Bookstore is a privately-owned shop and residence built during the Japanese colonial era. With careful management and maintenance by the owners, it has formed a unique space for the reuse of old houses. The restoration method of Yuan Gu Bookstore respects the original materials and structural characteristics of the old building, presenting a unique aesthetic space that highlights the value of cultural heritage. Various activities held here are integrated with culture and the arts. The "Ageless Artisan Lecture Series" and the publication "Ageless Artisans: A Gaze Through the Lens" introduce local artisans with traditional skills, assisting in the transmission of Taiwan's traditional crafts. Yuan Gu Bookstore also collaborates with universities, integrating the expertise of university faculty and students to compile experiential handbooks on social artistic education and science, providing young people with opportunities to participate in the preservation and revitalization of cultural heritage, while also helping tourists understand the history of the Yu-Fa Trading Company. The name Yuan Gu Bookstore implies that the classical is the source of the modern, highlighting a performance experimental style that merges Eastern classical aesthetics with modern elements, showcasing repair methods retained over 185 years. It has clearly become a unique architectural exhibit transcending time and space. To innovate new thinking in historical space revitalization, after its restoration in 2019, the space exhibits a new classical style encapsulated in the idea that old is new, with traditional row houses serving as an innovative museum experimental base. The results include: · The preservation and revitalization practice of a non-profit local cultural museum emphasizing its public and benevolent nature, with its operational characteristics included in Chapter 5 of the Museum History published by the Taiwan Historical Museum in 2021, titled "Civic Writing, Civic Practice: Storytelling through Houses: The Preservation and Revitalization Practice of Yuan Gu Bookstore.” · In 2024, the past execution content of Yuan Gu Bookstore was favored by the Museum Education Development Association, leading to the compilation of a book offering practical guidelines for the operation of small museums, which is sold at Eslite Bookstore and Books.com.tw, and was invited to share operational experiences at various cultural centers in Taitung, Tainan, Yilan, Taoyuan. · The Ageless Artisan Creative Elderly Plan received the best case awards through audience voting in both the first and fourth editions of the promotion cases for museums and local cultural centers. · The Ageless Creative Happy Co-Aging case was shared at venues such as Dharma Drum Mountain's Anhe Branch and the Juefeng Buddhist Foundation, with about 420 attendees. Its creative works were invited to participate in the Tainan 400 Mail Art exhibition, together with 400 global cultural and artistic figures, writing a love letter to Tainan. · In 2023, Taiwanese-American high school student Leanne Lin returned to Taiwan to film a documentary on Ageless Artisans, which won second place at the Shanghai High School Film Festival and was also nominated for the All American High School Film Festival, with the film screened at the AMC theater in Times Square, New York City.
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