A Font of History and Memory Springs Back to Life

“Central Bookstore is back!” The news swept through Taiwan’s literary circles in the late fall of 2019. Said to have been established in 1927, Taiwan’s largest Chinese-­language bookstore during the period of Japan­ese colonial rule had closed down in 1998. But the hard work and fundraising of a diverse group of indi­viduals succeeded in reopening the shop at its original location 22 years after the lights were turned off.

A group photo of Central Bookstore employees circa 1941.

The power of idealism

The shop stands at the corner of Shifu Street and Taiwan Boulevard in the heart of Taichung’s old downtown district, only three blocks from the old Taichung Prefectural Hall and just down the road from the city’s ever-bustling train station.

The bookstore itself occupies an old, round three-story building right on the corner. Its light gray walls, plate glass windows, and the old-fashioned font of its shingle give it a refined look that attracts passersby.

“While it hasn’t been designated a national historic building, its historical spirit and value make it an import­ant place,” says Central Bookstore vice director Kelly Shen. “A sense of ethnic self-awareness drove the founders to establish the store. We refer to that drive as ‘the power of idealism.’”

The present store carries echoes of the past. The original shop was jointly opened by intellectuals such as ­Chuang Chui-sheng and Yeh Jung-chung who had returned from abroad, were passionate about culture and the arts, and were committed to serving the people, working together with gentry families from Central Taiwan, such as the Zhangs of Daya and the Lins of Wufeng. Similarly, it is liter­ati from Central Taiwan who have taken up the baton and pulled off the nearly miraculous reopening of the store on the same site almost a century later.

The Central Club was initially set up as a joint-stock company. The photo shows a stock certificate issued in 1927.

Culture and knowledge

When the first Central Bookstore opened a century ago, it was positioned as more than just a bookshop. Drawing on the thinking behind the Central Club, the founders also provided dining, lecture, and entertainment spaces. The bookstore itself also acted as a publisher of books, as well as arts magazines such as Nan Yin (“southern voice”) and Taiwan Wenyi (“Taiwan arts and letters”).

The recently reopened Central Bookstore carries those ideas into the present. The Shang Shan Human Culture Foundation, which purchased the building and now runs the store, has adopted an integrated business model that not only has the three-story, 660-square-meter space retailing works of literature, history and philosophy, but also incorporates a mall for creative and cultural goods, dining services, a reading area, and a lecture hall. In a further echo of its history, the new store also has publishing capabilities.

“We hope that the people who come here will experi­ence a different side of reading,” says Shen. “We have positioned Central Bookstore as ‘more than just a bookstore.’ The old Central Bookstore was a place for liter­ati to interact. We hope that the new one also becomes a forum for interaction: between people and other people, people and books, and people and knowledge.”

Committed to the idea of “reading” with all five senses, the shop puts on events to enrich works by taking them beyond the printed page. For example, the Wednesday Reading Club hosted by PC Home chairman Jan Hung-tze leads rereadings of literary classics. The shop also brings books and food together with “author banquets” that bring to life flavors described in books, or that serve up specialties of the authors themselves. Regardless of the format, these meals help bring people closer to literature.

In addition to being a bookshop, Central Bookstore was also a publisher of works by local authors such as Yeh Jung-chung and Hong Yanqiu.

Refreshing a grand old building

The team that Taichung-born architect Chiang Le-­ching and structural engineer Justin C.H. Shih assembled for the renovation was a key contributor to the remaking of this previously dilapidated building. Once they’d examined the more than 70-year-old structure, they had to figure out how to update it to meet modern demands. The initial purchase of the building, along with the ­subsequent renovations, ultimately cost more than NT$100 million.

In truth, this nearly 100-year-old bookstore has evolved before. It first opened in 1927 in a single-­story wooden building located at what today is 103 Shifu Street, and operated at that site until 1948. After the war, it relocated from the wooden shop to a three-story brick building at its present location. The modern Central Bookstore might be thought of as version 3.0. Having risen again as magnificent as ever, it continues to offer an open door to a vast repository of knowledge and art.                          

Architectural elegance tour        

Round columns and latticed ceiling

Though the building has been fully renovated, its original round columns and latticed ceiling have been preserved, giving the space a dignified air.

More than just a bookshop, Central Bookstore also organizes a variety of events aimed at fostering a deeper engagement with books.

A rounded exterior and circular space

The flowing exterior belt spans the whole building, incorporating stylistic elements drawn from art nouveau and the decorative arts. 

Central Bookstore’s food and beverage services let patrons enjoy a book with their coffee.

Octagonal columns

Octagonal washed terrazzo columns framing the entrance are inspired by traditional Japanese wood-frame building design. Their sharp lines add elegance to the building.

Round columns and latticed ceiling

A rounded exterior and circular space / Octagonal columns