認知與機制：中西「建築」體系之比較

Epistêmê and Dispositif : A Comparative Study of “Architecture” in Chinese and Western Cultures

本文比較「文藝復興之後的西方」與「傳統中國」兩種建築體系對於建築的「認知架構」，以及所搭配的知識、技術、階級等「機制」；指出自「文藝復興」起，西方開始將建築視為一種體現存有本體，具有形上功能的致知媒介，可以借用精確的圖學系統，轉寫意念為具體空間及構築形式；建築師因此成為有文化詮釋權力的社會精英。相對於此，「傳統中國」視建築為一種禮制與吉凶的工具，是一種高度格式化的操作體系；營建工匠的社會地位不高，而且在知識與技術上很難超越這些限制。近代中國 （與台灣） 引入前者，但社會大眾對於建築的理解仍停留於後者，因而導致日後分裂的建築發展歷程，衍生出諸多矛盾，甚至延續至今。

This essay compares two systems of architectural practices by their 'epistêmê 'and ' dispositif '. The first one is the contemporary professional model originated at the Renaissance; the other is the (traditional) Chinese or Taiwanese one based on crafts and feng-shui. The 'Renaissance' system considers architecture as a means of representing logos or Being; therefore acquires an epistemological or metaphysical function, supported by the architect’s 'technê ' of 'disegno '. To the 'Chinese' system, architecture has been seen as a tool for discipline and fortune-management. This system was highly standardized and the craftsman was relatively ill equipped to overcome such limitations, neither intellectually nor technically. Modern China (and Taiwan) brought in the 'Renaissance' system, but the general population stays with the traditional one. The result is a conflicting process of architectural development which, while leading to many contemporary confusion and dispute, illustrates a specifically Chinese / Taiwanese modernity in architectural terms.