A cultural geography study of the spatial art and cultural features of the interior of Lingnan ancestral halls in the Ming and Qing dynasties

Abstract

Current research on the formation of inner spatial culture and art of ancestral halls in Lingnan, China, reveals discontinuities in historical and spatial dimensions of plurality, locality, and culture. These traits are influenced to some extent by the interaction of broad political settings and micro-geographical elements, and their relevance to the cultural transformation of Lingnan ancestral halls remains blurred. With the aid of text mining algorithms, this paper analyzes the factors influencing the interior spatial characteristics of Lingnan ancestral halls from the perspective of cultural geography. It then deciphers the logic of cultural formation behind those spatial characteristics through the dimension of “time-space-geography,” offering new insights for the study of the cultural heritage value of ancestral halls. The research process shows that: 1) the number of space widths and depths in Lingnan ancestral halls is typically in the singular system; 2) the size of the construction of Lingnan ancestral halls has decreased through time; 3) the number of space widths and depths in Lingnan ancient halls did not exhibit a wholly positive link with their dimension. The study concludes that the main developmental lineage in the construction of the Lingnan ancestral halls culture is the economic and cultural push directed by political influence. The functional adjustments made to ancestral halls somewhat mirror those made to the clan genealogy and cemetery ritual systems, but they are not set; rather, they evolve as the state’s politics and the economy alter.