The Sustainable Protection of Traditional Villages from the Perspective of CulturalSpace

Ai+Juhong

（Ethnology and Anthropology Research Institute，CASS，Beijing，100081， China）

JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY， VOL. 8， NO.3， 01-08， 2017 （CN51-1731/C， in Chinese）

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2017.03.01

Abstract：

Along with the rapid speed of urbanization in recent years， the number of

villages in China are decreasing—this has attracted peoples attention. Many people believe that traditional villages are the roots of our folk culture， and that a rich intangible cultural heritage is the living cultures maintained in traditional villages. If the traditional villages disappear， this intangible cultural heritage will lose the soil and environment needed for their survival. As a result， this heritage will disappear from our lives， and we will lose our traditional roots. Feng Jicai has clearly stated that both tangible and intangible cultural heritage is found in traditional villages； in addition， a large amount of folk culture is also preserved in these villages. Therefore， traditional villages are the “life soil ”for tangible and intangible cultural heritage， and the foundation for guaranteeing the transmission of intangible cultural heritage. Moreover， the villages are the basis for peoples daily life and production； the culture in villages is fluid， living， and tridimensional， and it furthermore， evolves with the development of the time （Feng， 2013）. As a result of peoples growing concern for cultural heritage protection， as well as their anxiety regarding the rapid disappearance of traditional villages， the protection of traditional villages has become a topic about which people are increasingly concerned. Although protection of traditional villages has become a current topic， research on traditional village protection in China has not yet matured， and has not yet formed a theoretical research and system for protection. Most of the research is conducted from the perspective of tangible cultural heritage protection， such as the protection of structures， historical sites and village dwellings， etc.， or from the perspective of intangible cultural heritage protection， such as folklore， festivals and folk literature， etc. Moreover， the mode of protection for traditional villages mainly depends on tourism development. As an important historical area in Southwest China， Fenghuang county in Xiangxi prefecture， Hunan， has a lot of traditional villages with rich ethnic cultural characteristics. In recent years， Fenghuang has become a wellknown tourism destination in China. So， the protection of its traditional villages takes on the significance for being a model for the protection of traditional villages in other areas of China. In this article， I try to use the concept of “cultural space” to discuss the theory and methodology for protecting traditional villages by taking Fenghuang county in Xiangxi prefecture as a case study.

Many researches show that cultural space is a geographical space， or one with cultural activities practiced by a specific group of people during a particular period， and which has characteristics of integrality， active state， locality etc. Cultural space includes geographical cultural space， linguistic cultural space， ethnic cultural space， and cultural space of time etc. Among these， the cultural space of the village is unique， having the characteristics of being visual， closed and integrated（Xiang，2008）.

In my view， traditional villages are natural cultural spaces， which include the architectural spacial arrangement of the village， the natural landscape of the village， and the various folklore activities which take place in the village， and its surrounding space. Moreover， the cultural spaces of the village are not isolated or closed. This is because all cultural spaces， including festivals， temple fairs and markets etc.， are connected with all of the cultural spaces of the village， are overlaid different cultural spaces， and form a much larger regional cultural space.

The traditional villages in Fenghuang county include the following types： 1） villages in mountainous areas with natural scenery. The main characteristic of these villages is that they have beautiful natural surroundings， which is highly integrated and harmonized with the traditional villages； 2） villages with ethnic cultural characteristics. These kinds of traditional village are mainly of Miao.They have strong Miao cultural characteristics； exhibit profound historical cultural layering； have unique architectural characteristics； and a thriving oral literature tradition. They are the main bearers of intangible cultural heritage； and 3） villages that used to have military functions and historical battlegrounds. These kinds of traditional villages were mostly built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They are historical military outposts which gradually evolved into villages.

Because the Fenghuang traditional villages also have unique characteristics reflecting the ethnic groups in Xiangxi prefecture， Fenghuang， as a county whose pillar industry is tourism， “has included the protection of traditional villages in the overall planning of its cultural industries， tourism， as well as in its rural planning.”（Fenghuang County Tourism Bureau， 2014） These traditional villages are regarded as important tourist resources， and require that the overall planning and management of the county is placed within the context of tourism development. So， the protection of the traditional villages is carried out under this concept. According to the statistical classification of rural tourism in Fenghuang county， rural tourism resources can be classified into six categories： including rural natural landscapes； rural historical sites； rural constructed landscapes； rural tourist products； and rural cultural heritage. （In the Tourism Plan of Miao Villages in Fenghuang）

As seen from the tourism plan of Fenghuang， it can be noted that the protection of traditional villages in Fenghuang is a kind of integrated protection， development and remoulding policy combined with cultural and natural landscapes. Its purpose is to preserve the traditional villages with special characteristics in Fenghuang， transform them into tourism resources， and develop the economy of Fenghuang. This is the main methodology and approach for preserving traditional villages in China.

According to the ideas mentioned above regarding the protection of traditional villages through developing rural tourism， Fenghuang has three main frameworks for protecting traditional villages： 1） setting up cultural ecological protection zones；2） moving out of the villages for concentrated protection ；3） building a base for productive protection in the villages.

These three ways to protect Fenghuangs traditional villages mentioned above are common ways to protect traditional villages in China. Seen from the perspective of cultural space， each way has its advantages or disadvantages， and successful or unsuccessful examples of each can be found throughout the country.

Firstly， the approach of setting up cultural ecological zone was regarded as the best way to protect the traditional villages and their cultures. At the end of last century and beginning of this century， many culturalecological villages or ecomuseums were constructed in China. Seen from the concept of cultural space， it is undoubtedly a way to have integrated protection. However， this approach is currently under stress. The primary problem is that due to present development， living a traditional life no longer can satisfy peoples growing living requirements. More and more youth choose to leave their hometowns to find jobs， which seriously eviscerates the village. The situation found in Fenghuang is very similar—many young adults leave for the southeast coastal areas to find jobs. As a result， the local villages have been “hollowed out”. However， because Shanjiang township， which is the core culturalecological area of the Miao people， is not far away from the county seat of Fenghuang， if rural tourism develops well with the effort of the government and local people， it is possible that the youth could be reabsorbed back into the villages， and the integrated protection of the villages could then be carried through. Secondly， moving out of the villages to provide concentrated protection was also an approach practiced relatively earlier in China. To the traditional dwellings and ancient constructions， as well as the integrated layout of the village， by using this kind of protection method， one could protect the both built heritage and layout of the ancient villages in a relatively good way. However， as a cultural space， it pays great attention on the peoples subjective practice in the space. But， this kind of protection approach has many disadvantages： 1） it ignores that the village and people are an integrated whole； 2） it requires a lot of outside financial investment， and once there are no funds， the protection becomes risky； 3）because the villagers have moved out， their consciousness about participating in protection is very indifferent； and， 4） moving out the villagers for protection of the traditional villages actually creates major changes to village culture， and reshapes the cultural space of the village.

Thirdly， building a base for productive protection is currently considered a way to encourage the villagers active participation in the traditional village protection. Ever since Murphy proposed the concept of community participation in his research of tourism during the 1980s （Murphy，1985）， current scholarly circles consider that a good tourism development model must pay attention to local participation， pay attention to the benefits for local communities； and guarantee that the local people become the beneficiaries of the tourism development. Hence， it is essential to mobilize the villagers enthusiasm in the participation of protection of their village.

The protection of traditional villages in Fenghuang starts from the idea of tourism development； it strives to protect the traditional villages while developing the tourism so as to achieve a “winwin” in economic development and cultural protection. This kind of development and protection model is a main model in present China for protecting traditional villages. During this process， taking traditional villages as cultural space to think about the protection and development of the traditional villages—might be considered a sustainable development approach.

Firstly， cultural space emphasizes the peoples subjectivity. As a cultural space， the culture of traditional villages is created by the people， therefore， in order to protect traditional villages， the subjects of the villages， i.e. the local people， who are the creators and supporters of the village culture must be involved； the development and protection of the villages needs fully to be the local peoples initiative， and it should let them participate in the protection and development of the villages.

Secondly， as a cultural space， the most important and outstanding features are integration and comprehensiveness， and that the intangible cultural heritage is authentic， ecological and living （Xiang，2008）.The traditional villages need to be protected authentically and wholly. The most important thing is that traditional villages are living or lasting； they are peoples living place. So， instead of being based on a static or fixed concept， the protection of traditional villages should develop constantly on the basis of ongoing transmission of its culture.

Thirdly， an important feature of cultural space is the localization of culture， in other words， it should have strong local characteristics. These are the resources of traditional villages. So， in the process of protecting traditional villages， the “core symbolic cultural factors” of the local area should be proposed during the process of tourism development. These core symbolic cultural factors could be used as objects for cultural performances. However， these core symbolic cultural factors must be a presentation of real living style in the cultural space of the village so as to avoid losing an authentic cultural atmosphere due to excessive commercialization and turning real culture into “performance” culture.

Fourthly， the concept of cultural space is not limited to geographical cultural space； the cultural space of time could overlap with geographical cultural space， and compose a comprehensive cultural space. The protection of traditional villages in Fenghuang has been combined with the cultural space of the festival activities. For example， by combining the Fenghuang Miao Costume and Silver ornament festival， the traditional dancing flower festival， the song competition festival etc.， one can break through the regional limitation of the village， and contribute to the construction of the cultural ecological zone of the entire Xiangxi prefecture.

In summary， the protection of traditional villages means to protect the whole cultural space， and let the culture continue and develop within this space. The formation of traditional villages is based on the people， so， its protection and development must take people as the foundation. Only in this way can traditional villages， as cultural spaces， have vitality， and only this kind of protection is a sustainable approach for protection and development.

Key Words：Fenghuang； traditional villages； protection； cultural space

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