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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism The making of the Chinese urban landscape

In the context of the West, the origins of the word form complexes of the ground plan, building form, and
“landscape” can be traced back to the old English word land utilization, particularly in a more authoritarian
“landscipe,” derived in the early Middle Ages (Wylie, 2007), society characterized by major differences in the precepts
where it was first documented in reference to “a district” influencing settlements. It provides an important method
or “a tract of land” (Turner, 1987). The term “landscape” for reconstructing the fundamental aspects of urban
has had multiple meanings across disciplines since the landscapes and helps underpin approaches to their
study of landscape began. However, regardless of their regionalization and management. Despite the recent
roots, all approaches to landscape studies share common welcome development of morphological research of
ground in that landscape is not a static physical entity Chinese cities, the link between urban morphology and
but contains complex spatial patterns that change over local urban theories and cultural values has not been
time. Any modifications to the landscape are not driven systematically explored. The absence of better integration
by single factors but by a unifying system in which nature between different knowledge systems remains one of the
and culture have co-evolved (Antrop & van Eetvelde, 2017; major issues in cross-cultural studies.
Brabyn, 2005; Bunce et al., 1996; Christian, 1958; Hazeu China has a long history of appreciating natural and
et al., 2011; Mucher et al., 2010). Despite the multiple cultural landscapes. For instance, the Chinese tradition
ways of seeing and interpreting the landscape, there is a of landscape dates back to the ancient philosophy of
shared recognition of the spatial-temporal duality of the “mountain and water” (山水[shanshui]), which first arose
landscape. The exploration of the duality of the landscape during the 5 century (Siren, 1956). The idea of shanshui,
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has given rise to the reinterpretation of landscape from which underpins the Chinese tradition of admiring
three principal dimensions: the structural dimension and understanding landscape elements, is not directly
that emphasizes the spatial pattern of the landscape, the comparable to the modern Western concept of landscape.
morphogenetic dimension that emphasizes the formation Instead of viewing the landscape as a scientific research
and changes to the landscape, and the unifying perspective area, the Chinese sense of landscape is an accumulation
to combine structural and morphogenetic studies for of collective knowledge and experiences associated with
landscape research and practice. everyday life, thus germinating a system consisting of
Since the late 19 century, the landscape idea has correlative, generative, and holistic views of landscape
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been extended to the fields of architecture and urbanism, formation and changes. These three perspectives are
revealing new layers of meaning compared to previous inextricably intertwined in the understanding of landscape
research in which landscapes were largely viewed as in China.
naturally occurring objects (Antrop, 1993; Kolen & Correlative thinking highlights the reciprocal, parallel,
Lemaire, 2000; Muir, 1998; Naveh & Lieberman, 1994). or complementary relationships across all landscape-
Otto Schlüter (1899a; 1899b), in particular, recognized the related subjects, while generative thinking seeks to
distinction between towns and rural settlements in many explore the origins and subsequent growth of the world
European countries. He described the “urban landscape” in alignment with cosmological and philosophical beliefs.
(stadtlandschaft), representing the form and appearance The holistic view articulates a greater emphasis on holism
of a town, as a distinct category of the cultural landscape. within the local knowledge system. These traditional
According to Schlüter (1903), the urban landscape is not approaches provide an attractive, retrospective description
just a static object or phenomenon but a cultural product of the impact of ancient Chinese cosmology on its urban
and dynamic process that changes over time. From the history and urban landscape changes. Through the Chinese
1950s, MRG Conzen foregrounded a conceptual and lens, landscape knowledge is viewed as a synergistic system
methodological framework for urban landscape research, that draws insights from a wide array of ideas, including
making a major contribution to the consolidation of philosophy, poetry, traditional paintings, and built
urban morphology – the study of the spatial and physical environments. Each idea in that system is also a synergistic
characteristics of towns and cities as a result of spontaneous sub-system with itself as the core idea and generating
and purposeful building practices governed by a habitus its own dynamics. The knowledge system demonstrates
(Gauthier, 2003; Whitehand & Larkham, 1992). dialectical part-to-part and part-to-whole relationships
It is noteworthy that urban morphologists have across disciplines. This landscape tradition has exerted a
explored the application of morphological analysis in the dominant ideological influence on forming traditional
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Chinese context since the early 2000s (Whitehand & Gu, Chinese cities until the beginning of the 20 century.
2007; Whitehand et al., 2011). Morphological analysis Although urban landscape studies of Chinese cities
reveals the interrelationships between the basic urban have provided a systematic and critical review of landscape

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.261