Research On Adaptability Of Dade Ancient Hakka Village Space Layout On Water Environment

This study reveals an as yet unknown cultural landscape of ancient villages byconducting a research on the adaptability of Dade ancient Hakka village space layouton the water environment. An in-depth study is conducive to opening up a field forthe study on ancient Hakka villages and the study on rural ecology, which enrichesthe academic perspectives for the studies on Hakka Earthern Buildings, a uniquearchitectural form. This study is fundamental part of Ecological Technology Basicsand Reuse of Traditional Architecture in Fujian Province, a project supported by theNatural Science Foundation of Fujian Province in2013, whose results can offer asource of reference for future studies both on the modern use of traditional ecologicaltechnology in ancient Hakka villages in western Fujian Province and on the use ofwater environment in the building of a socialist new country in the area. This studyalso serves as a guidance and inspiration for corresponding preservation work ofancient villages.Guided by ecology, complexity science and other relevant theories, this studyintegrates field research, literature review, illustration analysis, statistic analysis andother empirical methods with first-hand materials. The results indicate that due to thereasons such as the hydrological background of western Fujian and the Hakkaimmigrant culture, the space layout of Dade ancient Hakka village has formed anorganic, complex, and multi-dimensional pattern in its course of adapting to the localwater environment. This thesis thus divides into three parts.The first part is a background introduction. This study, by delving into ancientHakka villages’ evolutionary process near the water chronologically and diversifiedlayouts suited to water geologically, deliberates on the adaptability wisdom of thosevillages to their drainage from the angle of location.The second part includes analyses and discussions. This study reveals thephenomenon of the ancient Hakka village faced with the multidirectional interwovenwater environment from four aspects: the overall layout, buildings, roads andfarmlands.With regards to the overall layout, this study shows a complex symbiosis of Dade ancient village’s overall layout in the process of adapting to the network ofrivers and brooks. This symbiosis embodies four facets, namely the nonlineargenerating process, the complex combining mode, the conflicting organization, andthe vaguely scattered pattern. Pertaining to the buildings, the study discusses thediversified buildings of Dade ancient Hakka village influenced by the complex waterenvironment. As for the roads, this study illustrates the flexible feature of the village’sroads for adapting to the waterways. In terms of the farmlands, this research explainsthe intensive utilization of natural water resources by the irrigation methods of Dadeancient village.The last part elaborates on some comparisons and insights. A comparisonbetween the ancient villages in western Fujian Province and those in Zhejiang andJiangsu Province makes the former feature of adapting to the multidirectionalinterwoven water environment prominent. Another comparison between Dade ancientHakka village and other local new Hakka villages is conducted to reflect on the rigidadaptability of the modern villages to the water environment. In addition, this studyproposes several suggestions about the preservation of the cultural landscape of waterenvironment for the local ancient villages.