First of 2 parts

?ON Sept. 16, 1916, corresponding to the 15th day of the eighth moon, flags were ordered to be lowered to half-mast by both British and Dutch authorities to honor the life of an extraordinary man.

?Nanyang?s [Chinese term for ?land of the southern seas? or Southeast Asia, considered the land of opportunity at the time] ?first capitalist and last Mandarin,? the ?Rockefeller of the East,? Vice-Consul for China in Penang and Consul-General in Singapore, Mandarin of the Highest Order, the colorful, historic and flamboyant Chang Pi-Shih alias Cheong Fatt Tze alias Thio Tiaw Siat had passed away.

?And who was this man who had died of pneumonia in Jakarta, whose coffin was shipped first to Penang, then Singapore, then Hong Kong to lie in state before being buried in his native village of Taipu in Guangong Province, China?? asks Lin Lee Loh-Lim who, in partnership with architect Laurence Loh, took 12 years to accomplish the painstaking and meticulous architectural conservation of the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion in Penang which was awarded the Unesco Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Award of Excellence in 2000.

Surrounding himself with trappings of power and wealth, self-made Cheong Fatt Tze maintained homes in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and China, but his Leith Street home in Penang was the largest and most lavish, obviously his favorite.

Constructed between 1896-1904, the 38-room, two-story 3,150-square meter built-up area of the courtyard-style mansion blended highest quality old-style artisanship with the latest western technological innovations such as cast-iron balusters and pillars from Glasgow in Scotland, floor tiles imported from Stoke-on-Trent in England, European-influenced Art Nouveau-style stained-glass panels, wooden louver windows in the Gothic style.

Craftsmen brought over from China delicately carved wooden lattices and timber panels, executed the impeccable cut-and-paste mosaic work out of convex porcelain shards that gives the mansion so much of its character today.

Its distinguishing blue color comes from indigo dye, originally sourced from indigo plants in India, which was mixed with lime and washed on all exterior walls, particularly effective for the tropics since lime absorbs moisture while cooling walls down.

The sensitive juxtaposition of European, Malay, and Chinese construction methods and the equally multicultural overlay of East-West decorative arts surprisingly achieve an awe-inspiring architectural harmony. Because of that the Blue Mansion, despite appearing traditionally Chinese in architecture, was quite a modern house for its time.

Feng shui

Modern as it was, the Blue Mansion was also tradition-bound, adhering strictly to feng-shui principles.

Feng shui dictated that the massive mansion face the sea and keep back to Penang Hill for protection. Aligned to the southeast and angled obliquely to Leith Street, the house faces the rising sun as it must. It also had to be constructed on a slope, so the rear of the house is elevated to simulate a slope on flat city land.

Most outstanding is the water system that corresponds to the feng-shui belief that ?nature?s wealth must be drawn inward?: rainwater gutters take circuitous routes from the roof eaves, sometimes backing up in loops just to empty into the interior courtyards of the house to ensure the preservation of wealth.

Across the street, in front of the house, was built a domestic block to prevent any road being built in the future creating that unfortunate situation, a T-Junction in front of the Blue Mansion that could drain all of its fortunes away. The terraced block was put to practical use. It housed the maids, gardeners, cooks, stable boys, grooms, even out-of-favor handmaidens and concubines.

Totally attuned to the tropical Penang environment is the Blue Mansion. Despite its massive size, the interior of the house is arranged around five spacious interior courtyards?in actuality, air wells that promote internal air circulation.

Only bedrooms are completely enclosed, each opening out to an arcaded passage laid around one of the courtyards. On the other hand, there is no sense of enclosure in the family activity rooms which appear as large covered terraces adjacent to a courtyard lush with tropical plants. Openness is the feel inside the Blue Mansion. There is no sense of being in the center of highly urban Penang.

E-mail the author at pride.place@gmail.com