- 19/06/2025
The documentary L. E. Hudec tells the life story of this European architect. As well as offering a fresh perspective on how people from diverse ethnic groups and cultures in Shanghai bridged the gaps between them, achieved mutual success, and created iconic works using new technologies during the interwar period, it also conveys an enduring message: "Civilizations thrive and become richer through exchange and mutual learning."
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Thank you for listening.
00:30Thank you for listening.
01:00Thank you for listening.
01:01My God!
01:02I feel like we're in pain.
01:08At the end of 2022, despite members falling ill one after another, the cast of the play Hudeck began final rehearsals.
02:25This apartment the couple live in was once the wedding home of the wife's parents.
02:49It's just an ordinary unit within the avenue apartments designed by Hudeck in 1932.
02:56Similarly, this window is a plain example amid the thousands left by Hudeck in Shanghai.
03:19The ingeniously designed avenue apartments began construction nearly simultaneously with the Park Hotel, another of Hudeck's masterpieces.
03:39It was said that before the building permit was officially issued, all units were sold out.
03:44Newspapers suggested that the public's trust in the apartments was closely tied to the reputation of its architect.
03:52Years before that, Hudeck also designed the Normandy and Estrella apartments for their owners.
03:57In the 1920s and 1930s, apartments became a fashionable choice for Shanghai residents due to their convenient modern facilities and relatively independent living spaces.
04:10The brisk sales of avenue apartments undoubtedly boosted Hudeck's confidence.
04:15In 1935, he ventured into real estate investment and built his own ten-story apartment building, Hubertus Court.
04:23During this time, despite the global economic crisis affecting Shanghai, the local construction industry experienced a dramatic boom due to the dumping of building materials from Europe and America.
04:36Hudeck's office at 209 Yuanmingyuan Road remained bustling with business.
04:41Hong Dawei's grandfather, formerly a contractor at Hudeck's construction site, passed away due to illness in 1931, leaving his family without support.
05:08They sought assistance from Hudeck.
05:10At this point, employees at Hudeck's architecture firm on Yuanmingyuan Road still enjoyed decent incomes,
05:38while his residents on Panyu Road thronged with guests.
05:42He wasn't in the way, he must go to eat his鸡.
05:47His daughter told me that his father was very interested in hearing the sound of the鸡.
05:51He liked to see the鸡 in the sky.
05:57In July 1937, the Lugo Bridge incident occurred, signalling Japan's full-scale invasion of China.
06:12Within a month, Japanese forces entered Shanghai.
06:16Soon after, Hudeck relocated his 14-year-old son Martin and 12-year-old son Theodore to the coastal city of Victoria in western Canada.
06:26I came to Canada in 1937 to study, mainly here in Victoria because it was close to a port that would be able to take them back to China.
06:37The three-month battle of Shanghai ended with the Japanese army occupying the city, leaving the concession encircled by Japanese troops.
06:53Hudeck's sons in Canada could no longer freely return to China.
06:57In 1938, during his 20th year in Shanghai, Hudeck relocated his family to Hubertus Court.
07:06In the 20 years since his arrival in Shanghai in October 1918, Hudeck had completed over 50 projects and 100 buildings.
07:21However, the onset of war dampened his business prospects after he relocated to Hubertus Court.
07:28In that year, the 45-year-old Hudeck had few major projects, except for delivering the greenhouse to dye stuff magnate Wu Tongwen,
07:54which Hudeck promised would not become outdated even after a century.
07:59The construction of the greenhouse, hailed as the premier luxury mansion in East Asia, had begun three years earlier.
08:06During this period, Hudeck primarily devoted his time to reading and writing.
08:11Fang Yuqiang, a retired reporter from the Shanghai Xinmin Evening News, became interested in Hudeck's life and work,
08:40more than 30 years ago .
09:10So this book, I wrote it in the name of Udakar's book.
09:14Udakar's book is Udakar's book.
09:17Udakar also sent his own books to his own personal books.
09:22He said, you can see all these books.
09:27Most of them are foreign.
09:29Most of them are Chinese.
09:31If you can see them, it will be useful.
09:34But my grandfather was also an avid collector of books.
09:38So these are part of his antique book collection.
09:41Yeah, that's pretty well all I can say about the bookcase.
09:44We're just glad that it's here,
09:46and it's been in my family since I was a child.
09:50And I remember seeing pictures of this in Shanghai as well,
09:54in the houses that my grandfather owned.
10:00China is falling apart,
10:02and Japan aims to accelerate this process
10:05through its divide-and-conquer strategy.
10:11China has deployed 40,000 soldiers to Shanghai,
10:15each earning a meager monthly salary of two silver dollars,
10:19which is paid only after six months.
10:22While millionaires live comfortably,
10:24the masses suffer greatly.
10:29the Japanese people,
10:31and the Shanghai became not stable.
10:33At that time, the whole Shanghai, the whole China,
10:35was actually not good for the development of the building.
10:39According to the article,
10:41we saw that later,
10:43he also made a long, long building.
10:45For him, it was very interesting.
10:53The Xiaoguang building stands as Hudeck's final known
10:57as a cultural legacy in Shanghai.
10:59When it was completed in 1941,
11:01Hudeck was only 48 years old.
11:07He is such a genius.
11:09It's probably the beginning of his career.
11:11You can see what we've been doing, right?
11:13His work is not only 20 or 30 years.
11:17It's only 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 years.
11:21It's only a few pieces.
11:23It's a shame.
11:25Today, the Xiaoguang building bears little resemblance
11:31to Hudeck's original design.
11:33More than 80 years since its completion,
11:37few now mention its designer.
11:39Yet, from its inception,
11:41it has been serving countless students.
11:43Despite the passage of time,
11:45the Xiaoguang building,
11:47along with numerous other campus structures
11:49left to Shanghai by Hudeck,
11:51remains a silent witness
11:53to the growth of successive generations.
11:57In 1939,
12:11In 1939, an Italian cultural magazine on East Asia was published in Shanghai, featuring
12:30European authors' studies of Asian civilization.
12:34In its second year, 1940, Hudek contributed an article titled, Chinese Arched Bridges.
12:42Because there's a very clear similarity between Chinese bridges and ancient Roman bridges.
12:51So the essay is trying to answer to the question, who copied whom?
12:59In this article, Hudek meticulously presented his comparative study of Chinese and Italian
13:05stone bridges.
13:10And the answer is no, nobody can prove that.
13:13So, Laszlo Hudek, in his opinion, this is a kind of autonomous, independent achievement,
13:22reached by two of the most important civilizations of the past.
13:27By the time the article was published, Nazi Germany, which had expanded across Europe,
13:32had incited a wave of anti-Semitism.
13:35This led many Jews, who had lost their nationality and been forced out of their homeland to seek
13:41refuge in Shanghai.
13:43On December 8th, 1941, Japan became the dominant foreign power in Shanghai, marking the beginning
14:06of a difficult period for European Jews seeking refuge there.
14:12Most of the Jews who arrived in Shanghai early on gathered in the alleyways near the Ohel Moshe Synagogue.
14:18As relations between Japan and Germany grew closer, the Japanese army began to tighten its control
14:25over the Jewish refugees in Shanghai.
14:48to avoid the same fate as the Jews in Europe.
14:51Obtaining a nationality certificate
14:53became the most pressing need for Jews in Shanghai.
15:18Today, the National Archives of Hungary houses a letter dated January 9, 1943,
15:45from a Chinese lawyer to Hudek.
15:47In the letter, lawyer Yao Yongli accepted Hudek's invitation
15:52to serve as the legal advisor to the first Hungarian consulate in Shanghai.
15:57Hudek's letters to the telegraph office and the police bureau
16:01indicate that the consulate was located in Hudek's office
16:05at 209 Yuanmingyuan Road in the China Baptist Publication Building.
16:10We only know that he issued passports to Hungarian Jews.
16:16This is what we only know.
16:18And the Chinese people said,
16:20I don't know what the future holds,
16:23I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that as the consul for the entire China region,
16:29I will strive to fulfill my duties and protect the interests of the Hungarian people.
16:34I always take an independent stand, driven by my own conscience.
16:38not by my position.
16:39I always take an independent stand, driven by my own conscience, not by my position.
16:44On August 15,
16:48On August 15, 1945,
16:58Japan announced its unconditional surrender.
17:00Shortly after Hudek, who'd clung on in Shanghai throughout the entire war,
17:01finally got an opportunity to resume
17:03our country's mission.
17:04The Chinese people and the Chinese people,
17:05the Chinese people,
17:06I always take an independent stand,
17:07driven by my own conscience,
17:08not by my position.
17:09On August 15, 1945,
17:11Japan announced its unconditional surrender.
17:14Shortly after Hudek,
17:16who'd clung on in Shanghai throughout the entire war,
17:19finally got an opportunity to resume architectural practice.
17:49While people were still immersed in the joy of victory,
18:07government officials sent to take over properties,
18:12controlled by the Japanese,
18:14also arrived in Shanghai.
18:16Under the guise of organizing these properties for the state, they openly looted the city.
18:22Soon Hudek went from being a judge on the Gate of Victory project to becoming a target for government investigation.
18:30In June 1946, as the full-scale civil war broke out, the construction of the Gate of Victory was shelved.
18:38Hudek, having suffered greatly from the war, grew increasingly restless.
18:42At the end of 1946, just as Hudek was preparing to take his family and leave Shanghai by boat,
18:50the authorities suddenly seized his firm and placed his family under house arrest in Hubertus Court.
19:12In the end, finally, slowly became a good place to leave Shanghai.
19:19It was the same thing that I had to go to the school, but I didn't go to the school in Lugano, in Svájc.
19:46I met him there, he was very nice and he talked a long time ago.
19:53He couldn't travel anymore, it was a difficult time.
19:59Later in America I didn't meet him, when they came to America.
20:08After leaving Shanghai, Hudek hardly worked on anything related to architecture.
20:17It was not until 1958, after living in the United States for 10 years,
20:22that Hudek went back to the drawing board.
20:26His intention was to build a house for himself.
20:29Sadly it was a project that never came to fruition.
20:46It was the first place in the city of Martyn II, because there was a lot of famous people in the city.
21:03Where is Hudec?
21:07He's talking about it.
21:09He's talking about it.
21:11He's talking about it.
21:13He's talking about it.
21:15It's Hudecová family.
21:17We can see it closer.
21:19Then we can see it.
21:21Of course.
21:23That's it.
21:25So, Hudec,
21:27two of them are here,
21:29the parents, the parents.
21:31They were doing it from one school,
21:33but it's very difficult.
21:35And there's a Greek letter.
21:37I can't read it,
21:39but I can't read it.
21:41Don't forget about the results
21:43because the results are for them.
21:45That's the end of it.
22:01I can't read it.
22:03I can't read it.
22:05It's the end of it.
22:07It's the end of it.
22:09He knows what he wants to do.
22:11He can't read it.
22:13He can't read it.
22:15But one thing I can control.
22:17He's my hand.
22:19He's a card.
22:21Hudec is the majority.
22:23Is the a romp.
22:25Yes.
22:26So you're the one who is me.
22:28My...
22:30I don't know how into a world can still be enough?
22:33I don't know...
22:35...
22:39I'm going to try to find some true things you found.
22:49What is that?
22:51It's a building.
22:52It's a自由.
22:53It's a love.
22:55I'm going to open this door.
23:09It's a very common theme.
23:16It's a beautiful place.
23:19I'm going to see the building.
23:21It's a very beautiful place.
23:23It's like a cruise.
23:25It's a beautiful place.
23:27It's a beautiful place to go further.
23:29It's a very famous street.
23:31It's a beautiful place.
23:33I'll see you.
23:35The Wukang building has now become a popular tourist destination attracting people coming from all over the world
23:46It has stood here quietly for almost 100 years
23:51This window has witnessed the progress of chin jong-ming's life from youth to his twilight years
24:05Xiao Luyang
24:06Xen道 0
24:08Wang Paam
24:10There were many people from the previous Acts of the 19th century
24:14They were living in the 19th century
24:15The more I saw was living in the 19th century
24:17There were many people who came from there
24:18So I saw that there were many people in the 19th century
24:22A little girl asked me
24:23He said, you were living in the 19th century
24:28I said, I was
24:30He said, you gave me something about the 19th century
24:33This building, originally called the Normandy Apartments, when it was built in 1926, was designed by Hudeck.
24:46More than 70 years after he left Shanghai, the European architect and his buildings have returned to the public eye.
24:54A century on, these buildings still stand quietly in the city of hustle and bustle.
25:09Serving as windows on the past, they give people a chance to connect with history.
25:13Between the two world wars, architects used the most advanced technology and cutting-edge materials to create these truly inspiring works of art.
25:32By interpreting the architecture of the past, people today are able to enhance their understanding of both themselves and the present.
25:43The most powerful thing is to introduce the people in the past, and the city of our own.
25:48The theater's history of our own talent is the best, and the memory of the people who have given us a popular role.
25:53Instead of being able to introduce ourselves, the music of our own talent and our own talent is open and open.
25:55They developed the goldenness of our own talent.
25:57Do you feel convinced?
25:58Are you sure?
26:00No, I am not sure, I am sure.
26:02Just try it to look at us.
26:08Just like that, we have seen the other scene in the exact same time.
26:10This scene of the show on the show.
26:13LUNA, where is LUNA?
26:43LUNA, where is LUNA?
26:50LUNA, where is LUNA?
26:52LUNA, where is LUNA?
27:01LUNA, where is LUNA?
27:04LUNA, I don't know it's a song.
27:07Vida gong, Vida gong, Vida gong.
27:12I don't know what you're talking about.
27:15It's okay.
27:24Spring breeze stirs, ripples flow.
27:28Every bird seeks a mate.
27:31This song has been sung in Hudak's homeland for centuries.
27:37Today, the melody still resonates in people's hearts.
28:07Vida gong, Vida gong, Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:19Hade imma kit man also.
28:25Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:30Hade imma kit man also.
28:36Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:40Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:46Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:51We could put another viet mat.
28:52Verse 1 to World Congratulations.
28:57Vida gong, Vida gong, Vida gong.
28:58Vida gong, Vida gong.
29:01Vida gong.
29:02Vida gong.
29:03Vida gong.
29:04Vida gong.
29:06Vida gong.
29:08I love you, I love you, I love you.
29:18So who should I choose? I love you, I love you.
29:27You are my, I am your. I love you, I love you.
29:36I love you, I love you, I love you.
29:41I love you, I love you, I love you.
29:46I love you, I love you, I love you.
29:50I love you, I love you.
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