Forgotten City - A Pain and Love of an Architect for the Contemporary City

Author: Deng Kunyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Deliberately erasing architecture, unintentionally forgetting tradition, gradually fading elegance and refinement—how much more cultural loss can we endure? The Amnesiac City compiles Deng Kunyan's recent views and critiques on urban culture. While the first two books were serious due to their focus on reality, this collection is the first authorized publication in mainland China by Deng Kunyan, the winner of the UN "Heritage Conservation Award" and an architect. It includes his personal narratives and achievements in preserving historical buildings—The Revolution of Space; his experimental architectural works that earned him acclaim in the fashion world—The Mayfly Architecture; a collection of essays critiquing urban culture—The Amnesiac City; and The Wandering Eyes, his architectural travelogue that deeply influenced him.
Perhaps due to personal disposition, I am reluctant to attach myself to this external facade. Additionally, my mentor repeatedly warned me, at a young age, not to publish these worthless works. Thus, I have always politely declined invitations from publishers on both sides of the strait to release what they call a "personal collection" or biography. However, as days pass, materials gradually vanish for unknown reasons, and I worry about my memory declining with age. Coupled with relentless persuasion from my friend Ren Ding, who manages publishing in Shanghai, I reluctantly agreed—only to be scolded by my mentor for wasting time on such trivial matters when I should be focused on more important work.
Indeed, if I refuse, what can publishers do? If I don’t insist, what else can I do? As for those who often ask for materials, I apologize—they will now have to buy these books themselves. To my shame, beyond handing over materials and participating in interviews, I have not been actively involved in the process. By the time the initial draft of the graphic design reached me, it was already three days before printing. Even the most picky person like me had lost the right and opportunity to interfere in my own publication. Yet, I was forced to submit this preface in just one day. This is precisely why I hesitated to publish these disorganized personal growth materials, which my mentor, Mr. Han Bao-de, believes are not my best achievements, to avoid future regrets. Now, I am already regretting it.
Psychologically, however, I am deeply grateful to Ren Ding for his care and effort. This was no easy task. As someone considered by others to be deeply involved in everything, I have accumulated these mountains of materials over half my life. Perhaps I believed that by the end of my life, I would have achieved something significant, which is why I preserved these materials. I owe thanks to Ren Ding, Fei and Huo Tan in his dedicated team, as well as the young friends I have yet to meet. I must also admire and appreciate the courage of East China Normal University Press for accepting this work.
If one truly reads the texts in these materials, they will realize that these results-driven manifestations are all projects invited or commissioned by external circumstances. Professional design work and written content in these collections were all handled by outsiders, with me merely as an involuntary symbiotic participant. I know my place, yet those who come into my life at the right time claim it all stems from me, misleading readers. I never had the chance to clarify this, perhaps because life is just like this—otherwise, why would there be the saying, "A true friend is hard to find"?
I have always been fortunate, and I believe there will come a day when, apart from my mentor, someone in China will understand me—just like the foreigners who praise me to the point of my own shame. Then, my architectural work, which I present to my mentor, may finally have a chance to shine. In my personal standards, my life’s architectural vision has long been realized—it’s just that others don’t understand it. Otherwise, how did I accumulate so many external accolades? Thus, I no longer care about this vision myself. Let others say what they will—scorn or praise, I remain who I am: I think, I speak, I act, and thus I exist, as if in a place untouched by others.
Publishing this collection of personal materials, I truly wish to clarify that outsiders think everything I do is flashy and bewildering, as if I am someone who chooses the path of least resistance. Yet, I consider myself a quiet person like still water—only others cannot see it. Must I shave my head and eat vegetarian food?!
Having left the fame and fortune of Taipei behind and settled in Shanghai for over sixteen years, I have worked tirelessly, yet I have only attracted the disdain of the Chinese. I even believe I have achieved nothing, my hair now thin, my teeth trembling, my body aging. I despair of returning home, and even wake up in tears at midnight. Shameful! Shameful!