Uncovering Intangible Inheritances. Inventory of China’s Traditional Landscapes in Yangtze River Delta by Connecting Ethnophysiography and Applied Toponymy

This research provides a reconnaissance of Yangtze River Delta cultural landscapes, through classificatory cartography constructed from the analysis of the ethno-physiographic attributes of rural toponyms.

The expression “cultural landscape” refers to landscapes of high cultural value that have gradually and continuously evolved and stratified over centuries embedding the palimpsest of collective memory.

In China, cultural landscapes are often referred to as “national folk treasures” and are mainly identified in rural contexts. The central government of China has initiated a long-term project for the examination, evaluation, and preservation of cultural landscapes, becoming aware that the management of natural resources and its
associated cultural inheritances cannot be considered separately but requires integrative approach.

In relation to that, one of the major issues faced by modern landscape research and management policies arises from the disjunction between ecological and cultural perspectives. To achieve a high level of integration between social and ecological systems, recent research on landscape ecology emphasizes the importance of connecting natural sciences and humanistic disciplines to understand how a landscape is responsible for the development of distinct cultural relations and identities of a place.

In this respect, the study of toponyms can significantly contribute to the identification of the features of traditional landscapes. Toponyms are symbolic texts incorporated in a broader system of meanings and ideologies used and interpreted by the people of a place. The recent development of an ethnophysiographic approach in place name studies enables us to understand how a landscape and its elements are conceptualized and expressed through languages in local cultures.