About Matsu

With the villagers’ help and expectation, the case of Matsu Folk Culture museum has finally accomplish its detail design and related works. Starting to work now, we feel that this cultural museum is a cultural inspissation of hometown culture, and the later display also depend on everyone is Matsu to participate. Therefore, I will explain the design of this museum, and I wish this museum can rise people of Matsu to concern the cultural features of Eastern Fujian.

The cultural museum was planed to rebuild on the current address at first, but considering the need of vehemence and activity square, the county magistrate invited parties concerned to investigate for many times and decided to jack up about four meters leaves a parking lot, other spaces are designed for folk activity square and outdoor theater, Except the folk activities, as for the festival and B.B.Q, there are power and lighting. In addition, in order to emphasize the folk art spirit of this cultural museum, two carvings are settled which their forms are left for the local people to decide. The county magistrate also provides information of local artists to the carvings so that we may hire to do the design works thereafter.

The main building is the valve type foundation RC structure, the valve is divided into top and bottom, and use the valve to make the space for dirty waste water collecting pool and fire fight reservoir, dirty waste water are collected with pump to take out to the wastewater pool. Considering the ecological protection, although the water after processing would reach the highest standard, it would not discharge directly, but pumping into ditches in the village.

There will be two general collection room and one constant temperature and humidity collecting room in the ground floor, to store collections not displayed. As for collection examine room, which is for the committee to review the cultural objects. When the objects is approvable to be collected it would be cleaned and photographed then stored. Attention, since this is not a big museum, considering the maintenance to operate and the risk of pollution ,it is not established to build a steam smoke room, the relevant procedure have to be done by the outsourcing professional to handle.

The will be 11 displaying areas, According to the discussion of the committee, at this stage we will complete the main building; and the demonstrating area will be designed later. Quasi- this principle, except the ground floor exhibition room, Matsu impression building, and the military building, speech building have to be repaired, other displaying spaces stay empty for the committee and local people to complete together.

This work includes professional design, but we still need opinions of local people, to the theme, to the spirit, and to the exhibition, the opinions may be handed over to a professional designer of this program. In addition, if we ask for more budget in present stage, we may open this museum faster along with the progress of main building.
The idea of Displaying spaces are as following：

1. Impression of Matsu

Matsu islands locates like chessboard, with abundant diversified coast, on the island there are mountains, the borders of the island are rocks, or pools, or white sand, in the ocean enriches a fish resource, and the source of long time changes of human, which are all precious educational materials.

Consequently, after cultural museum is built, there will be a mold of Matsu with real object, district slide and computer to synthesize an animation etc. with the stereoscopic model of Matsu archipelago method, exhibit Matsu geography, geology, history, industry and traditional settlement etc. Visitors can experience the beauty of Matsu, and know more about Matsu, then continue to visit other displays.

2. The private house construction

There were fishermen settled in Matsu from hundred years ago, From about one hundred years ago, villages formed, the villages are built in front of hills and faced to the sea, Since people in Matsu make lives by fishing, therefore it became the settlement mode of"One village one port "; people used local materials like digging a whole piece of granite and piled it up, covered a crest by red tile, with high but small windows, roofs of ascending water, walls are shallow or sealed completely , the houses were built along the terrain of mountains which form the exquisite style.

The architectural building is displayed in half terrace. Displaying 1/20~1/30 molds of old houses in number of three or four, to display the "rock house " that are familiar in present Matsu, Also there will be animation to display old houses (most of them are now ruined). And introducing to the building materials, such as stone, soil, wood, grass and rope...etc. by animation.

In this building also introduces Matsu region evolution in history, and representative buildings, like pirate house, local school and houses of wealthy people etc which will be displayed by map, slide or model.

3. local folk song

About 75% people in Matsu are originally from Changle county and 15% from Lienchiang county. The general using language is mainly Fuzhou language, which differs from Taiwan, Peng Hu, and Kinmen where the South Fujian dialect is often used. The language is a symbol of one language, the language is also the most necessary tool to connect culture and feeling. Each language has its special style, such as the byword, nursery song, and drama...etc., with dissimilarity of euphonic rhyme, even 3-year-old child are able to speak or sing fluently, culture hence can spread and last. In this displaying program, with hardware, there will be folk song building displaying local dialects and bywords, nursery songs and folk songs by videos and tapes, to present local features.

4. Daily life

Divide into different parts, such as food tools, dresses (clothes, decoration) and furnitures(main hall, bedroom and kitchen) and amusement tools...etc. The principle is to complete scenes with real materials and taking photographs of living style to make slides, to describe hard livings in early years. For the amusement tools of adult, kid, the data is still lacked currently, originally the idea is to avoid simple displaying but letting visitors to use the amusement tools, like musical instruments, or toys, visitors can physically experience the fun of the early years.

Another outline is about writing articles, ancient books, pens and ink, letters and musical scores, coins and hand folds, superior calligraphy official seals,and the sculpture carvings copy etc., all can be displayed items, expositions would be displayed with real objects to explain educations of manner and music in early years.

5. The fishing evolution

Because of the geographical position, most of the residents make their livings in fishing. In early years, the quantity of fish is plentiful, mainly sold to Fuzhou region in mainland China., the ocean has become the source of food and living, so people in Matsu respect the ocean , yet gradually the population continuously outflows, fishing industry declines, young generation lost their interests to the ocean. For this phenomenon, the museum displays the traditional fishing methods with real objects. It will present the science and technology assistance fishing in the future. Hoping the young generation could work on current natural resource, with the construction of the sea, to make contribution into local development.

6. The agriculture

The terrains in Matsu are mostly hills and mountains, lands are poor and unproductive, only a few are arable. However, there were farmers in early years. Tools they used to irrigate, harvest, process etc. will be displayed in this area. The traditional wall hanging will be changed into more vivid displaying way of using, hemp clothes, hats, hoes and stone mills...etc. to set out into a scene which goes with slides, to increase the delight.

7. Beliefs

This section is divided into four parts, the custom of the religion and faith, temple fair celebration ceremony and life and Chinese years. The religion and faith introduces gods’ origins, and god categories (local earth god's temple and emperor in the sky of local area)...etc. by maps, writings, slides, and real objects...etc.. Temple fair celebration ceremony would show the cruise of deities, and ceremonies. This theme might be introduced with molds, films, slides and real objects. The life custom includes three aspects, such as birth, matrimony and funeral. The focus would be marriage ceremony, The etiquette and custom then would be introduced by various solar divisions in four seasons, For example, Chinese New Year, Pure Brightness, winter stanza etc. and the activity of Lantern Festival would be the main demonstration.

8. Other related designs.

Except the theme displays, in this museum there will be displays of cultural objects (objects from Ming and Qing dynasty), local cultural activities demonstration (calligraphy, painting), outdoor demonstration (stone carving, stone implement, ancient cannon, fishing and farm implements), folk technical skill seminars, activity square etc., with diversified programmed speculation, providing an cultural environment.

As for other spaces, the multi-media briefing room can accept 148 people, the imitate traditional wood ceiling, woody sound abstracting walls, fire preventing carpets, and flexible wood stage, the stage is jacked up for s9 meters in order to install the half decline type cloth, light and screen; And the control room to control equipments, such as multi-media projector and stereo set...etc.

The multi-media briefing room establishes another independent entrance so that it would work solely without influencing the cultural museum or its displays. The ground floor establishes two pieces of large(6 meter*2 meter) pure stone, one of them adopts big sculpture carvings writing, the other would be carved of the pattern ectype of the Dongju lighthouse. However, and this speculation still leaves flexibility, if anyone has better speculation, please provide the reference of the design, only it can't be too complicated; Overall, the design principle, stays flexibility for local people to participate, after all this is the cultural museum owned by the whole Matsu residents.

The design of the cultural museum needs participation of local people, We would love to have opinions from everyone, whether for the displaying theme, the collections, the activities, the folk songs, etc.

Please provide the reference to the committee so that we can create a cultural space for the whole community.