Strategies to Protect Ancient Towns with Intangibl

Journal of Landscape Research 2018,10(3): 101-104Strategies to Protect Ancient Towns w ith Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on AVC Theory: A Case Study of Xuwan Town, Jinxi CountyZHOU Bo1, FAN Yuqi2, DING Hao1, JIANG W enhua1, ZO U L ili1, XIE Xiaogang1, W A N G Yali1(1. College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal Univereity, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022, China; 2_ School of Software, Jiangxi Normal Univereity, ^Abstract Intangible cultural heritage is n o t o n ly the essence o f andent tow n culture, b u t the core content〇£ ancient to w n pfotectiorL In this papei; X uw an Tow n in J in x i C ounty o f Jiangxi Province was taken fo rexample fo r explore the im pact o f w oodblock p rin tin g o n die spatial pattern o f andent tow ns and analyzethe problem s in th e ir developm ent, and strategies to protect ancient towns w ith intangible cultural heritagewere p u t forw ard to provide references fo r the protection and heritage o f ancient towns.Keywords P ro te ctio n o f ancient tow ns w ith inta ngible cu ltu ra l heritage, A V C theory, W oodblockp rin tin gDOI 10.16785/j i ssn 1943-989x.2018.3.022D ifferent geographical factors such as geography, climate, economy, folk customs, and religion have form ed a regional culture with strong local flavor. The unique cultural resources o f andent towns are the concentrated expression o f regional culture. With the advancement of tourism development in ancient towns, how to rejuvenate the traditional non-material culture heritage that has been dying out in history has become a difficult problem. Xuwan Town is a famous historical and cultural town in China, in which woodblock printing has a long history. This paper adopted the j W C theory to discuss the protection strategies o f andent towns with intangible cultural heritage.1Development of woodblock prin­ting in Xuwan Town1.1 Production of w oodblock printing in Xuwan TownXuwan Town is located in the w est o f Jinxi County in Jiangxi Province. It is closely adjacent to the north bank o f the Fu River. It is known as the town south o f the Yangtze River o f strategic importance and selected as the sixth Chinese historical and cultural towns. The saying spread in eastern Jiangxi, £{Linchuan abounds in gifted scholars and Jinxi is rich in printed books”praises the abundance o f printed books in Xuwan Town. Founded in the Southern Song Dynasty, the ancient town has a history o f 900 years. The town is called Xuwan to commemorate its first ancestor X uWenhuan who often practices charity[1]. Dueto the well-developed Fu River system in theregion, ships and merchants converged there,gradually forming a bustling market. During theSong and Ming dynasties, the style o f writingwas prevalent, a style o f respecting teachersand teaching was formed, and local schools andacademies were scattered all over the country.A s described in thcLinchuan County A nnals,((Whether the family is in the countryside or inthe city, whether the family is poor or rich, thechildren go to school. Reading sounds can beheard everywhere.,? A s a result, numerous literaryheroes and political figures emerged. The cravingfor books by intellectuals gradually boostedthe demand for printed books. From there,the legacy o f woodblock printing in XuwanTown began. In the Southern Song Dynasty, thegovernment office o f the Prefecture o f Jinxibegan to imprint books, for example, the SongDynasty edition o f Reading N otes o f Fu^hou^.The famous officer Wd Su in the Yuan Dynastyprin ted two vo lu m es o f Y unlinji P oetryAnthology to give his friend as a present. Theabove official and private printed books indicatethat there are both woodblcxJt printing craftsmenand techniques in Iiwan in the Song Dynasty.However, there was no large-scale productionof printed books. During the reign o f EmperorXuande to Emperor Wanli in the Mrng Dynasty,due to the weakening o f the Masha printing inJianyang, Fujian, the advantages o f water andland transport in Xuwan Town were highlighted,and many artisans pooled in Xuwan Town. Inaddition, the mountainous area o f Zixi Coimtythat was close to Jinxi County abounded inJingdan paper and Songyan ink, and YanshanCounty was rich in Lianshan paper，providingrelatively inexpensive and abundant raw materialsfor printing books. Under the influence o f avariety o f factors, woodblock printing industryin Xuw an Tow n becam e p rosp erou s, andspecialized production workshops are formed.By the time o f Em peror Kangxi to Em perorQianlong in the Q ing Dynasty, w oodblockprinting industry in Xuwan Town reached itspeak, forming aroxmd one hundred shop signsconverged on Qianshupu Street and HoushufuStreet such as Dawentang, Liangyitang, andWenkuitang. These shops drove the developmento f the nearby villages. In the late Qing Dynasty,foreign advanced printing technologies wereintroduced to China, and lithographic printingand letterpress printing gradually dominatedthe printing industry because o f their superiortechniques. D ue to its workshop productionand family management, the printing industry inXuwan Town could not meet the requirementso f modern industrial production, and steppeddown from the stage o f history. O f course, thedemise o f Xuwan Town’s traditional printing isthe epitome o f the entire era, with its historicalcomplexity and contradiction.Received: A p ril 13,2018 Accq>ted: May 28,2018Sponsored by 2017 Planning Project o f Jiangxi Provincial A rts and Culture Science (YG2017164); 2017 Planning Project o f Humanities and Social Sciences in C o llie s and Universiiies in Jkngxi Province (YS17217); 2018 Planning Project o f the 13th Plan fo r Educational Science in Jiangxi Province; 2014 Planning Project o f Jiangxi Provincial Arts and Culture Science (YG2014115).E-maiL 524170946@101Strategies to Protect Ancient Towns with Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on AVC Theory1.2 Development status and problems of woodblock printing in Xuwan Town As the state prom ulgated a series o f rules and regulations on the protection o f intangible cultural heritage, woodblock printing in Xuwan Tow n, as an outstanding representative o f the tra d itio n a l crafts o f the H an nationality, was added onto the pro vin cial intangible cultural heritage lis t in Jiangxi P rovince in Jim e 2008. However, the protection o f intangible cultural heritage remains a universal problem. D ue to the lack o f p ro te ctio n funds, the unbalance betw een technique p ro te c tio n and m arket expansion, and backward protection measures, there is a phenom enon o f lo okin g up to the request and down on protection. H ie heritage and development o f intangible cultural heritage are facing severe challenges. T he tra d itio n a l woodblock printing industry in Xuw^n Town has passed out o f existence, and woodblock printing is also on the verge o f loss, which is embodied in the follow ing aspects.Firstly, woodblock printing is a complicated technique, and there are m any factors related to the accomplishments o f woodblock printing artists, leading to the gap in in h e rito rs. To master the art o f w oodblock printing, learners o f w o o d b lo ck p rin tin g m ust have a higher attainm ent fo r calligraphy and sculpture. They use the consummated cutting skills describe the stroke and rhythm o f the character. Nevertheless, that requires a three-to-five-year training o f a single basic skill. Individuals7talents also play an im portant role. W oodblock p rin tin g artists need to bend over one's desk carving, painting, p rin tin g, and checking over a lo ng period o f tim e, w h ich is m onotonous and d iffic u lt to persevere. Therefore, yoirng people are rarely w illing to engage in this industry.Secondly, m echanical p rin tin g replaces m anual prin tin g, and w oodblock p rin tin g has no m arket. In the mid-1990s, the com pilation o f genealogy was prevalent in rural areas, and the tra d itio n a l w o od blo ck p rin tin g in d u s try has market demands. Entering the 21s t century, however, because o f advances In science and technology, mechanical printin g has com pletely replaced manual printing as the mainstream o f m odern p rin tin g, and tra d itio n a l w oodblock p rin tin g has com pletely w ithdraw n fro m the m arketW oodblock p rin tin g in X uw an Tow n has played a key ro le in the developm ent o f the andent town. A nd woodblock printing in Xuwan Town is at a turning point in history today. H ow can we save this precious traditional handicraft is w orth pondering. Thus, this paper excavated the connotation o f woodblock printing in depth,analyzed the development mechanism o f ancienttowns, and explored new strategies o f tourismde ve lo p m e n t fe a tu rin g in ta n g ib le c u ltu ra lheritage and toudsm developm ent to prom otethe overall protection o f the andent town.2 Spatial evolution of Xuwan Townunder the influence of traditionalwoodblock printingThe evolution o f spatial pattern o f XuwanTow n has gone through three stages. In thefirs t stage, the single-point development m odelevolved in to the scattered one, refle cting thecharacteristics o f village development under thetraditional clan ritual system, that is, from a singlesurname (Hsu^) to a village. The settlement o fthis period is constrained by the development o fagricultural economy and presents a picture o fclosed single space. Xuwan Town is divided intofo u r parts: the upper islet, the m iddle islet, thelow er islet, and the end o f the low er isle t Thetow n is 2km across from one end to another.I t stretches along the Fu River, linking all lanes.P rio r to the M in g Dynasty, influenced by thetraditional farm ing economy, the ancient tow nhad n o t yet form ed scale, and settlements hadbecome scattered spots o f natural grow th (F ig l).In the second stage, w ith the developmento f the com m odity econom y, the w oodblockp rin tin g in d u s try has greatly pro m oted theevolution o f settlements towards diversification,fo rm in g tra d itio n a l com m ercial alleys anddiversified building types. A spatial pattern o f“w o rksh o p s-a lle ys-d o w n to w n streets”wasform ed in X uw an, in d ica tin g th a t the tow ndeveloped fro m single space to ch a in-lik espace. In the m iddle and late M in g Dynasty,along w ith the development o f commerce, theadvantage o f w ater and land tra n sp o rta tio nbecame prom inent, buildings fo r different usessuch as w harfs, warehouses, w orkshops, andstores were form ed along the Fu River, form inga ribbon-typed spatial pattern. D uring the Q ingDynasty, Xuwan Town became one o f the fo iirm ajor bo ok-printiiig centers in the country. Thew oodblock p rin tin g industry became the pilla ro f the economy. The spatial pattern o f XuwanTown evolved into a traditional street-style layoutin lin e w ith the procedure o f plate m aking,printing, binding, collection o f books, sales o fbooks, and transportation o f books. QianshupuStreet, H oushupu Street, and L ijia Lane wereform ed during this period. The pattern o f theentire ancient tow n is represented by a chain­like layout w ith main printing workshops as theconnection (F ig2).In the third stage, driven by the woodblockp rintin g industry, related industries also w itne­ssed boom ing development, and Xuwan Townadopted a m u lti-c e n te r com pound p a tte rn.D u rin g the period o f the Republic o f China,w ith the developm ent o f sm all com m odities,Xuw an Tow n developed in to a comprehensivedistribution center fo r small commodities basedon the traditional woodblock printin g industry.The small commodities in northwestern Jiangxiwere brought together here, and then transportedto a ll pa rts o f Jia n g xi P rovince. W ith theinfluence o f dozens o f industries concerningfood, clo th, pharm aceuticals, restaurants, andsilverware shops, the spatial pattern o f the towngradually evolved into a complex pattern centeredon traditional commercial streets (Fig.3).3 Strategies to inherit woodblockprinting and protect the ancienttown based on AVC theory3.1 AVC cognition and evaluation ofXuwan TownT he AVC th e o ry is a to u rism planningth e o ry proposed b y P rofessor L iu B in y i o fTongji University in 2002. Specifically, it meansthat the planning o f scenic spots should focus onresearch, awareness, and planning o f the 4ThreeForces”and that the b u ild in g，strengthening，and planning o f the 'T h re e Forces?, should bethe core o f the planning o f scenic spots. 'T hreeForces,?re fe r to the a ttra ctio n, v ita lity, andcapacity o f scenic s p o ts'The current attraction includes location,historical traceability, interaction and attractiono f landscape, interaction and attraction o f thetourism m arket, and fo lk characteristics. Thecureent vitality includes the evolution o f ancienttowns, the life cycle o f tourism products, andvitality constraints. The current carrying capacityincludes reception capacity o f transportation andcapacity facilities，scale and reception capacity,and open space and tourist concentration.In short, Xuwan Town is rich in the 'T hreeForces”，tha t is，the tow n has great potentialo f to u ris m d e ve lo p m e n t. T o p ro te c t th eancient tow n in a sustainable way, it m ust relyon im proving the economic conditions o f theancient town. In the case o f a single structureo f rural economy, the econom ic developm entdepends largely on the developm ent o f thetourism industry, and tourism development canprom ote the pro te ction o f intangible culturalheritage[4]. W oodblock printing in Xuwan Townis very characteristic and can be protected andpassed down through commercial developmentin to cultural products. The AVC theory is based102Journal of Landscape Researchon com prehensive disciplines such as urban planning, tourism planning, and ancient tow n conservation planning to tap the vita lity o f the ancient town’s own culture，establish distinctive market characteristics，and build a ternary system o f “to u ris m developm e nt—p ro te c tio n o f the ancient tow n—sustainable use” based on economic, social and ecological environm ent and other Actors.3.2 R eproduction of cu ltu ra l space centered on woodblock printing(1) Systematic integration o f cultural space and h isto rica l elem ents in the ancient tow n. A cco rd in g to the d is trib u tio n , preservation status and cultural values o f historical elements in andent towns，im portant cultural space nodes such as ancient w harfs, wash basins, ancient wells, historical streets and alleys w ill be created, and the elements o f cultural landscapes w ill be connected in series to cteate a complete cultural space o f the ancient town in the form o f ^point- line-face’’，enabling the nine traditional streets including the Qianshupu Street and HoushupuStreet look simple and unadorned(2) F u n c tio n a l in te g ra tio n o f c u ltu ra l space and h isto rica l elem ents in the ancient tow n. Hom esickness is deeply roo te d in the depths o f the peopled hearts. D iffere nt regions create diffe re nt cultures. The cultural space in Xuwan Town has rich cultural characteristics o f northeastern Jiangxi and incorporates a wealth o f operatic elements. W ith the ancient stageas the carrier and the revival o f the traditionalCaicha opera as the m ainstfeam , the cultural experience space o f <e an ancient stage, a teashop, a black cloth, and a light smoke^ is created based on the cultural elements o f w oodblock printing. That has prom oted the dissem ination o f woodblock printing culture.(3) C reation o f special tourism products based o n th e va lu e o f resources. A v e ry im portant factor in the excavation o f tourism features in ancient tow ns is how to m aintain the original natxiral environm ent, native culture, and sim ple fo lk custom s[5]. Based on this, we can optim ize the liv in g environm ent, respectth e h is to ric a l c o n te x t, and create special tou rism products. We can regard exhibitions based on w o o d b lo c k p rin tin g techniques, D IY w oodblocks, and w o od blo ck p rin tin g - related cultural products as the core attraction pro du cts and o th e r cha racteristic products such as rice flo u r, cakes, Chinese m edicine, dyed paper，ferm ented soya beans, and paper um brella p ro d u ctio n and in k p ro d u ctio n as the supplem entary products. We can integrate existing resources in accordance w ith tourists ， needs to carry out targeted redevelopm ent o f tourism products, thereby stim ulating effectiveFig.2 Chain-like pattern103Strategies to Protect Ancient Towns with Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on AVC Theory Fig.3 M ulti-center compound patternconversion o f tou rism resources to tourism products. W ith Qianshupu Street and Houshupu Street as the core resource, we can also createthe axis o f the collection o f woodblock printingtou rism cultu ral products to fu lly re fle ct the splendor and charm o f the woodblock printingA ccording to the above AVC theory, thehisto rica l and cultural space nodes tha t have been highlighted have enabled the w oodblock printing cultural space to show great attraction.The targeted characteristic redevelopm ent o f tourism products has im proved the value-addedand v ita lity o f featured products. The orderly planned w oodblock p rin tin g space routes and cultural spaces can meet the needs o f sustainable development.3.3 Inheritance of cultural activities centered on grassroots rural com­munities(1) S ocial d o n a tio n a c tiv itie s and the p ro te c tio n o f w o o d b lo c k p rin tin g. S ocial donation activities are the activities o f some celebrities, people o f insight, or units that donateto the h isto rica l and cultu ral heritage. Funds raised through donations are greatly contributedto the p ro te c tio n o f h is to ric a l and cu ltu ra l heritage. A t present, the maintenance cost o feach bu ild in g that requires the pro te ction o fits structural stability and in te grity is generallyn o t high. In this sense, donation activities can provide certain effective econom ic guaranteesfo r the protection o f the cultural heritage. A t the same tim e, m em orial monuments fo r donationcan be established to expand the influence o f woodblock printing protection in Xuwan Townand allow m ore people to participate in the donation and repair activities, thereby prom otingthe p ro te c tio n o f w o o d b lo ck p rin tin g and increasing the attraction o f tourism[6].(2) C u ltu ra l re lic p ro te c to rs and th epro te ction o f w oodblock p rintin g. There are m any peop le w h o are know ledgeable and experienced in local woodblock printing. These people can be organized together to establish a cultural relic protector agenq^ to give fu ll play to the strength o f the local com m unity and reduce investments. Local cultural relic protectors can direcdy guide b u ild in g m aintenance activities related to woodblock printing according to their experience and certain standards. Besides, they can comprehensively master all the inform ation co n c e rn in g the p ro te c tio n o f w o o d b lo c k printing in the shortest tim e, which is beneficial to the protection and efficient use o f woodblock printing^.(3) The developm ent o f bed & breakfast (B&B) and the p ro te c tio n o f w o o d b lo c k p rin tin g. The developm ent o f B&B s can be organically integrated w ith the pro te ction o f ancient tow ns to pro vid e to u rists w ith eco- friendly accom m odation and catering services based on the existing resources o f Xuwan Town. The basic service facilities can be appropriately increased to enhance the service capacity o f the cultural tourism in Xuwan Town. In addition, the development o f B&Bs is conducive to increasing th e e co n o m ic in co m e o f lo c a l re side nts, optim izing the industrial structure o f the ancient town, and ensuring that there is enough tourism space developm ent capacity fo r w oodblock printing in Xuwan Town.4 ConclusionIn ta n g ib le c u ltu ra l heritage is a unique c u ltu ra l m em ory o f a reg io n and a na tion. The protection o f it m ust be based on a deep understanding o f the historical and cultural core o f that region and nation and the excavation o f cultural essence so as to ensure the authenticity o f in ta n g ib le c u ltu ra l heritage[8]. In ta n g ib le cu ltu ra l heritage plays an im p o rta n t ro le in prom oting tourism development and maintaining the vita lity o f an ancient town. Reasonable and scientific m ining o f the value o f andent towns, intangible cultural heritage and the development o f cultural tourism by increasing its attractiveness, vitality, and carrying capacity are effective ways to prom ote the pro te ction o f ancient towns. In the process o f tourism developm ent, it is necessary to pro fo im d ly study the relationship between the inta ng ible cu ltu ra l heritage and the evolution o f ancient towns in space and to ensure the authenticity o f intangible cultural heritage to the m axim um extent. T herefore, in summary, the pro te ction o f ancient towns w ith intangible cultural heritage can be achieved through the iW C theory to construct a ternary system o f “tourism developm ent~andent town protection—sustainable utilization”.R eferences[1] Zhu, Y. Q. (2015). Production protection andlife hentage o f traditional techniques. FolkloresStudies, (01), 81-87.[2] Chen, L. (2016). A new view o f the origin o fwoodblock printing. 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