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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Visualizing research on Huizhou houses

Figure 6. Keyword co-occurrence map. Source: Co-occurrence by the authors

Table 4. Statistics of high‑frequency keywords Heritage list. With strong visual appeal and artistic
expressiveness, woodcarving components are often used
No. Keywords Frequency Centrality as unique regional cultural symbols in contemporary
1 Huizhou ancient houses 140 0.3 design, preserving the essence of traditional culture while
2 Cultural heritage 95 0.21 infusing it with new vitality. In the context of globalization,
3 Architectural features 79 0.16 traditional Huizhou houses showcase the charm of Chinese
4 Huizhou wood carving 73 0.26 regional culture to a global audience. Their increasing
5 Cultural connotation 72 0.18 international influence enhances cultural identity and
6 Regional culture 70 0.23 fosters national pride.
7 Esthetic orientation 61 0.09 4.2. Research path
8 Architectural components 59 0.44 Burst terms refer to keywords whose occurrence or usage
9 Sustainable development 49 0.09 frequency significantly increases within a certain period,
10 Huizhou sculpture 42 0.16 representing shifts in research hotspots during that time
11 Architectural decoration 35 0.54 (Jiang, 2023). Analyzing these dynamic changes in burst
12 Cultural symbols 32 0.18 terms helps trace the evolutionary patterns of research
13 Esthetic value 30 0.15 paths in traditional Huizhou houses and predict future
research directions. This study used CiteSpace to generate
14 Application 28 0.48 a burst term map for keywords, as shown in Table 5. The
15 Ancient villages 24 0.32 map clearly displays the start and end times of the burst
16 Decorative patterns 23 0.08 terms, dividing the research focus on traditional Huizhou
17 Innovation 18 0.2 houses into three stages.
18 Decorative design 16 0.18 4.2.1. The first stage: Analysis of cultural connotation
19 Protection 15 0.28 (2000 – 2010)
20 Intangible cultural heritage 14 0.07
During this period, research mainly focused on carving
techniques in the architectural decoration of traditional
element in Huizhou traditional houses, carry significant Huizhou houses and their integration with traditional
historical information and cultural connotations, reflecting culture. Topics such as “woodcarving,” “Confucian
the life philosophy and esthetic values of Huizhou people. thought,” and “esthetic orientation” emerged as prominent
Huizhou woodcarving demonstrates a high level of themes, leading to in-depth analyses of the cultural
craftsmanship, making it a representative of traditional connotations embedded within these structures. The
craft recognized on China’s National Intangible Cultural exteriors of traditional Huizhou houses are simple and

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4473