A place of placelessness: Hekeng people’s heritage

Doctoral Thesis

This thesis discusses three aspects of Chinese tulou heritage management. Tulou are traditional fortified multifamily dwellings prevalent in southern Fujian. It first examines the tulou interpretation prevailing in southern Fujian. Based on building studies, oral history, genealogies and interviews, it tries to reconstruct a relatively complete landscape biography to describe the essential episodes of built environment evolution in the Hekeng River Valley. This biography highlights the part non-tulou architecture and non-agricultural economic forms have played in the evolution of the settlement environment. It then discusses the regulations and laws which may have direct impact on not only the built heritage but also the life of local lineage...Show more This thesis discusses three aspects of Chinese tulou heritage management. Tulou are traditional fortified multifamily dwellings prevalent in southern Fujian. It first examines the tulou interpretation prevailing in southern Fujian. Based on building studies, oral history, genealogies and interviews, it tries to reconstruct a relatively complete landscape biography to describe the essential episodes of built environment evolution in the Hekeng River Valley. This biography highlights the part non-tulou architecture and non-agricultural economic forms have played in the evolution of the settlement environment. It then discusses the regulations and laws which may have direct impact on not only the built heritage but also the life of local lineage society. It criticizes the harsh control of the local government over local people’s built heritage and their environment in the name of heritage preservation. It then moves on to examine the roles of different stakeholders in the heritage framework concerning the use of local people’s built heritage. It explores the possibility of reaching equilibrium among all the heritage players in the form of contracts, and offers some suggestions to the stakeholders getting involved in the tulou management issues.Show less

Built heritage

Landscape biography