Typomorphological characteristics of traditional port cities in China and Southeast Asia influenced by maritime trade

Abstract

From the rise of the ancient Maritime Silk Road via the Age of Discovery to today’s globalized era, the development of maritime trade has transformed human lives and culture, and accordingly intensified changes in urban morphology, which would otherwise have remained relatively stable over the ages. The theoretical and methodological systems underpinning urban morphological analysis of Western traditional cities are relatively complete and mature; however, research on Chinese and Southeast Asian port cities, in which maritime trade began much earlier and had a more profound influence, is still scattered and unmethodical. To fill this gap in the research, the study draws on the typomorphological theories and methods proposed by Conzen, Caniggia and Kropf to investigate the typomorphological characteristics of typical traditional port cities in China and Southeast Asia, using physical-hierarchy analysis. Exploring the mechanisms underpinning the evolution of urban morphology in these port cities offers in-depth insights into the influence of maritime trade on urban culture and its physical expression.

The study first explicates the research background, purpose and significance, outlines the current state of research in this field and establishes specific research objects and the research scope. Next, based on an extensive literature review, gaps and inadequacies in the existing research are identified. In addition, typomorphological theories and methods are summarized, and the specific research strategies and methodology used in this study are detailed.

Case studies form the core content of the dissertation. Several typical traditional port cities in China and Southeast Asia are selected as case examples, and their typomorphological characteristics are expounded at four levels: urban tissue, street-block, plot and building. At the level of urban tissue, the background and components of urban formation, as well as the morphological characteristics reflecting the interaction between local and foreign culture as a result of maritime trade, are described from a macroscopic perspective. Comparative analysis at urban-tissue level reveals the cultural connotations of the traditional Chinese characteristics of homogenization and embeddedness and the Southeast Asian zoning plan. At the street-block level, a comparison of street-block types and patterns, as well as street interfaces and sections, casts light on the motivation to transform traditional residential districts to adapt to commercial development. This level of analysis addresses both the organic street-block characteristics influenced by the development of traditional trade and the handicraft industry and the methodical characteristics influenced by the development of colonial trade in the early modern period. At the plot level, through a summary of the typological characteristics of plots in different traditional street-blocks, two major plot types – elongated and large-scale – are distinguished by properties and functions. In addition, the plot patterns formed according to different requirements of street-blocks are discussed. The similarities and differences between plots in China and Southeast Asia are also highlighted through comparative analysis. At the building level, attention is paid to traditional houses gathered on a certain scale in the selected port cities. The houses are typologically distinguished in terms of their components, internal arrangement, relative position, usage intention, etc. Comparative analysis offers insights into the differences between the indigenous residential building type and the hybrid commercial-residential building type, as well as their internal relations and corresponding transformation.

The dissertation highlights the morphological transformation of traditional port cities with the development of maritime trade, as well as the cultural relevance of these changes in different regions. Going beyond the restrictions imposed by a single case study to analyze a series of cross-regional case examples, comparative analysis is conducted at each of the above levels to explore important similarities and differences. This not only clarifies the evolutionary trends and characteristics of port cities during their rapid commercial development, but also promotes the protection and renewal of traditional port cities in China and Southeast Asia, as well as providing inspiration and assistance in the future adaptive development of these port cities.