Analyzing the use of cultural space of the Han community through the Architecture of the Nanxun Ancient Town from 1953 to 2024

Abstract

Background and Aim: This study focuses on the architectural and cultural spatial evolution of Han communities in Nanxun Ancient Town during the period 1953-2024, aiming to analyze the changes in the use of artistic space in Han communities by examining the architecture of Nanxun Ancient Town. The study adopted a qualitative research method and collected data through interviews with 13 people, covering three groups: long-term residents, managers, and experts. The residents were categorized into three groups: old, middle-aged, and young, according to their age and years of residence, to reflect the life experiences and spatial memories of different generations. Managers and experts provided professional perspectives on policy implementation and cultural research to enhance the diversity and depth of the study.

Materials and Methods: With the theoretical support of structural functionalism theory, the study combines the AGIL theoretical framework to systematically sort out the evolution paths of residential, faith-based, commercial, and public cultural spaces in three economic stages between 1953 and 2024. The structural functionalism theory emphasizes the functional roles of each element of society in the overall system, which helps to reveal how different types of cultural spaces respond to external changes and redistribute their functions during the stages of collective economy, market reforms, and cultural tourism. At the same time, the AGIL model provides an analytical framework for understanding how architectural spaces adapt to their environments, achieve their social goals, and maintain the order of the community and the transmission of their cultural identities.

Results: Between 1953 and 2024, the Han community cultural space in Nanxun Ancient Town transformed from communalization under the collective economic system to a return to functionality during the period of market economy, and then to a composite reuse during the stage of cultural revitalization. In the period of collectivization (1953-1980), the architectural space changed from private to collective use, reflecting the process of adaptation of traditional clan structure to the national ideology; after the reform and opening up (1981-2005), with the liberalization of the economy, the conventional space gradually restored to the life and cultural functions, and the symbolic significance of the building was re After the reform and opening up (1981-2005), with the liberalization of the economy, traditional space gradually restored its life and cultural functions, and the symbolic significance of the buildings was recognized again. These paths of change confirm the logic of social system adaptation in the structural functionalism theory, i.e., changes in the external economic system directly promote the reorganization of spatial structure and social functions. It explains that cultural space has been continuously stimulated with a new logic of use and social significance in the evolution of the social system and has become an effective medium connecting history and reality, as well as the local and the national.

Conclusion: The Han community's cultural space evolution in Nanxun Ancient Town results from economic transformation, policy orientation, and cultural identity reconstruction. The community has shown outstanding cultural resilience and adaptability in the various historical stages. The study shows that in the face of social transformation and modernization pressure, flexible spatial organization and sustainable operation can be achieved through rational adjustment of policy orientation and collaborative management of community subjects, thus enhancing the functional adaptability of historical and cultural spaces in contemporary times. This experience provides a reference for sustainable heritage management or community-centered conservation strategies in similar contexts. Future interventions in historic towns should emphasize the interactive and synergistic mechanisms of policy, community, and space, to promote the lasting social value of cultural heritage in living heritage.