Speaker
Description
Traditional settlement landscapes, exemplifying the symbiotic cultural system between humans and nature, have developed distinctive regional spatial forms and organizational structures within historical environments. Yet, the preservation of China's traditional settlements faces significant threats from industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, leading to systemic fragmentation, diminished developmental momentum, and social imbalances. Addressing these challenges necessitates embedding settlement landscapes within a broader cultural ecological framework to scrutinize their developmental and evolutionary patterns. This study adopts a cultural ecological approach to devise an analytical framework for discerning the evolutionary mechanisms of traditional settlement cultural ecosystems. Focused on traditional settlements in the Southern Taihang region—a central area of the Central Plains culture—this research explores the components, developmental processes, and mechanisms that influence the local cultural ecosystem. The agrarian civilization of Southern Taihang, molded by material, social, and spiritual cultural elements, has evolved from its initial agrarian state, through phases of adaptation to external disruptions, into thriving agrarian-merchant states, followed by a decline due to environmental shifts, and reconstruction through modern tourism. This evolutionary trajectory is driven by interactions among natural environments, economic conditions, and social structures. In response to the imbalances within the cultural ecosystem, this study proposes protective and reconstructive strategies at macro-regional, meso-cluster, and micro-node levels, advocating for the harmonious integration of external natural and cultural environments with settlement ecosystems. It champions a shift from static preservation to dynamic, integrative conservation methods. This research not only provides a novel theoretical perspective and practical pathways for the adaptive reconstruction of traditional settlements in Southern Taihang but also offers valuable insights into the dynamic adaptation and renewal of cultural heritage globally and in similar regions.
References
Chen, X., Xie, W., and Li, H.(2020) The spatial evolution process, characteristics and driving factors of traditional villages from the perspective of the cultural ecosystem: A case study of Chengkan Village. Habitat International, 104, 102250.
Duan, W., Yang, X., Zhang, T., and Cai, H.(2023) From Home to Inn: The Evolution of Rural Dwellings in the Taihang Area of Northern Henan. Sustainability, 15(3), 2293.
Fang, Q. and Li, Z.(2022) Cultural ecology cognition and heritage value of Huizhou traditional villages. Heliyon, 8(12).
Steward, J.H.(1972) Theory of culture change: The methodology of multilinear evolution. University of Illinois Press.
Ye, C., Ma, X., Gao, Y., and Johnson, L.(2020) The lost countryside: Spatial production of rural culture in Tang wan village in Shang hai. Habitat International, 98, 102137.
| Keywords | Traditional Settlement Landscapes; Cultural Ecology; Evolutionary Mechanisms; Southern Taihang; China |
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| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
