A. Study areas
Gulangyu Island, which belongs to Xiamen City, Fujian Province, is located at the mouth of Jiulong River in the south of Fujian Province (referred to as "Minnan") on the southeast coast of China. It is an island in Xiamen Bay, facing Xiamen Island across the 600-meter-wide Lujiang Strait. It was uninhabited for a long period of time in history. The great geographical discovery in the 15th century involved Minnan region in the first wave of globalization. Maritime trade and maritime economic activities brought Minnan immigrants into Gulangyu Island and became traditional local settlements [18]. In the nearly 100 years from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, with the opening of Xiamen, Gulangyu Island has become an important window for cultural exchange and integration between China and foreign countries. From fishing village islands to international communities, to historical communities after the reform and opening up, and even to 2017, Gulangyu Island has been listed as a world cultural heritage. The evolution of its community spatial form is of typical significance and is worth reviewing and exploring.
The spatial evolution of Gulangyu International Historical Community has obvious stage characteristics. It has successively experienced the period of local cultural accumulation (before the Opium War), the period of foreign cultural dissemination (from the Opium War to the signing of the Public Land Boundary Charter in 1902), the period of multicultural integration (from 1903 to the outbreak of the Pacific War) and the spatial transformation of the post-international community (from 1941 to the present) [19]. According to the change of participants, this paper focuses on explaining the characteristics of community spatial evolution path in Gulangyu Island during the period of foreign culture dissemination and the period of multicultural integration.
B. GIS interpretation of historical map
Under the background of "digital humanities" and the concept of big data, the informatization of historical geography can reproduce the scene at that time. At present, the research on historical geography is still not detailed enough, and many historical environment elements and information on the map have not been discovered and applied. This study draws lessons from the concept of "cultural layer" in archaeology, and discriminates the disappeared historical sites based on the idea of stratification [20]. With culture as clue, time as sequence and space as carrier, historical maps are geographically registered and digitally translated. Through the hierarchical interpretation of historical map information, combined with contemporary measured building statistics, high-definition remote sensing images, digital elevation models and historical documents, the disappearing international historical community relics are screened from three levels of point, line and surface, and historical buildings, roads and coastlines are vectorized and unified into GIS database for superposition and evolution analysis. The historical map data used come from Xiamen Library and British Library (Figure 1).
C. Actor Network Theory
Actor-network theory (ANT), originated in 1980s, is a scientific practice research method proposed by French social scientist M. Callon, which includes three core concepts: actor, translation and heterogeneous network [21]. Actors refer to all factors in the process of scientific practice, It includes both human actors and non-human materials and ideas. Different actors are heterogeneous in terms of interest orientation and behavior. The stability of the network depends on the continuous translation of the interests of various actors. The power to deviate from the network may occur within the network due to objections. The key link of actor network research is translation, that is, four basic links: Problematization, Interestement, Enrollment and Mobilization (Figure 2).
"Problem presentation" makes the objects concerned by different actors problematic, thus forming a network alliance, and at the same time makes the problems of core actors become "Obligatory Points of Passage" (OPP) to achieve the goals of other actors; "Benefit endowing" strengthens the definition of actors' roles in the problem presentation process through various devices and strategies; As a result, actors are "recruited" to become members of the alliance; "Mobilization" means that the proponent rises to the Spokemen of the entire network alliance and exercises power over other alliance members to maintain the stable operation of the network. Objections may arise in the process and need to be overcome [3]. Translation by actors may lead to changes in meaning, relationship and rights, so it is a "dynamic network" [22]. Actor theory brings all factors from society and nature into a unified interpretation framework, which is suitable for explaining the process of spatial evolution of community form in the stage of impassability.
Community Space Evolution in the Stage of Foreign Culture Dissemination (1840-1902)
A. Composition of the network of actors
Before the Opium War, Gulangyu Island followed the traditional economic model of farming and fishing. There were about 100 families and more than 1,000 people on the island. Neicuo'ao, Luer Reef and Yanzijiao are dominated by Huang surname, while Tianwei area is dominated by Hong surname. The residents of the island follow the belief and custom of Minnan people who believe in gods and worship many gods. There are Sunlight Rock Temple of Buddhism, Zhongde Palace and Xingxian Palace dedicated to Baosheng Emperor on the island. After the Opium War, different actors jointly promoted the construction of actor alliance based on their own goals, so as to encourage foreigners to assume key actors. Actors include administrative units: Qing government and consulates of various countries; Community groups: Aborigines, consular officials and their families, Western businessmen, missionaries and other foreign nationals. Non-human actors mainly include material elements: landscape resources, traditional dwellings and public space; Conceptual elements: local conditions and customs, traditional religions (Table 1). The compulsory passage point (OPP) shared by the above actors is "the embryonic form of the international community". As shown in Figure 3, it shows the problems that different actors expect to solve and the goals to be achieved.
Table 1 Composition of actors in the stage of foreign culture communication
Related Composition
|
Category
|
Conten
|
Human actor
|
Administrative unit
|
The Qing government, Consulates
|
Community group
|
Aborigines, Consular officials and their families, Foreign nationals, Missionaries, and other foreign nationals
|
Non-human actor
|
Material element
|
Landscape resources, Traditional dwellings, Public spaces
|
Conceptual elements
|
Local customs and practices, Traditional religions
|
B. Actor Translation Process
Translate the goals of multiple actors, give benefits to all actors, and remove obstacles to action. At this time, the foreign nationals on Gulangyu Island acted as the helm, leading a few leading actors to make more actors join the network alliance by recruiting and being recruited, so as to maximize the benefits.
First, administrative recruitment. Western countries signed the Treaty of Nanking with the Qing government, Forcing Xiamen to open its trading port, The British troops were stationed in Gulangyu Island. The signing of a series of treaties and subsequent clauses allowed the British to lease land and houses at trading ports. The subsequent signing of the Sino-US Wangxia Treaty and the Sino-French Huangpu Treaty enabled foreigners to obtain consular negotiations, missionary work and the right to set up hospitals. More and more countries have consular offices located in Gulangyu Island.
Scend, the fund Committee call up. By the 1870s, there were nearly 200 foreign nationals in Gulangyu Island. At that time, there was little to say about the island. There were no recreational facilities and commercial facilities. There was not even a road in the modern sense. The sanitary conditions were extremely poor. In order to improve the quality of social life, western countries set up the Gulangyu Road Cemetery Fund Committee in 1880 to invest in urban construction through tax payment, bringing the culture of social public space governance into Gulangyu.
Third, housing and landscape recruitment. In 1853, Forced by the attack of the Knife Rebels, Foreigners in Xiamen poured into Gulangyu Island to "take refuge", Soon they found that Gulangyu Island, which is located in a corner, seems safer and more comfortable. Gulangyu Island has gradually become the main residence for foreigners in southern Fujian. At first, it rented local houses for accommodation and work, and the high rent made the aborigines willing to trade with it. For example, the existing Huang Xiaozong was the foothold of missionary Abeel and doctor Gan Ming who first came to Xiamen to preach, and then gradually began to buy land to build their own houses.
Fourth, cultural recruitment. Western missionaries were not recognized at first, and even expelled from villages where ethnic groups lived. Then schools and hospitals were set up to train Chinese priests and spread Christianity in southern Fujian by waiving tuition fees, providing accommodation, accommodating many poor children and abandoned babies.
To sum up, the translation process in actor network creation as shown in figure 4 is formed.
C. Community Spatial Evolution with the Intervention of Heterogeneous Actors
Different aims and behaviors of heterogeneous actors not only shape social networks, but also reproduce and construct the spatial characteristics of Gulangyu Island. The island space has changed from a space for local people to live and fish and cultivate to a multi-functional composite space shared by local people, foreign nationals and consulates of various countries. The function and form of the space have changed(Figure 5).
In the stage of local cultural accumulation, the local settlement is roughly divided into three areas: Neicuo'ao, Yanzijiao and Luer Reef, which are scattered in the flat land facing the sea. A large amount of land serves and fishes the farming economy. Traditional religions such as Sunlight Rock, Zhongde Palace and Xingxian Palace are dotted sporadically, which is the public cultural activity space of the aborigines. The original road is rugged and complex. Guided by buildings and natural conditions, it basically follows the distribution of mountain-shaped terrain or buildings. The angle changes a lot, is irregular and often deviates.
In the stage of foreign culture dissemination, consulates of various countries have chosen this site one after another. Western-style buildings with veranda architectural style are mostly chosen on the mountains and by the sea, making full use of the island landscape resources and having a certain space distance from the aborigines. Foreigner firms rely on the wharf on the east side of Gulangyu Island to form commercial storage facilities on the east side of the island.
At the same time, the number of roads on the island has increased, mainly connecting the residences of foreign nationals and the traffic between the residences and docks, basically forming a three-circle road system. One circle is the northern ring road around Bijia Mountain, connecting the residential area of Neicuo'ao in the western part of the island with the eastern part of the island; One circle is the Sunlight Rock Ring Road to the south and the Yanzijiao Ring Road to the east, connecting the traditional settlement of Yanzijiao; One circle is the Luer Reef Ring Road in the southeast, which surrounds the Luer Reef residential area; A number of radial roads leading to docks and beaches on the seashore have been built from the three-circle ring road, forming the basic framework of Gulangyu traffic.
In addition, churches, schools and hospitals serving the spread of Western religions have emerged, municipal infrastructure such as cemeteries, and recreational facilities such as clubs and stadiums have emerged. Generally speaking, foreign nationals played a direct role in the spatial evolution of Gulangyu Island during this period. By the end of the 19th century, Gulangyu Island had more than 10 consulates, 6 church schools, 5 churches, 2 foreign-run hospitals, telegraph offices and several foreign firms, as well as many private houses all over the island. The formation of a situation in which local ethnic groups and foreign foreigners live separately and coexist peacefully has begun to take shape in the embryonic form of an international community.
Community Space Evolution in the Stage of Multicultural Integration (1903-1940)
In 1902, western countries and Japan competed for power in Gulangyu Island, forcing the Qing government to sign the "Xiamen Gulangyu Public Land Boundary Regulations" with western countries, set up the Ministry of Industry as the management organization, and issued the "Gulangyu Ministry of Industry Regulations" as the specific rules for municipal administration. Gulangyu Island realized multi-country co-management and integrated guardianship. The goal intention of the actor network is usually the same as that of the key actors. With the First World War and the change of the world pattern, a large number of overseas Chinese from southern Fujian who returned home became the emerging social group that dominated the settlement pattern and spatial evolution pattern of Gulangyu Island, gradually replacing foreign nationals and becoming key actors. The reconstruction and re-deduction of the actor network promoted the further evolution of Gulangyu community space.
A. Changes in the composition of the network of actors
With the improvement of Gulangyu's infrastructure and the emergence of modern communities, the mandatory point of passage (OPP) of the actor network in the stage of multicultural integration has also changed to "multicultural integration of international communities", and a number of new heterogeneous actors have joined the network alliance. The newly added actors mainly include: human actors such as the Ministry of Industry, the Japanese government, overseas Chinese, and non-human actors such as capital, land resources, residential features, industrial structure, political environment, laws and regulations (Table 2 and Figure 6).
Table 2 Composition of actors in the stage of multicultural integration
Related composition
|
Category
|
Content
|
Human actor
|
Administrative unit
|
The Qing Government, Municipal Council, Japanese Government
|
Community group
|
Overseas Chinese, Chinese residents, Foreign nationals
|
Non-human actor
|
Material element
|
Capital, Land resources, Municipal facilities, Residential style, Industrial structure
|
Conceptual elements
|
Political environment, Laws and regulations, Chinese and Western Cultures
|
B. Re-interpretation of the actor's translation process
With the change of key actors, new heterogeneous actors are re-recruited and recruited.
First, administrative Recruitment: During the period of the public concession, the administrative organization has always been the Ministry of Industry under the leadership of the board of directors. Its function is to "take charge of matters that should be handled within the community", including public security, taxation, patrol, health facilities, public facilities and markets. Gulangyu Island is inhabited not only by foreign nationals, but also by legal disputes between Chinese and foreign countries and between Chinese in the community. In the community, there is a Chinese judicial institution-joint hearing court, which is one of the few Chinese institutions that can play a practical role in Gulangyu Island. The Ministry of Industry's promotion of Gulangyu community municipal construction has caused great shock in the Chinese community. Overseas Chinese groups have strengthened their awareness of participating in community construction and have the desire to transform the city's appearance. Overseas Chinese groups not only joined the board of directors of the Ministry of Industry, but also played an obvious role in recruiting other actors. They actively formed social organizations and successively established the Chinese Taxpayers Association, the Chinese People's Association and the Chinese Council to safeguard their rights and interests and promote social reform.
Second, fund recruitment. Overseas immigrants from southern Fujian who returned home with abundant capital set up industries, built houses and infrastructure in Gulangyu Island. The community's water supply, power supply, road traffic, communication, the ship crossing between Gulangyu Island and Xiamen, the construction of public greening and the construction of community public activity spaces such as schools all developed rapidly and represented a higher level at that time.
Third, recruitment of residential style. Returning immigrants have come into contact with western civilization and are familiar with various western customs when they make a living overseas. At the same time, they have full feelings for the native land of southern Fujian, which was born and raised in Sri Lanka. The interweaving of the two makes them an intermediary for the blending of Chinese and Western cultures, which is reflected in the architectural style. They build villas, private gardens and various foreign buildings for themselves and their families, or buy foreign buildings from foreigners for localization. From 1920s to 1930s alone, 1014 buildings were built on Gulangyu Island by returning overseas immigrants. From 1924 to 1936, 75% of the 970 building licenses issued by Gulangyu Municipal Bureau of Industry belonged to returning overseas immigrants and their families, which greatly changed the settlement pattern and spatial pattern of Gulangyu Island.
Fourth, cultural recruitment. With the support of overseas Chinese returning home, the cultural service facilities on the island have been improved, the cultural living standards of the people have been improved, and Zhongshan Library, the first library in Xiagu area, has been set up. A large number of religious and non-religious newspapers and periodicals have been published one after another, and the printing industry has also made certain progress, promoting cultural exchanges between China and the West. Local education has also been further improved, such as Xiamen Girls' School established in Lin Qiaozhi and Ciqin Girls' Middle School in Huang Yizhu. More and more Chinese are participating in the network of actors, forming a pattern in which returning immigrants, local elites and expatriates from many countries participate in the construction and management. In combination with the above, the actor network translation process as shown in Figure 7 is formed.
In 1941, Japan acquired the management right of Gulangyu Island by means of military occupation, which finally declared the complete end of Gulangyu Island as a special era of international community.
C. Community Spatial Evolution under the Reconstruction of Actor Network
New actors have further promoted the change of Gulangyu community space through network operation. After entering the 20th century, the number of Chinese in Gulangyu Island increased rapidly. In 1920, there were about 15,000 Chinese residents on the island, far exceeding foreign nationals. These overseas immigrants with abundant capital are building large-scale projects in Gulang, and the community space of Gulangyu Island has been expanded (Figure 8).
Compared with 1900, the eastern and northern docks reclaimed land and increased land resources, and the island area increased from 1.62 km in 1900 to 1.71 km in 1935. Due to the limited space of Gulangyu Island and the sequence of building time, overseas Chinese businessmen returning home cannot form a special living space. Their seamless building mode further accelerates the integration of living spaces of different groups, making it difficult for Gulangyu Island to maintain strict zoning.
With the advancement of community construction, the desolate landform of Gulangyu Island has been gradually changed, more livable areas have been created, and the construction area on Gulangyu Island has been greatly expanded. From 1900 to 1927, the construction area increased at an annual rate of 9.71%. At the same time, the housing construction method is mostly DIY-made, equipped with Xiamen decoration style combining Chinese and Western styles, and the first floor is the same but not repeated. The Bagua Building and Huangjia Garden, which are still preserved today, all represent the exquisite level of construction at that time. The road network system has been comprehensively planned and constructed on the original basis, forming more than 30 roads. Dendritic branches go deep into the community, basically forming the traffic network structure of Gulangyu Island today.
In addition to residential buildings, overseas Chinese have built their own churches, such as Sany Hall, as well as public facilities serving the community, such as waterworks, telephone companies, vegetable markets, Yanping Theaters and clubs. A large number of factories, commercial shops and warehouses have appeared. Gulangyu's modern residential area, which is dominated by residential functions, is gradually equipped with various commercial functions and public service functions. The residential form has also gradually changed from traditional village settlements to modern community forms, with international communities showing multiple integration.