The Natural History Gallery was filled with nostalgic parents and their kids
during the last few days before it was moved away last Monday from an old
building on Yan'an Road E, where it had been since the 1950s.
Few of them knew that the bird specimens that enlivened their childhood
memories used to be housed on the Bund, in the RAS Building that is now the
Rockbund Museum.
The 5-story edifice opened in 1933 as the new office for the north China
branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
The old society
The society dates to 1857, when a small group of British and Americans
founded the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society to learn about China.
According to Wang Yi's 2005 book, "Research on North China Branch of RAS,"
Marco Polo's journals written in the 13th century were regarded as the earliest
comprehensive Western study of China. The next researchers to follow would not
come until the 16th century, when missionaries spread Christianity in the
Chinese language and thus were called "the first generation of sinologists in
modern history."
However, under a "closing policy" during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China
became largely secluded from the Western world. The Opium War forced China to
open its gates again, after which foreigners were allowed to live, work and
practice missionary work in Chinese port cities.
The north China branch of RAS was founded under this circumstance to help
expatriates get acquainted with Chinese customs, adapt to "cultural shocks" and
make life easier in the oriental kingdom.
Founding member J. Edkins made it clear in his opening speech for the
establishment of the society at the Shanghai Library on September 24, 1857,
according to the North China Daily News.
"We were living on the borders of a great country, which had for many
centuries excited the curiosity of the West. Marco Polo and our own Sir John
Mandeville had awakened this spirit by their narratives, so widely read in the
Middle Ages. The West was now moving to the East, and it was consequently
becoming more necessary than ever to study the literature and civilization of
China."
He noted that the society would also furnish Chinese contributions to the
knowledge of natural history, geography and other sciences, in addition to
literature.
As the settlement was founded and Shanghai grew more like a European city,
more "Shanghailanders" treated the city as a second hometown instead of a
temporary place to make quick money. Realizing the importance of cultural life,
they founded the race club, the rowing club, the book club, newspapers and the
literary society.
According to F.L. Hawks Pott's 1928 book, "A Short History of Shanghai," "a
large part of the community was not deeply interested in the society and
regarded it as a dry-as-dust institution."
Nevertheless, it went on, the society "has had a long and honorable history
and has carried on valuable research in the language, custom, ethics, history,
etc, of China."
In addition to issuing valuable journals, the society hosted numerous
informative lectures from 1857 to 1951, with topics ranging from Chinese
silkworms to mysteries of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC).
But for a long time the society had no regular home until Sir Rutherford
Alcock, the second British consul general to Shanghai, helped grant a site on
the Museum Road (today's Huqiu Road) to build the old RAS office in 1871.
This unpretentious building featured a reading room, a voluminous library of
books on the Orient and a lecture hall. In 1874, the second floor was opened as
a museum, with its prime exhibits being those of stuffed birds mostly shot and
donated by local Shanghai sportsmen. (They were later relocated to the Natural
History Gallery and still amazed parents and children two weeks ago.)
In honor of the institution, the road where the building was located was
renamed Museum Road in 1886.
The new building
In 1928, architects advised the society that the aged building had reached
the end of its functional life.
"Not only have many defects appeared through age, but termites have attacked
the building and done considerable damage. Live termites were discovered in some
of our bookcases and destroyed a certain number of pamphlets. They also attacked
two of the wood columns in our lecture hall, rendering it necessary to renew
them immediately. Termites have also attacked the roof and are still active
there," reported the North China Daily News in April 1928.
The new building was erected in 1932 and officially opened on November 15,
1933.
It was designed by George Wilson (1880-1967) of Palmer & Turner, who was
nicknamed "father of the Bund" for his masterpieces that included signature
waterfront buildings such as HSBC Building at No. 12 and the Sassoon House at
No. 20. A longtime RAS member, Wilson had also spearheaded the campaign to raise
funds for the construction.
For this cultural icon venue, he chose Art Deco, the style in vogue in the
city and the world at that time. Chinese elements were also artfully adapted for
this building that housed a society to study China.
"It's my favorite architecture on Huqiu Road, and I assumed the style that
mingles Art-Deco with Chinese elements later influenced the design of another
similar Palmer & Turner work, the Bank of China building at No. 23," says
Chinese architect Lin Yun, who authored "Shanghai Waitanyuan Historical
Buildings" and proclaimed the red-brick Ampire & Co Building his favorite on
Yuanmingyuan Road in last column.
"The architect had used the patterns of beasts, dragons and birds from
antique China bronze wares, especially a pair of granite lions sitting on the
top. Compared with the Chinese-Renaissance YWCA building on Yuanmingyuan Road,
Chinese elements were used in a more straightforward way on RAS Building," he
says.
Lin also found interesting, noteworthy details, such as the marks for men's
and women's rooms in the form of Chinese seal characters — something unique —
and the design of the staircase differing on each floor.
"As an architect, I know it's hard to design staircases like this," Lin
chuckles. "The layout is clean and clear, with a big space in the middle. The
elevation is also simple-cut, with the middle part rising up while the two sides
are falling — very Art Deco."
The building had been renovated to a contemporary museum — Rockbund Museum —
today a popular venue regularly hosting cultural activities.
When renovating it, UK-based David Chipperfield Architects maintained the
well-mouth or caisson ceiling, the simply-cut dimensional proportion and the
steel-framed windows.
"It was a sunny afternoon when we first visited this building. Lights and
shadows cast through a neat line of old windows, which created such a dramatic
effect. From that moment we decided to keep them all," recalls Chen Libin,
Shanghai office manager of the firm.
RAS returned to Shanghai in 2007, continuing its activities and missions of
over a century ago. Exploring different cultures — a natural human curiosity —
shaped the slim and simply cut RAS Building that remains as a cultural icon on
the Bund.
Yesterday: RAS Building
Today: Rockbund Museum
Architectural style: Art Deco with Chinese elements
Architect: Palmer & Turner
Built: In 1932
Address: 20 Huqiu Rd
Tips: Try to visit the museum on a sunny day to appreciate
the light and shadows cast through the original steel-framed windows. Also
notice the Chinese patterns that grace the building. It would also fun to see
the century-old bird specimen after the National History Gallery reopens at
Jing'an Sculpture Park later this year, knowing the history behind the
exhibits.