Abstract
Rapid rural modernization in China since the 1980s has led to mutating rather than evolving rural landscapes. The on-going major state initiative of Beautiful Countryside Construction, aiming at economic, political, social, cultural and ecological construction of rural China, provides a precious opportunity for regenerating rural landscapes. This research is aimed to explore how recovering a harmonious human-nature relationship has contributed to the generation of evolving rural landscapes during the implementation of the initiative. To begin with, based on a literature review, it argues the relevance of classical Chinese philosophy on human-nature harmony to an organic evolution of rural landscapes. Then, it looks into the implementation of the initiative in Meixian County, Shaanxi Province. In particular, it analyzes the principles of the initiative and the role of heritage revitalization in recovering human-nature harmony. It is found that traditional knowledge and values have been integrated into heritage revitalization on the one hand and played a significant role in recovering a harmonious human-nature relationship and thereby making rural landscapes evolving on the other.
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Notes
- 1.
This historic task was first proposed on the occasion of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in October 2005, putting forward such specific requirements as “production development, well-off living, civilized social ethos, clean and tidy village to democratic management” for rural construction.
- 2.
The “No.1 Central Document” is the first document issued each year by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. It is a cross-sectoral policy document at the national level focusing on such top priorities as agriculture, rural areas, and farmers’ issues.
- 3.
The concept of “Beautiful China” was put forward in the report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which stated: “striving to build a Beautiful China and realizing the sustainable development of the Chinese nation”. The report put forward the brand-new concept of “coordinated urban and rural development” to build a Beautiful China, emphasizing that the construction of ecological civilization should be placed in a prominent position and integrated into all aspects and the whole process of economic, political, cultural, and social development.
- 4.
Zhuangzi (c. 369 BC - c. 286 BC) is credited with writing the book under the title Zhuangzi, which is one of the foundational texts of Taoism.
- 5.
From Zhuangzi: Inner Chapters: The Adjustment of Controversies: Chapter 9 (《庄子内篇•齐物论: 9》), extracted from <http://ctext.org/>.
- 6.
For the complete chapter, see Zhuangzi: Outer Chapters: The Revolution of Heaven: Chapter 3 (《庄子外篇•天运: 3》), extracted from <http://ctext.org/>.
- 7.
The core socialist values consist of 12 values at national, social and individual levels. The national values are prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony 富强、民主、文明、和谐; the social values are freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law 自由、平等、公正、法治; and the individual values are patriotism, dedication, integrity and friendship 爱国、敬业、诚信、友善.
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Ou, Y. (2022). Shaping Evolving Rural Landscapes by Recovering Human-Nature Harmony Under the Beautiful Countryside Construction in China. In: Calabrò, F., Della Spina, L., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) New Metropolitan Perspectives. NMP 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 482. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06825-6_9
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