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 losing elegance and refinement—how much more pain can we endure from the loss of culture? 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 self-reflections and achievements in preserving historical buildings—The Revolution of Space, experimental architectural works that earned him acclaim in the fashion world—The Mayfly Architecture, a collection of essays on urban cultural critique—The Amnesiac City, and architectural travelogues that deeply influenced him—Eyes on the Roam.
Perhaps due to personal reasons, I was reluctant to focus on this external facade, and my mentor repeatedly warned me not to publish these worthless works prematurely. Therefore, I had always politely declined invitations from publishers on both sides of the strait to release what they called a personal collection or biography. However, as days passed, materials gradually disappeared for unknown reasons, and I grew concerned about my aging memory. With persistent 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. But what could they do if I refused? And if I didn’t insist?
For those who often asked me for materials, I am truly sorry. From now on, they will have to buy these books themselves. It’s embarrassing to admit that, apart from handing over materials and participating in interviews, I didn’t actually engage in the process. By the time the initial drafts 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 write this preface in just one day. This is why I insisted on not publishing these chaotic personal growth materials, which my mentor, Han Bao-de, believed would never be my best achievements. I wanted to avoid regretting it later, and now I do.
Psychologically, however, I am deeply grateful to Ren Ding for his care and effort. This was no easy task. I am often seen as someone who participates in everything, which is why I’ve accumulated so much material over my career. Perhaps I believed that by the end of my life, I would have achieved something, so I tried to preserve these materials. I owe my gratitude to Ren Ding and his team members, Fei and Hao Tan, as well as the young friends I haven’t met yet. Of course, I must also admire and thank East China Normal University Press for their courage to accept this.
If anyone truly reads the texts in these materials, they will realize that these results-driven appearances are all works 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, but the others who came along with external circumstances claim it all started with me, misleading readers. I never had the chance to clarify this, perhaps because life is like this—otherwise, why would there be the saying that a true friend is hard to find?
I’ve always been lucky. I believe there will come a day when someone in China, other than my mentor, will understand me—just like the foreigners who praise me so much that I feel ashamed. Then, my architectural work, which I have to present to my mentor, will have a chance to shine. In my personal standards, my life’s architectural vision has long since appeared—it’s just that others don’t understand it. Otherwise, how did I attract so many external reputations? So I no longer care about this vision myself. Let you say what you will—scorn or praise, I remain who I am: I think, I speak, I act, and thus I exist, as if in a place no one else knows.
After publishing these personal materials, what I truly want to clarify is that outsiders think everything I do is flashy and bewildering, as if I’m someone who chooses the path of least resistance. But in my own eyes, I am a quiet person like still water—just that others can’t see it. Must I shave my head and eat vegetarian food?!
Having left the fame and fortune of Taipei and moved to Shanghai, I’ve been here for over sixteen years, working tirelessly but to no avail, often rejected by the Chinese. I feel like I’ve achieved nothing, my hair is thinning, my teeth are loose, and my body is aging. I despair of returning home, even shedding tears in my dreams at midnight. What a shame! What a shame!