Research On Spatial Morphology Of The Hakka Traditional Villages In Meizhou Area

As the most distinctive area featured by Hakkas, Meizhou area possesses abundant and typical Hakka group characteristics as well as the most distinctive Ha kka local traditional cultural elements. Hakka culture is a suitable settlement culture created due to the joint effect from various factors of Meizhou by the Hakka ancesto rs, such as its nature, society, culture, history, etc. Since late Tang Dynasty, Hakka ancestors came to their appearances in Meizhou, making Meizhou a settlem ent area with a relati vely considerable size. During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, its population increased signifi cantly and people spread all round Meizhou. They chose places like the wide hills, basins, valleys, benchland, etc., as their settlement areas, which exists many common characte ristics and latent rules. The s patial form of these traditional villages is resulted from the spatial arrangement of its internal activities such as its own natural environment, social structure, th e logic of hum an behaviors, etc.. Space is no more than an external gathering form. As for Hakka’s traditional society of Meizhou, Clan is the internal force for its “society—culture”. The social order of the village affected by the clan has fundamental influence on the thoughts and beha viors of the villagers, which defines the spatial construction and form of the villages. Thus, what are characteristics of the spatial form of Hakka tr aditional villages in Meizhou? What’s the specific conten ts and constructio n meanings of its space? How the clan society play its role in its spatial construction? These questions are all waited to be analyzed and discussed deeply.In addition, the current Hakkas traditional villages researches of Meizhou are mostly the investigation and analysis of the single village. The diverse analysis of villages in different regions around the city have not yet been carried out; am ong the analysis of the spatial form, the answers to th e space only rested on th e surface of its physical form according to morphology and architectures in the past, which lacks systematic explanation to the content of the activities in the space, the meaning of its activities as well as the social and cultural causes behind its surface space; Entering into the m odern society, the social o rder centered on th e clan within the Hakka traditional villages g radually degenerated. The protection towards the cultural heritage of traditional villages has not yet established a “social—space” protection system from the inside out, etc.. F rom above, we may find that the re searches for the Hakka traditional villages of Meizhou exists various problems.For the problem s above, utilizing research methods in term of m orphology, cultural anthropology, spatial sociology, etc. as well as taking advantages of the documentary records, and aeological docum ents, this paper extensively collected the Hakka traditional villages within Meizhou area as the object of the research. This paper also gives comparison in regard to similarities and differences of the village distribution and forms in different areas within Meizhou to explore its inherent law and influential factors. Also it actively referred to the investigations and research results from anthropology and so ciology, focusing on analyzing the spatial distribution form and contractual form of the villages a s well as its ac tivities and meanings within them. This paper digs the construction process of its spatial form, history and society, as well as gives explanation to the inherent social orders behind its surface. In the end, according to the conclusion above and current historical background, this paper puts forward a protection system for Hakka traditional village s of Meizhou based on the analysis of “the social order—spatial morphology”.