Search Results (12)

Analyzing how urban ritual spaces transform into everyday living environments is crucial for understanding the spatial structure of contemporary historical districts, particularly in the context of ancestral temples. However, existing research often neglects the integration of both building-level and block-level perspectives when examining such spatial transitions. Grounded in urban morphological principles, we identify the fundamental spatial units of ancestral temples and their surrounding blocks across the early 20th century and the post-1970s era. Using the topological characteristics of an access structure, we construct corresponding network graphs. We then employ embeddedness and conductance metrics to quantify each temple’s changing position within the broader block structure. Moreover, we apply community detection to uncover the structural evolution of clusters in blocks over time. Our findings reveal that, as institutional and cultural factors drive spatial change, ancestral temples exhibit decreased internal cohesion and increased external connectivity. At the block scale, changes in community structure demonstrate how neighborhood clusters transition from a limited number of building-based clusters to everyday living-oriented spatial clusters. These insights highlight the interplay between everyday life demands, land–housing policies, and inherited cultural norms, offering a comprehensive perspective on the secularization of sacred architecture. The framework proposed here not only deepens our understanding of the spatial transformation process but also provides valuable insights for sustainable urban renewal and heritage preservation. Full article

Based on the relative lack of research on the acoustic characteristics of traditional Gan opera theaters, this paper takes the Zhaomutang theater in Leping, Jiangxi Province, as a case study. By employing impulse response measurements and sound quality index evaluation, this work investigates and analyzes the sound field characteristics of the stage, front patio, Xiangtang, rear patio, and Qintang through field measurements. The results show that the small volume and low ceiling in the stage area lead to higher early reflections and enhanced self-auditory support for performers. The semi-enclosed Xiangtang space exhibits the best speech definition and music clarity. Although the front and rear patios are open-air, they still maintain moderate reverberation and sound energy intensity due to reflections from surrounding surfaces. In contrast, the Qintang has a relatively weak early sound energy because of its volume and functional constraints. Still, its overall reverberation time is not significantly different from that in the other areas. Comprehensive indices indicate that the Zhaomutang theater balances speech intelligibility and musical richness for multifunctional scenarios—ancestor worship, opera performances, and gatherings—thus providing an enhanced viewing experience. These findings offer critical reference points for the protection, restoration, and acoustic optimization of Gan Opera ancestral temple theaters and provide an empirical foundation for further investigation into the multi-space coupling characteristics of traditional theaters. Full article

The micro-renewal of rural heritage in urban villages transcends spatial transformation, profoundly altering social structures and relational dynamics. Recent research has emerged concerning the cultural impact of rural revitalization on rural heritage. However, little research has been undertaken regarding the specific mechanisms via which various renewal orientations influence the community. This study focuses on the case of Whampoa Village in Guangzhou, China, specifically highlighting the rehabilitation of its ancestral temples. Utilizing a field–space–society analytical framework, it analyzes how these revitalized ancestral temples enhance community resilience and instigate a reverse reconfiguration of spaces. Moreover, it emphasizes that the varied rehabilitation approach of ancestral temples, by including different social groups, fosters the establishment of new community connections. NGOs and small investors act as the primary catalysts for the preservation and inheritance of cultural heritage. The redevelopment initiative in Whampoa Village has enhanced spatial diversity, thereby reinforcing and transforming existing community structures. Nonetheless, it highlights the potential for spatial inequities arising from capital-driven commercialization in these rural regions. This article seeks to enrich the global database of cultural heritage by including cases from southern China and to contribute to the literature on the preservation of rural cultural assets. Full article

As a model of ancient Chinese architecture, Jin Ancestral Temple’s spatial layout and functional hierarchy reflect its profound cultural connotations and historical evolution. This paper systematically studies Jin Ancestral Temple from the perspectives of spatial relationships, visibility, and accessibility based on space syntax and visual graphics analysis methods. Through the construction and analysis of spatial relationship diagrams and topological diagrams, this study quantitatively identifies key differences in spatial depth and integration along the central axis of Jin Ancestral Temple. The sacrificial buildings, such as Uonuma Flying Beam and the Sacrificial Temple, exhibit high spatial depth and low integration, reflecting their secluded nature, which enhances the solemnity and focus of ritual activities. In contrast, landscape buildings like Jinren Terrace, with their low spatial depth and high integration, function as open spaces that facilitate movement and act as pivotal points in the visitor circulation network. Visual Graph Analysis (VGA) shows that the central axis area has the unique characteristics of a “visual center” and a “transportation hub”. The plaza on the north side of the reflecting pool forms the core area of visual connectivity, while Jinren Terrace becomes the transportation node with the highest accessibility. This design of “separation and connection” combines visual guidance with traffic flow, providing a layered spatial experience that stimulates visitors’ interest in exploration. Meanwhile, the historical development of Jin Ancestral Temple shows a clear trend of “growth”. From its early single function of worship, it gradually expanded into a complex architectural complex integrating worship, landscape, and belief, reflecting the changes in social, political, and cultural needs in different periods. The research results not only demonstrate the high degree of balance between the functionality and ornamental value of Jin Ancestral Temple’s buildings, but also reveal their unique value as cultural heritage in terms of spatial layout and aesthetic design. This paper provides a scientific basis for the protection and tourism development of Jin Ancestral Temple, and offers a new perspective on the combination of traditional architectural research and spatial analysis methods. Full article

Based on Yang Xuanzhi’s account of the burned-down Luoyang city during the Northern Wei dynasty and contemporary archeological discoveries, this paper tries to decipher the pre-Luoyang memory and imperial identity of the Northern Wei royal family that are embedded in the urban planning of Luoyang city by understanding the reformation of Buddhist politico-religious policy through both a historical approach and literary analysis. Buddhism played a crucial role in the Northern Wei’s campaign of establishing their rulership as a legitimate one from the Chinese perspective. Buddhist temples became structures where commoners interacted on a daily basis, and, in these interactions, the Xianbei rulers managed to bring multiple factors into balance: Northern Wei imperial and Chinese identities and the tension between preserving the ancestral memory and merging the Northern Wei regime into a Chinese political context. Full article

The funeral protocol of Buddhist monks is an important part of the rituals of Han Buddhism. The monks’ funeral rituals were recorded in detail in the Monastic Rules (清规) of Chan. The funeral of Chinese Buddhism monks after the Song Dynasty was known through the records of Monastic Rules. However, how it is concretely practiced is unknown. In the late Qing Dynasty, Westerners who came to China out of curiosity about the rituals of Han Buddhism recorded the process and details of the funerals of the monks in the temples they visited, among which Haichuang Temple (海幢寺) in Guangzhou ranks first. The funerals of the monks at Haichuang Temple in the late Qing Dynasty inherited the tradition of Chan funeral culture from the Song Dynasty. Meanwhile, the degradation into secular funeral culture appeared. Influenced by the secular funeral culture in Lingnan (岭南), the tombs of the monks in Chan Temples there, among them, Haichuang Temple is listed as a typical example, showed a trend toward the Shanshou Tomb (山手墓) in the early Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, some of the ancestral tomb-pagodas (祖师墓) in Lingnan Chan Temples abandoned the traditional form of pagodas completely and were almost the same as the Shanshou Tombs. The degradation of the funeral culture of Han Buddhism in the late Qing Dynasty reflects the declining trend of Buddhism. Full article

Based on fieldwork and the analysis of the historical literature, this article studies the development of material culture in the cult of popular goddess Mazu, exploring in particular the materialization mechanisms and strategies deployed by various actors in her worship nowadays. Through the ages, people in China have expressed their religious feelings and experiences in the objects they display, worship, and exchange, as well as in the spaces that they build and inhabit. In this process, religious beliefs are externalized in forms of material culture, including symbols, texts, relics, music, and temples. As a result, these artifacts and places carry individual and collective memories and affects that allow believers to experience religion not only at special events like festivals and pilgrimages, but in everyday life. In modern China, the connotations and forms of material carriers have diversified. The rise of souvenirs and other forms of cultural consumption have transformed the materialization of religiosity. In the worship of Mazu, the relationship between pilgrimage, tourism, entertainment, and the production and circulation of commodities has become increasingly tight, changing the cult’s beliefs and their physical expression. That connection also brings social and economic sustenance to the local community. Taking the Mazu Temple in Meizhou as a case, this paper adopts a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to examine the pilgrimage–tourism–commerce nexus, as well as other contemporary forms of the materialization of her cult. Full article

During the ten years from Wanli 28 to 38 (1600–1610), Hanshan Deqing, then an exiled leading Buddhist master, managed to launch large-scale reforms in Nanhua temple in an attempt to reinvigorate the ancestral temple of Chan Buddhism. Strategically significant though it was, this effort proved eventful and finally came to a tragic end, including the suicide of the temple’s incumbent abbot. How deeply the process of the reforms and their significance can be understood hinges upon the extent to which two puzzles can be tackled. First, how could it have been possible for Deqing, as an exile, to initiate the reforms in such a significant temple in the first place? And how and why did Deqing’s efforts evolve into such a life-and-death confrontation? Keeping these questions in mind, this article reveals how Deqing was able to mobilize resources for initial success by adjusting his strategies according to the situation; how his efforts were conditioned both by domestic situations on the local, regional, and national levels, respectively, and by international elements that characterized the dawn of the global age; and how the reform efforts failed halfway amid the escalating tensions between the new group led by Deqing and Nanhua’s existing monks. This study highlights both the uniqueness of Buddhism in the often-overlooked Lingnan region—which, to a large part, determined the fate of Deqing’s reform—and the vitality and fragility of the ongoing late-Ming Buddhist renewal. Full article

Fire risk assessment is important in heritage-village risk management and cultural relics protection. This study aims to establish a fire risk assessment system and model to assess fire safety for heritage villages. Given the complexity and openness of the heritage village system, the nonlinearity of the driving factors, and the dual attributes of residence and tourism, this paper constructs an index system of three aspects: cultural relic value sensitivity, village fire hazard, and evacuation accessibility. Based on ANP and the Bayes algorithm, a hybrid intelligent model is developed, and the index is weighted by combining subjective expert scoring and objective fact statistics. Finally, ArcGIS buffer and network analysis functions are used for grid processing to quantify and evaluate the difference in fire risk distribution in spatial units of heritage villages. We apply this assessment method to Chengkan Village, a national critical cultural relic protection unit. The results reveal that the cluster settlement layout pattern of the ancestral temple buildings plays a decisive role in the fire risk distribution in Chengkan Village; furthermore, the main factors leading to fire risk were analyzed. In Chengkan Village’s core area, the focus of the local government should be on strengthening active fire prevention measures to reduce the probability of fire. In contrast, in the northern and southern areas, it should focus on enhancing passive fire prevention measures to reduce the possibility of significant fires. Full article

This paper attempts to examine the formation path of the United Temple. Since research on the United Temple has focused more on its organization and religious practice in contemporary Singapore, the paper looks at the sub-temples under the Singapore United Temple, analyzing their paths toward unification from a more extended historical perspective. The authors divide sub-temples into three categories: ancestral temples (血缘庙), geographic temples (地缘庙), and deity-related temples (神缘庙) and compare their flexible strategies. This paper tries to explain how the formation of the United Temples was influenced by multiple spatial, social, and cultural factors. The blood lineage, religion, and regional ties from the homeland could still be essential when the localized, community-based social links beyond the boundaries play an equally crucial integrative role in forming United Temples. It is the contention of the authors of this paper to study the United Temple—the unique religious space in Singapore—as the potential syncretic field of the present and the past. Full article

This article explores transformations in the worship of popular goddess Mazu as a result of (religious) tourism. In particular, it focuses on the role of transnational tourism in the invention of tradition, folklorization, and commodification of the Mazu cult. Support from the central and local governments and the impact of economic globalization have transformed a traditional pilgrimage site that initially had a local and then national scope into a transnational tourist attraction. More specifically, the ancestral temple of Mazu at Meizhou Island, which was established as the uncontested origin of Mazu’s cult during the Song dynasty (960 to 1276), has been reconfigured architecturally and liturgically to function as both a sacred site and a tourist attraction. This reconfiguration has involved the reconstruction of traditional rituals and religious performances for religious tourism to promote the temple as the unadulterated expression of an intangible cultural heritage. The strategic combination of traditional rituals such as “dividing incense” and an innovative ceremony enjoining all devotees of “Mazu all over the world [to] return to mother’s home” to worship her have not only consolidated the goddess as a symbol of common cultural identity in mainland China, but also for the preservation of Chinese identity in diaspora. Indeed, Chinese migrants and their descendants are among the increasing numbers of pilgrims/tourists who come to Mazu’s ancestral temple seeking to reconnect with their heritage by partaking in authentic traditions. This article examines the spatial and ritual transformations that have re-signified this temple, and by extension, the cult of Mazu, as well as the media through which these transformations have spread transnationally. We will see that (transnational) religious tourism is a key medium. Full article

China’s dramatic process of urbanization has profound influence on the country’s religious communities, practices and psyche. This article focuses on a village of North Shanghai that has been integrated into urban life through demolition and relocation at the turn of the century. It follows the evolution of the ritual practices of its former inhabitants until present day. It underlines the fracture that has occurred in the way jia (home/family) was recognized and lived as a focus of ritual activities, and it documents the subsequent enlargement of the ritual sphere that is taking place. The choice of specific temples as privileged places of pilgrimage and ancestral worship is shown to be the result of a combination of factors, relational, geographical, and financial. The study also highlights the fact that the plasticity and inventiveness of the practices observed still testify to the resilience of the “home” concept, whatever the transformation it undergoes, and it links such resilience to the agency of women. By closely following the dynamic of ritual activities in the everyday life of the community under study, the article aims at providing a pragmatic and evolving approach to what “Chinese religion” is becoming in an urban context. Full article