From an Ideal Village to a Cultural Landscape: Rediscovering People’s Commune Heritage

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
As an important ideal social practice in world history, the people’s commune system and its organized architectural activities took the first step in promoting rural modernization in modern China and had a significant impact on the built environment of urban and rural areas. This study aims to discuss how to view the legacy of rural people’s communes in service of contemporary society. Taking the Weixing Commune, which was the earliest established commune in China in 1958, as an example, through a comparative study of relevant planning and construction archives and the literature, combined with onsite investigations and through the perspective of the cultural landscape, this study delves into the history of local rural construction and sorts out the types, specific compositions, and value elements of the commune’s remains from four dimensions: environment, industry, architecture, and memory. The heritage of the people’s commune is unique. It was a comprehensive transformation of land to farmland, water conservancy, and other natural environmental patterns carried out by residents and related professionals to realize the ideal life of socialism and ultimately resulted in the shaping of a unique type of cultural landscape, presenting the coexistence of political landscapes that hold ideals and vernacular landscapes that carry life.
Funding Information
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (52308028, 2023M732538)
  • China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (52308028, 2023M732538)

This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit: