The structure of an imperial Chinese city : A person-environment study on Lin'an (1123-1278)

Abstract

With a person-environment approach, the study explores the structure of the imperial Chinese city, Lina??an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1123-1278). The study consists of two parts. The first part defines the city as a multi-layered place system within the broad framework of environment-behaviour studies, with detailed operative parameters specified to facilitate further detailed inquiries. Within the second part, the study first discusses the relevance and uses of the contemporary texts and maps in the historical urban study. Then, focusing on the citya??s place systems, selectively explores the following general and specific topics: 1) the basic urban category between official and folk place systems; 2) the imperial system over the city; 3) the structure of the city on everyday life. Based on the above studies, the cognitive structure of the city could be specified as a multi-layered system with the official and folk place systems as two key layers. The overall urban system integrates uses and significance, and thus could achieve both complexity and clarity.