- Chinese Name: 林會承
- Born: 1951
- Birthplace: Taipei City (Northern Taiwan)
- Did You Know That …?
- After serving as an architecture teacher at Chung Yuan Christian University for nine years, Lin decided to pursue further studies in the history of architecture at Scotland in 1989. Lin was the first Taiwanese national to receive full scholarship from the University of Edinburgh.
Specializing in early human settlement, Taiwanese architectural history, and cultural heritage preservation, Lin Hui-cheng is a notable scholar whose studies and research have been recognized by Taiwan and the international community. Apart from teaching at university level, Lin also conducts extensive investigations on local cultural heritage.
Lin started his career as a professor and scholar after receiving a master's degree in architecture from the National Cheng Kung University. Before working for Taipei National University of Arts, Lin also taught architecture at Chung Yuan Christian University and Tunghai University.
While Lin was studying at the National Cheng Kung University, he began his first field study in human settlement on Lukang Settlement. Lin developed a research method combining anthropology and sociology to analyze the form and space of Changhua's Lukang Settlement from a cultural perspective.
One of his most affirmed field studies was conducted on Zhongshe Village of Wangan Township on the outlying island Penghu. It took Lin nearly 20 years to study and analyze the architectural form and living environment of the settlement. The case study caught international attention, and Zhongshe (Jungshe) Village became one of the 100 most endangered sites listed by the 2004 World Monument Watch.
In the 1980s, Lin started to focus on studying local architectural history. By 1984, the concept of cultural preservation began to take hold in Taiwan. The lack of relevant information, however, spurred Lin to write a book on the history of Taiwan architecture and "Manual of Taiwan Traditional Architecture Forms and Techniques (台灣傳統建築手冊形式與作法篇)” was published in 1985.
In 1999, the 7.3-magnitude Jiji earthquake devastated Taiwan, prompting Lin to partake in physically saving cultural heritage for the first time. Lin organized fifteen teams consisting of professionals from architecture, interior design, history, and culture to save and restore damaged historical sites in disaster areas across Taiwan.
After completing the post-quake recovery work, Lin suggested that the Council for Cultural Affairs, predecessor of the Ministry of Culture, should establish a preservation center. The Bureau of Cultural Heritage now carries out annual surveys and publishes annals on local heritage preservation, amends the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, and compiles and updates a glossary on Taiwan architecture.
Currently serving as chairman of School of Culture Resources at the Taipei National University of Arts, Lin noted that he remains passionate about human settlements, and that his next goal is to write a book on the development of Taiwan architecture and how such structures can be considered a cultural stratum containing the nation's past influences.