There is a school of thought arguing that the Hakka architectural aesthetic is derived from Hakka cultural values, but the vast majority of people have great difficulty identifying the cultural values embedded in the structure and therefore can only focus their attention on carved beams, painted rafters and Tou-kung (bracket sets) decorations.
Although it is difficult to make an immediate connection between antiquities and cultural heritage, failing to make that leap results in the absence of antiquities, making it nearly impossible to recreate past cultures. This is a particular problem from the museum curator’s point of view. After all, antiquities constitute important evidence of the cultural process of human living.
Leaving aside the considerations of curators, identifying antiquities is important work from the point of view of those working to preserve and broaden recognition of Hakka culture, as Hakka cultural artifacts are often showcased in exhibits that spearhead Hakka movement.
For example, the "Taiwan Hakka Folk Culture Exhibit" started in 1985 in Longtan, Taoyuan (2nd Exhibit, 1991, 3rd Exhibit, 1995 and the 4th Exhibit, 2001) can be said to be the first exhibit of Hakka culture, pioneering the use of artifacts as the core of the exhibit. The focus of the exhibit was "food, clothing, housing and transportation" because at the time, the Longtan government offices had access to a great many old agricultural tools via the Farmers Association, which gave a glimpse into the life of the Hakka people’s ancestors. It is difficult to prove whether, after years of cultural artifact exhibits, Longtan has made Hakka culture more prominent, but in a sign of progress, Longtan will have a dedicated "Hakka Culture Guild Hall" in 2006 to support the dream of the people of Longtan to offer Hakka folk culture exhibits.
According to the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, antiquities are defined as “arts, utensils of life or civility, books or documents and audiovisual materials having cultural significance and of value of different eras and from different ethnic groups.” It is worring that such high-sounding, polished words might scare away those in the Hakka community who are not terrific writers, and might create a rift between central government policy and the Hakka cultural exhibits staged by the Longtan village government. Of course, modern students of Hakka culture do not want "rakes and rollers" or "paper parasols and straw clothes" to be the only widely known symbols of the Hakka people, but showcasing artifacts intimately connected to Hakka life is what most closely approaches the meaning of “cultural heritage” for the common people. It’s difficult to say whether the Hakka see their transition from agricultural to urban life as progress, but we can assert that different lifestyles have different cultural artifacts.
The Hakka movement, which only began at the end of the 20th century, had staged its first exhibit on its cherished agricultural society and not on the rarefied Hakka antiquities of the National Palace Museum. It was through this exhibit and others that Hakka agricultural tools like forks and rollers, which were gradually falling idle, became frontline soldiers of the Hakka movement.
The Nanhua community in Ji’an, Hualien, has in recent years completed some impressive building projects. The village chief and cultural workers have worked together to mine the cultural resources of the community. Aside from renovating and reusing its tobacco barns, the community has been on a constant mission to preserve traditional crafts such as bamboo weaving, which produces baskets, steamers and other articles of daily life. What’s especially valuable is that the community emphasizes the passing down of craft techniques, and masters teaching apprentices is a core value. This is the way it should be: a Hakka community seeking its own cultural heritage, making breakthroughs in the search for antiquities.