English 英: Renée Tse · Chinese 中: Ophelie C.
Interview: Deborah Lau-Yu Editorial Co-ordinator: Lilian Mak
Assistant Editor: Melissa Haggerty Photography: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

If you had to name one of the most memorable scenes from the 2018 rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, the fervent mahjong game between Eleanor Young and Rachel Chu (played by Michelle Yeoh and Constance Wu respectively), would be at the top of many people's lists. What looks like a beautiful mahjong club set in a traditional Chinese courtyard was, in actuality, the majestic UNESCO heritage site-turned-boutique hotel Cheong Fatt Tze, located in Penang, Malaysia.

More commonly known as The Blue Mansion, thanks to its vibrant indigo blue façade, Cheong Fatt Tze had fallen into disrepair by the time that conservationist Lin Lee Loh-Lim and her architect husband, Laurence Loh heard that UNESCO had put the 19th-century mansion on the market in the 1980s. Knowing nothing about the magnitude of what they were about to undertake, the Loh-Lim’s joke now that they “Couldn’t think of a reason at the time to pass on the opportunity!” Two decades later and after considerable patience, painstaking research, expense, grit and determination to do “right” by the building, The Blue Mansion is widely recognized today as the standard bearer of the conservation movement.

靛藍色的外牆、哥德式高窗、碎瓷拼花裝飾、科林斯柱式、斯托克釉彩幾何圖形地磚、蘇格蘭風格旋轉樓梯……甫踏進俗稱「藍屋」的張弼士故居──光祿第，映入眼簾的一磗一瓦都講究極緻。這一座結合十九世紀中西風格的古厝，絕對是馬來西亞檳城一道不可錯過的風景，難怪2000年榮獲聯合國教科文組織亞太區文物古蹟保護獎卓越項目獎，被視為古蹟修復的典範。

古蹟保育從來不易。藍屋始建於1897年，原主人張弼士是富可敵國的實業家、金融家、慈善家，紐約時報曾經稱他為「亞洲的洛克菲勒」 (Rockefeller of the East)；商而優則仕，更是「大清國駐檳城第一任副領事」。當年，這幢兩層樓的宅院花七年的時間建造，總共有38間房間、5座天井、7幢樓梯和220扇窗戶，裡頭有各式各樣精美的樑柱雕花以及進口的建材，外觀全以石灰混合英國進口的天然靛藍色染料塗抺於外牆，所以被稱為「藍屋」。可惜這白手起家的清末南洋首富後代凋零，大宅早於上世紀八十年代已破落，更幾乎不敵城巿發展被夷平。幸得建築師盧光裕及盧林玲理夫婦等人傾力拯救、出手買下，這座古厝的昔日輝煌才得以於1995年重現。這幢修復後的宅院在近年屢屢被借用為知名電影的場景，《我的超豪男友》的經典麻將場景就在這裡拍攝。

who was Cheong Fatt Tze?

After leaving China at the age of 16, the young migrant first settled in Jakarta, working as a menial water carrier before making his way to Penang. After marrying his employer’s daughter, his father-in-law became his sponsor. With his newfound status, connections and sharp instincts, Cheong Fatt Tze rose through the ranks to become the Consul-General for China in Penang and Singapore. He was also a successful industrialist, financier and philanthropist who was affectionately described as  ‘China's Last Mandarin and First Capitalist.’ 

藍屋如今成功逆轉歲月的無情洗禮，背後盡是盧氏夫婦十多年來的心血。盧林玲理女士說：「八十年代沒有人會談保育，那好像是很學術性的項目。當時喬治城也沒想過爭取加入聯合國教科文組織的世界遺產名錄之類。」

From Gothic to Art Nouveau to the age-old chinese art

Attempting to categorize the architectural style of the Blue Mansion proves impossible: from Gothic windows to Art Nouveau stained glass to the age-old Chinese art of porcelain cut-and-paste decor, the varied styles and eras assembled in one house technically shouldn’t work on paper. “I think as designers and architects, what amazed us most about this house was how they threw all these different styles together and it still looks right,” notes Loh-Lim. “It’s absolutely fascinating.”

想當年，他們兩夫婦剛從外地回到檳城華僑聚居的喬治城定居，先生是著名建築師，而她是一名社會心理學教授，與保育工作風馬牛不相及。「我和我先生本來對這些東西一無所知，但這些年來，我們付出了很多心力去學習。」

In addition to the many beautiful architectural details, it is the mansion’s perfect feng shui that is one of the most enthralling features for the conservationist – from the design of the gutters to the actual placement of the house. “Cheong Fatt Tze probably hired the number one feng shui master of the day,” says Loh-Lim. “The house consists of five courtyards (one of only two buildings outside of China that has so many) with one in the centre and two courtyards on either side of it. It is perfectly symmetrical. But the house is also cranked in a very strange manner where it doesn’t sit at a right angle to the street, which is obviously done for feng shui reasons.”

The superstitions do not stop there. Cheong Fatt Tze ensured this mansion had the perfect feng shui situation (read: “to sit on the dragon's back.”) This means the location must face the sea, have hills behind it and be situated on a slope like it’s sitting on a dragon's back. As Loh-Lim points out, it’s not hard for buildings to face the sea in Penang, because any way you turn, you're facing the ocean. Same goes for the hills. But to fulfill the third condition was much harder in the middle of an urban city like George Town where everything had been flattened. 

「藍屋有很多不可思議的事物！」她侃侃而談這兒的建築特色，原來美輪美奐的外觀裏面，還蘊藏着精密的風水佈局。她說一般人常錯過這些細節：「每年數以千計到訪的遊客、又或專業如建築師都未必留意得到，藍屋最了不起的是中庭 ──前方設有兩個梯級，後方則有三個梯級。風水大師就是在這細節令整棟大宅形成前低後高格局，彷彿坐落在龍脈上背山面海。」

The Modern Blue Mansion

“The house has these incredible features barely anyone notices – even architects miss it,” says Loh-Lim. “Cheong Fatt Tze added these subtle details so the rear of the house is substantially higher than the front; this makes the house appear to be sitting on that lovely little dragon's back facing the sea with the hills behind.” Essentially, the entire rear of the first floor has been lifted. 

“This is why I always say good conservation has to be done very, very slowly because if you move too quickly, 1) you make mistakes and 2) you miss a lot of things,” says Loh-Lim.

“Laurence and I took six and a half years to restore the house. It was a process of discovery and we definitely kept discovering things.” 

After the heritage house was restored to its former glory, they then had to figure out what the place should be. Many ideas were floated about, including an exclusive town club with fine dining and karaoke, as well as a small shopping centre to sell designer clothes.

原籍廣東潮州的張弼士高瞻遠矚，各行各業的生意都風生水起，其故居隱藏了精妙的聚財格局。中國傳統相信水為財，大宅特設隱藏管道聚水、聚財。「他們通過隱蔽的排水溝引雨水入宅，這細節實在令人驚嘆，我們也要待到修理排水溝時，才發現雨水引進天井時會經過這麼迂迴曲折的排水系統，精妙的設計讓雨水盡可能聚在大宅內。」細心留意，還會發現藍屋設計傾向用「8」字或「6」的數字，取其廣東話諧音「發」和「無窮」的意思。

“Choosing to do it as a hotel was an attempt to retain authenticity and the spirit of place,” says Loh-Lim. “If you understand Chinese ancestral house customs, you only needed to carry the same surname to be able to stay over. If Cheong Fatt Tze and his extended family were still around, they would have used the house in this way – lots of people eating, sleeping and celebrating… like the way we use it now.”

Aside from daily tours for tourists and locals to discover the rich history of the mansion, today the heritage boutique hotel consists of 18 spacious suites, each named after a great Chinese dynasty, two standalone townhouses, a fine-dining restaurant, a bar and a café. 

“We had rented the house out for a wedding one weekend and I remember the bride’s aunties and grandmothers asked if they could play mahjong, as they had brought their own set from Kuala Lumpur,” reminisces Loh-Lim on one of her most gratifying memories. “I told them they could use the breakfast tables because they were formerly mahjong tables with little drawers. They took up two mahjong tables and played all morning and through the afternoon until it was time to get changed. It was so nice to hear the pongs and the throwing of the tiles – all the mahjong sounds. As I walked through, I looked up to the sky and said, “Cheong Fatt Tze, I hope you're happy because it's just like the way it would have been with you.”

「所以我常常說好的保育工作要慢慢進行，因為太快的話，首先你容易出錯，其次是你會錯過了很多細節。光裕和我用了六年半時間復修這座大宅，這是一個探索過程，我們在其中不斷有新發現。」盧教授最近更和聯合國教科文組織合辦大師課程，與各地的古蹟管理者分享保育心得。

在這座歷史悠久的大宅恢復昔日的輝煌後，盧氏夫婦考慮了許多方案如何善用這藍屋。「最後，我們選擇將其用作精品酒店是為了保留原有個性和精神。中國傳統風俗，只要同姓就可以留住祖屋。如果張弼士先生和他的大家庭還在，他們應該會以這種方式使用這房子 —— 一大班人在一起吃飯、睡覺、慶祝……就像我們現在一樣善用整座屋子。」藍屋目前除了中央的一進院落之外，左右兩進院落裡總共有 18 間以中國王朝命名、設計不一的寬敞套房。中間的一進院落除了前廳、花廳、和天井之外，還包括了一家酒吧和一間叫作「靛」 Indigo 的餐廳。因為是歷史古蹟，所以藍屋每天也提供定時的收費導覽，讓一般不是住在裡面的遊客也可以一睹這幢宅院的金碧輝煌。

「我不時會想，或者就是張弼士先生來找我們拯救他的故居吧！」這就是盧氏夫婦的使命，她談起張弼士的發迹史和顯赫功名時，不其然流露敬仰之情。大概就是這份使命感，驅使他們克服種種困難，堅持將藍屋傳承下去。

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