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

Fei Yu, Yue Yu, Rui Wang and Chaoran Shen ()
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Fei Yu: School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Yue Yu: School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Rui Wang: School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Chaoran Shen: School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-19

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.

Keywords: ideal society; rural heritage; cultural landscape; people’s commune; political landscape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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