Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun - Essay Example

?Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun In the face of rapid modernization occurring in all parts of the world, it has become imperative to do our utmost to conserve our ancient civilizations and cultural heritage. Recognizing this, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has inscribed 911 properties from around the world, having outstanding universal cultural and/or natural heritage value, in The World Heritage List (World Heritage Convention, WHC, 2010). Forty sites in the list are located in China, which ranks third in the world. China's civilization is believed to have originated more than 5000 years ago (Jing and Campbell, 2009). Heritage sites are pointers to the prehistoric cultural development of the region. The ancient villages of Xidi and Hongcun in Southern Anhui are two traditional villages that were inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2000 as sites of immense cultural value. They are located in Yi county, Huangshan city, Anhui Province, eastern China, latitude N29 54 16; longitude E117 59 15 (Figure 1). Figure 1. Map of Anhui Province. Xidi and Hongkun are located at ‘A’ in the map. (Source: http://www.360cities.net/) Xidi and Hongcun were listed in the World Heritage List as remarkable examples of the ancient villages in Southern Anhui having outstanding universal value, especially in respect of the historical and artistic value pertaining to architectural style. Their selection to the World Heritage List was based on three criteria namely, criterion (iii): “The villages of Xidi and Hongcun are graphic illustrations of a type of human settlement created during a feudal period and based on a prosperous trading economy”, criterion (iv): “In their buildings and their street patterns, the two villages of southern Anhui reflect the socio-economic structure of a long-lived settled period of Chinese history”, and criterion (v): “The traditional non-urban settlements of China, which have to a very large extent disappeared during the past century, are exceptionally well preserved in the villages of Xidi and Hongcun” (WHC, 2010, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1002). Owing to rapid development, most of the traditional non-urban settlements of China disappeared during the twentieth century. However, in the villages of Xidi and Hongcun the ancient and traditional Huizhou-style houses are still well preserved. The houses which belong to the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties are considered to be architectural marvels, specially in terms of the design, material and craft used, as also from the environmental and social context they represent (english.cntv.cn, 2010). The villages thus represent a style of human settlement that came into vogue during a feudal period that symbolized a prosperous trading economy. The buildings and the street patterns in the two villages signify the socio-economic structure of a well established and long-lasting period of Chinese history. With the Huizhou businessmen natives of the time, that is, during the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties, strongly supporting the economic development of their hometowns, the areas became culturally prosperous. The houses constructed during that period displayed much aesthetic elegance and uniqueness. A number of prominent village landscapes also came to be established. A unique feature of life and culture of these ancient villages in southern Anhui is that their progress occurred generally independent of agriculture. Thus, in terms of their awareness, lifestyle and taste, the people of these areas were generally of a higher level than the common peasants and other common citizens. Thus, a strong cultural environment was created. They laid great emphasis on education since it was their constant endeavor to maintain a close interaction with the literati and officials. The villagers respected Confucianism. The picture below (Fig. 2) depicts an ancient Xidi clan temple. Fig. 2. An ancient Xidi clan temple (Source: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog- entries/shangguan/1/1225738260/tpod.html) The extensive writings of those times reflect the cultural phenomenon in Huizhou during the period when Ming and Qing dynasties were highly prosperous, and both commerce and Confucianism were much valued. The writings which could be considered as records of the profound history and culture of the region also reveal “the feudal moral principles in the idealist philosophy, the religious culture of clansmen living together, the geomantic culture of village construction” (english.cntv.cn, 2010). The Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui : historic and geographic description The Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui are situated in the mountain regions south of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province (Fig. 1). The villages have been ingeniously founded so as to merge with the mountainous topography and vegetation. They share strong cultural features of Huizhou (english.cntv.cn, 2010). 1. Xidi Xidi village was built about a thousand years ago during the time of the Northern Song Dynasty (1049 A.D. and 1054 A.D). The original name of Xidi was Xichuan (West River), because of the streams that pass through it (WHC, 2010). As described in WHC (2010), the development of Xidi occurred mainly because of the Hu family from Wuyuan (Xinan), whose adopted son Hu Changyi was the child of the Tang Emperor Zhaozong (888-904) who was dethroned in 904 A.D. Several major private and public buildings were constructed around 1047 A.D., when a descendant of Hu Changyi moved with his family to Xidi from Wuyuan. For nearly 200 years, from the mid-17th century until about 1850, the Hu family wielded much power in both commerce and politics. The members of the family achieved scholastic eminence and some of them became imperial officials during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The surname "Hu" is very common among the inhabitants of the village. Xidi village is eight kilometers from Yixian County. It is boat-shaped and, as mentioned earlier, is located in a mountainous area. Streams flow in from the north and east directions, and join at the Huiyuan Bridge in the south of the village. The main skeleton of the village has streets running north-south, with two roads along the streams.The village has a street system in which the main residences are located in the eastern part and spreading further to the north and south. The streets are paved with granite obtained from Yi County. The streets are joined by a network of around 99 narrow lanes. The widely spaced buildings are made of wooden frames and brick walls, and beautifully decorated with carvings in wood, stone and brick (Fig. 3 A and B). The streets and buildings are harmoniously designed and laid out, with most of the buildings flanking the three streams, the Front Stream, the Back Stream and the Golden Stream, which give a “special character to the village” (WHC, 2010). (A) (B) Fig. 3 (A & B). Brick houses with elegantly carved decoration [Source: (A) www.visitourchina.com; (B) http://english.cntv.cn/] Currently there are 124 well-preserved ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties in Xidi village. There are also three grandiose residential buildings known as ‘halls’ having complex ground plans, all of them adhering to a basic pattern but with some variations and using characteristic materials and decoration. The windows on the outer walls, are carved out of granite and decorated with floral and geometric motifs are, for reasons of security, very small. An ornamental archway sculpted in stone in Xidi is shown in Fig. 4 (A and B). (A) (B) Fig. 4 (A & B). An ancient archway in Xidi (Source: (A) english.cntv.cn; (B) http://www.flickr.com/photos/aktkbk/174279662/sizes/s/in/photostream/) 2. Hongcun Village Hongcun is situated 10 kilometers from northeastern Yixian County (Fig. 1). Interestingly, Hongcun Village is called the “cow-shaped village” because it is said to resemble a black cow lying beside the mountains and streams when viewed from above. It was established approximately 900 years ago, in the first year of Shaoxing (1131 A.D.) during the rule of Southern Song Dynasty by Wang Wen, a Han dynasty general, and his relative Wang Yanji. The two moved their families from Qisu village to the upper part of the stream near Leigang Mountain and built a group of 13 houses there. The picturesque village lies at the foot of Leigang Mountain (Fig. 5) and covers an area of about 19 hectares and is the region where people with the surname “Wang” lived. Fig. 5. The picturesque location of the ancient village Hongcun merges with the mountains and streams (Source: http://www.visitourchina.com/guide/xidi_and_hongcun_ancient_villages.htm) Ancient Hongcun passed through two periods of great prosperity during 1401-1620 and 1796-1908. The Wang family, consisting of imperial officials and merchants, became extremely rich. They utilized their immense wealth to bestow their hometown with many fine buildings (WHC, 2010) (Figs. 6, 7A and 7B). A hundred and thirty seven historic buildings constructed during the rule of the Ming and Qing dynasties (from 1368 A.D. to 1911 A.D.) are well preserved to this day. Among the ancient buildings, the Chengzhi Hall (Fig. 8) is the largest and is considered to be the “exhibition hall of Huizhou wood carving craft”(english.cntv.cn). More than a century later, the wooden carvings of the Chengzhi Hall of many structural layers, are still magnificent. According to WHC (2010), a number of magnificent public buildings were constructed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the South Lake Academy (1814), the Hall of Meritorious Deeds (1888), the Hall of Virtuousness (1890), and the Hall of Aspiration (1855, rebuilt 1911). Figures 8 and 9 (A and B) show some of the buildings in Hongcun. Fig. 6. The facade of a building in Hongcun. (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aktkbk/174278840/sizes/m/in/photostream/ (A) (B) Fig. 7 (A & B). Fine buildings in Hongcun. Fig. 8. Reception Room of Chengzhi Hall in Hongcun Village (Source: http://www.huangshantour.com/gallery/display.asp?id=752 In the year 1405, a channel was constructed to bring fresh water to the village from the West Stream. Nearly 200 years later in the 1600’s, the creation of the South Lake completed the project of fresh water supply to the entire village. There is also a half-moon shaped interior lake shown below in Fig. 9. Fig. 9. An interior lake in Kongkun. (Source: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shangguan/1/1225738260/tpod.html) “The manmade water system planned and constructed by the ancient villagers of Hongcun Village is one of the great wonders in the history of architecture.” (english.cntv.cn, 2010). Environmental problems and challenges for Xidi and Hongcun villages After their inclusion in the World Heritage List, an upsurge has occurred in the number of tourists visiting the ancient villages. The villages have naturally become the focus of tourism development. The two villages were agriculture-dominated prior to the year 2000, and characterized by bad infrastructure and low GDP (Jiang et al., 2010). Following UNESCO’s approval of their inclusion in the World Heritage List, tourism has replaced agriculture as the major industry. The large inflow of tourists brings in greater gains in the form of large revenue for the region. But a long-term over-exploitation of resources without proper management can lead to problems such as destruction or degradation of natural resources and ecology of the region (Fang and Zhang, 2010). It is deemed necessary, therefore, to balance heritage protection, environmental quality protection and tourism development. The concept of “sustainable development” would make it easier to assess and manage the development of heritage site tourism. Living conditions as well as infrastructure and general amenities such as water and power supply, sewerage, garbage disposal, road maintenance and telecommunication need to be strengthened with sensitivity to benefit both the tourists and the quality of life of the local communities (UNESCO World Bank Report, 2000). A recent study by Song et al. (2010) has shown that the tourism development potential of Hongcun is still high and there is much scope for further development. In addition to environmental degradation and potential shortfall of amenities in view of increased tourist flow, there is also the threat to the identity of the villages vis a vis the cultural values being adversely affected through the influx of tourists from more advanced regions of the country and the world. Another key issue related to tourism development is enhancement in tourism transportation which could lead to pollution caused by transportation (Jiang et al., 2010). A car is the mode of transport commonly used by tourists which has a high impact on the environment due to carbon dioxide emissions. An important issue related to social demography is the migration of villagers from Xidi and Hongcun to cities either as a result of the economic prosperity they have come to enjoy because of tourism or in the face of their inability to meet the competition from the same industry. Residents' perceptions and attitudes need to be periodically assessed, and conditions that encourage the local populace to continue to live and thrive in their hometowns should be created. Conclusion The ancient villages of Xidi and Hongcun located in the southern Anhui province of China are World Cultural Heritage Sites. They are marvelous examples of well preserved traditional non-urban settlements most of which have disappeared or transformed during the last century. They possess architectural complexes of much historical and artistic value. Heritage sites everywhere are prone to environmental degradation while the inhabitants of those areas could likely experience socioeconomic problems. The preservation of such heritage sites requires active participation by the local government, international funding agencies such as UNESCO and the World Bank, local communities and the visitors who throng the sites. References english.cntv.cn, 2010. World Cultural Heritage: Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui. Accessed from http://english.cntv.cn/english/special/news/20100928/102674_3.shtml Fang  X. & Zhang X., 2010. On Tourism Environment Protection for World Cultural Heritage Sites in China. Management and Service Science (MASS) Conference Proceedings, pp1-4. Jiang J., Li J. & Xu, H., 2010. System dynamics model for transportation infrastructure investment and cultural heritage tourism development: a case study of Xidi and Hongcun historical villages. Accessed on 1 March 2011 from www.systemdynamics.org/conferences/2010/proceed/papers/P1188.pdf  Jing Y. and Campbell R., 2009. Recent archaeometric research on ‘the origins of Chinese civilization.’ Antiquity, March 2009. Accessed on 24 February 2011 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3284/is_319_83/ai_n35561381/ Song LU, Chen S. & Pan H., 2010. Preliminary study on the assessment of tourism sustainability in ancient village – Taking world cultural heritage site Hongcun as an example. Tourism Tribune, January 2010. Accessed on 5 March 2011 from http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-LYXK201001010.htm UNESCO World Bank Report, 2000. Cultural heritage management and urban development: Challenge and opportunity. 5-7 July 2000, p.9. World Heritage Convention, WHC, 2010. World heritage list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Accessed on 1 March 2011 from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list Ancient China: With the unification of China under the Qin Emperor in the 3rd Century BCE., this great nation rose to become a center of artistic and technological knowledge for over three thousand years (http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=8) The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of nonurban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples. Outstanding Feature: 14th-19th century traditional villages. (http://www.icm.gov.mo/exhibition/tc/cwheriE.asp) http://whc.unesco.org/archive/periodicreporting/apa/cycle01/section2/438-summary.pdf Read More