The Prototype Texture Of Wuhan Historic District And Its Cultural Significance In Social Change

Boasting lasting history and diverse culture,Wuhan is composed of Wuchang,Hankou and Hanyang at the junction of Han River and the Yangtze River.Historical blocks of various patterns evolve to contribute to the distinctive features and values of the city as a famous historic and cultural destination.This paper explores the cultural implications of evolving historical blocks in Wuhan based on their prototype patterns.Prototypes of historical block patterns are studied to identify the impact of physical geography,social institutions,economy and technologies as well as cultural types on the formation of the historical block patterns.Pattern prototypes of historical blocks in the feudal society,modern society subject to the influence of western cultures and the planned economy period(which features unit compounds)of the new China are proposed.This paper,based on the cultural implications,classifies the pattern prototypes of the historical blocks in Wuhan into five types,namely the historical block pattern that conforms to the feudal etiquette(Xianzheng Block in Hanyang),the historical block pattern in the natural form of long streets and alleys(Hanzheng Block),the clustered historical block in the modern society under the influence of western churches(Tanhua Block in Wuchang),the exquisite street-shaped historical blocks in modern China(the former foreign settlement in Hankou),and the unit compound historical blocks in new China(Red House in Qingshan).This paper studies the five block patterns mentioned above with Xianzheng Block in Hanyang,Hanzheng Block,Tanhua Block in Wuchang,the former foreign settlement in Hankou and Red House in Qingshan as typical cases,attempting to explore the factors on the formation of historical blocks and summing up the pattern prototypes of blocks and buildings to analyze the history traces and spatial division in the modern environment so as to reveal the cultural implications,such as feudal etiquette,wharf economy,the Christian culture,the colonial business and planned economy,of pattern prototypes along social changes for better protection.As a case study,this paper,from the perspective of social changes,focuses on the formation and classification of the pattern prototypes of historical blocks as well as their cultural implications based on the built environment.Theoretically,the findings put forward with new study methods of historical blocks;and practically,suggestions on the identification of protection targets,formulation of protection strategies and highlighting of local culture are proposed for historical blocks in Wuhan.