The landlord's manor in Gongyi city : perception, interpretation and legitimation of a folk dwelling typology in a changing society

Abstract

The “landlord’s manor” refers to a traditional architectural typology associated with the once economically and socially privileged “landlord class” in China. For better or worse, this social class has always played a vital role in the development of the Chinese society, especially during the period of transition of China in the 20th century from a feudal society to a modern nation. Originally legitimized as houses for the landed class, the landlord’s manor was developed during China’s Imperial dynasties (which ended in 1911) and continued into the Chinese Republican era (1912-1949). With the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, landlords became a politically prosecuted social class that was subsequently exterminated. Interestingly, the landlord’s manor has now been legitimized as a significant piece of Chinese cultural heritage. Thanks to the relatively stable political, economic and social environment in China since the 1990s, the Chinese society is able to foster a new appreciation and reassessment of this typology that is representative of the Confucian principles and folk traditions embedded in Chinese feudal society.

Yet the question remains why and how the landlord’s manor has experienced this change of legitimacy. To answer this question, which is the aim of this thesis, one has to go beyond the historical background and architectonics of the building typology, and explore the cultural heritage aspect of the architecture. The theoretical focus is on the area of heritage perception, interpretation and legitimation, specifically on issues arising from the reinvention of the collective memory and social value to serve socio-political and socio-economic ends. This research focuses geographically on the city of Gongyi (formerly a county), where some of the most representative examples of the landlord’s manor are found. Three national-level statutorily protected landlord’s manors are selected for this in-depth research and analysis to exemplify how heritage sites are legitimized to serve different societal agendas.