Research on the Strategies of Living Conservation and Cultural Inheritance of Vernacular Dwellings—Taking Five Vernacular Dwellings in China’s Northern Jiangsu as an Example

Abstract

Vernacular dwellings are the carriers of cultural inheritance, and their living conservation plays an important role in social development. With the continuous advancement of China’s urbanization, the crisis faced by vernacular dwellings is increasing. Therefore, the living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings are urgent. Combining the method of grounded theory with traditional surveying and drawing research, this paper takes five vernacular dwellings in China’s northern Jiangsu as the research object, excavates their cultural background, finishes their drawing, and constructs the strategy model of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings on the basis of in-depth interviews. Lastly, it puts forward specific improvement measures for the five vernacular dwellings in terms of living conservation and cultural inheritance, so as to provide case support for the subsequent conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings in China’s northern Jiangsu.

1. Introduction

In 1999, ICOMOS adopted the Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage, which proposed that “vernacular building is the traditional and natural way by which communities house themselves” [1]. On the basis of this Charter, the conservation of China’s architectural heritage has also been raised to new heights. The “Suzhou Initiative” and “Wuxi Initiative” were put forward successively, and programmatic documents on the conservation of China’s architectural heritage were gradually formed. Since then, standardized conservation and management methods, protection principles, and other documents have been formulated to strengthen the conservation of vernacular architectural heritage [2]. China’s vernacular architecture mainly refers to various types of ancient folk buildings in the countryside, which embody local traditions and ethnic characteristics corresponding to their types, full of historical and cultural information about local society [3]. A vernacular dwelling is a type of vernacular architecture.

In recent years, the rapid urbanization and the idea of emphasizing economy over conservation have put China’s existing vernacular dwellings in a dilemma in terms of protection and development, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) idle vernacular dwellings caused by the “hollowing-out” of villages [4]; (2) the damage or collapse of buildings caused by changes in the natural environment [3]; (3) the “one size fits all” style transformation of vernacular dwellings according to a certain traditional style [5]; (4) the demolition of vernacular dwellings in the name of protection and development [3]; (5) the purchase of vernacular dwellings by wealthy businessmen and relocation to other places as a whole [6]; (6) the loss of exquisitely decorated components of vernacular dwellings [6]; (7) serious urbanization phenomenon of vernacular dwellings in village renewal [7].

Jiangsu Province is located in eastern China. According to the climate characteristics and the distribution of the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River, the province is generally divided into three regions: southern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu, and northern Jiangsu. Northern Jiangsu is located in the transitional area between the Central Plains culture in northern China and the Jiangnan culture in southern China, and its vernacular dwellings show a blended style of north and south. In particular, these dwellings are of great research value in terms of their building materials and wooden structure, and they also retain many early wooden construction practices and distinctive local practices (Figure 1).

However, due to the long-term lack of cultural demonstration and characteristic publicity, their influence is far inferior to that of the vernacular dwellings in areas such as Jiangnan and Huizhou; hence, they have been neglected by the academic circles for a long time [8]. At the same time, with the rapid economic development in northern Jiangsu in recent years, its local vernacular dwellings have also been greatly impacted [9]. Their distribution state has gradually developed from the “slice” distribution before the reform and opening up, to the current “line” or even “point” shape, and the existing number of vernacular dwellings is also shrinking [10]. At the same time, it should be noted that, due to the economic strength and people’s protection awareness, vernacular dwellings in economically developed regions are protected quite well [11]. In less developed areas dominated by ethnic minorities, vernacular dwellings are highly regarded by society due to their distinctive characteristics; thus, they are also protected well. However, vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu, which is located in the underdeveloped region of an economically developed province, have been seriously damaged due to the lack of a distinctive regional style. Similar regions to northern Jiangsu are southern Shandong and southern Zhejiang, among others. The aforementioned problems make the conservation of vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu difficult, while also bringing great challenges to cultural inheritance. Therefore, taking five vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu as an example, this paper studies the existing vernacular dwellings in this region through field research, interviews, surveying, and drawing, in order to explore the internal and external motivations of vernacular dwellings in terms of conservation and inheritance. Lastly, corresponding strategies and suggestions for their living conservation and cultural inheritance are provided.

2. Literature Review

At present, there are several research results on vernacular dwellings, which can be roughly divided into three categories according to their contents: research on the value and culture of vernacular dwellings, research on the formation and performance of vernacular dwellings, and research on the conservation and utilization of vernacular dwellings.

2.1. Research on the Value and Culture of Vernacular Dwellings

Humans have built primitive caves and nests since prehistoric society, which formed early vernacular buildings of different styles. Almusaed believed that the formation of unique local architectural tradition is partly due to the changes in climate and available building materials, and partly due to different historical beliefs and ideas among different cultures. At the same time, taking Islamic design as an example, he put forward the spatial value and value elements of local buildings [12]. Garcia-Esparza believed that the value of local architecture may be related to emotion, existence, and other factors [13]. These two kinds of value analysis are relatively perceptual and do not hold a macro perspective towards cultural heritage. Ballester’s research subdivided the concepts and types of vernacular dwellings into cultural heritage, including vernacular heritage, industrial heritage, public engineering heritage, and 20th century architecture [14]. The research incorporated vernacular dwellings into the system of cultural heritage, which reflected a macro research perspective. For the different types of heritage mentioned above, many scholars, such as Affelt, put forward technical methods for assessing the value of cultural heritage, which are also applicable to the value assessment of vernacular dwellings [15]. On this basis, Olukoya further developed the conceptual framework for the study of the value of vernacular architecture, namely, the three contextual categories of practice, process, and form, as well as their dynamic and static dimensions [16]. Since then, research on the economic value [17], and cultural and educational value [18] of vernacular architecture has also been carried out. In recent years, Feng used the method of ethnography in grounded theory to explore the changes in Mosuo folk dwellings and their vernacular culture in the past 30 years in the contemporary context, thereby constructing a protection method of sustainable development from three aspects: life culture, architectural culture, and values [19], and providing a new perspective for the study of the value and culture of vernacular dwellings. In addition to the valued research mentioned above, scholars from different regions around the world have expanded the research on cultural connotations and value characteristics of vernacular architecture in different regions, such as raw soil buildings in Spain [20], Saudi Arabia [21], and southeast Morocco [22], vernacular farmhouses in Europe [23], arcaded Mesaorian dwellings in Cyprus [24], vernacular dwellings in China’s western Hunan [25], and triangular-beam frame dwellings in China’s northern Jiangsu [26,27,28,29]. The above cases provide materials and evidence for the study on the value and culture of vernacular architecture.

2.2. Research on the Formation and Performance of Vernacular Dwellings

The formation of vernacular dwellings has its special factors, including social and human factors, environmental materials, and natural climate. These factors are intertwined to form vernacular dwellings with different regional styles worldwide. Therefore, different scholars have carried out studies on different factors. Erdogan took Turkish traditional dwellings as the research object, explored the social norms of family space, including cultural values and social norms, and interpreted the influence of social and humanistic factors on vernacular dwellings [30]. Bahramifar studied how environment and materials affect vernacular architecture in the mountainous areas of Iran, paying particular attention to details such as semi-open space, material type, and construction technology in vernacular dwellings [31]. At present, academic circles pay most attention to the climatic adaptability of vernacular dwellings and their significance as a reference for modern dwellings. Engin analyzed the influence of climatic factors such as wind, rain, humidity, and sunshine on the dwellings in the eastern part of the Black Sea [32]. Similar research was conducted on vernacular dwellings in the desert of West Africa [33], rammed earth buildings in Spain [34], rural vernacular dwellings in coastal, lowland, and mountainous areas of Cyprus [35], vernacular dwellings in Taiwan [36], vernacular dwellings in Vietnam [37], vernacular buildings in a hot arid area of Iran [38], and dwellings in northern Jiangsu, China [39]. All these studies focused on vernacular dwellings in different regions from a microscopic perspective. Zhai, on the other hand, classified and evaluated the energy consumption performance of vernacular buildings from a macroscopic perspective [40], providing corresponding evaluation standards for the performance and energy consumption of vernacular dwellings and reference for modern residential design. Therefore, his results have influenced many subsequent researchers. In general, the results of studies on the formation and performance of vernacular dwellings reflect the research framework of” cause analysis–performance research–enlightenment for the design of modern dwellings” [41].

2.3. Research on the Conservation and Utilization of Vernacular Dwellings

In 1999, ICOMOS adopted the Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage, which emphasizes vernacular buildings as the expression of world cultural diversity and recognize their right to maintain living traditions, i.e., the principle of living conservation [1]. This established the basis for the subsequent conservation of vernacular dwellings around the world. On the basis of the Charter, studies on the conservation and utilization of vernacular architecture have been carried out around the world, including the site landscape integrity of vernacular architecture, the traditional construction system, and the renovation and regular restoration of vernacular buildings [1].

The site environment provides rich soil for the survival of vernacular dwellings. Therefore, Wangand and others discussed the reconstruction of the sense of environmental belonging of vernacular dwellings [42]. Kim proposed the concept of heritage planning to actively deal with the “creation” of a historical environment [43]. Although different methods and approaches have been adopted, they all emphasized the importance of site landscape integrity to the heritage of vernacular dwellings.

In terms of living conservation, scholars have focused on the traditional construction system contained in vernacular dwellings. For example, Gomez-Patrocinio studied the traditional technique of raw soil wall buildings [44]. Hamard studied the cob construction technique (the simplest of all earth-building technologies is called cob) [45]. Kondekar studied a local traditional building material called “Gadhi soil” [46]. It can be considered that traditional construction technology and materials provide strong support for the renovation and regeneration of vernacular dwellings.

With urban development and social progress, the renovation and restoration of vernacular dwellings can be regarded as a type of living conservation, and related theories include organic renewal theory and stylistic restoration theory. At the village environment level, the organic renewal theory proposes to prolong the life of vernacular dwellings on the basis of restoring and preserving the traditional style and organic order [47].

At present, the monomer restoration of vernacular dwellings is mostly based on the theory of stylistic restoration represented by Viollet-le-Duc in France in the 19th century. This theory emphasizes the idealized graphical relationship to show the complete state of the restored object, which has a certain impact on the restoration of Chinese cultural heritage and vernacular dwellings. [48]. On this basis, in order to meet the restoration needs of factors such as the functional transformation of vernacular dwellings, Bosia proposed restoration guidelines for vernacular dwellings in Piedmont, Italy [49], and Feng put forward suggestions for the restoration of Chinese vernacular dwellings [50]. Under the guidance of restoration guidelines, many successful cases of renovation have emerged around the world, such as the historic center of Porto reconstructed by Alves [51] and Mileto’s case study on the renewal of vernacular dwellings in Sesga [52]. In addition, vernacular dwellings have also exerted a variety of influences on the planning and design strategies of modern architecture, including the decoration elements, the environmental adaptability, and the texture generation of vernacular dwellings. Among them, Aziz proposed a new strategy for slum reconstruction based on local vernacular dwellings to solve the housing problem of the rapidly growing population [53]. Zhao studied the difference and connection between traditional vernacular dwellings and new Hui-style dwellings, and he expounded the design language of new vernacular dwellings from the aspects of neighborhood, architecture, and components [54]. In short, the conservation and utilization of vernacular dwellings are based on the Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage proposed by ICOMOS. At the same time, each region has vividly interpreted and expanded the connotation of the Charter according to different regional characteristics.

2.4. Research Review

To sum up, based on the research of value and culture, the research of vernacular dwellings sorts out the concepts and types of vernacular dwellings in different regions, and excavates the various values and cultural connotations embodied in vernacular dwellings. Since then, the formation reasons and performance characteristics of vernacular dwellings have become the focus of research, and scholars from different regions have carried out research on the formation and performance of vernacular dwellings in various regions. Finally, due to the development of social economy, the protection and utilization of vernacular dwellings has become a concern of the society, and many successful cases have emerged. These three stages also reflect the cognitive level of “what–why–how” centering on the theme of vernacular dwellings.

The current research on vernacular dwellings has paid more attention to the cultural value of vernacular dwellings and the relevance to their villages at the macro level. At the micro level, it has focused on the study of the formation and performance of vernacular dwellings, exploring the reasons for their formation. There are some achievements in both aspects, which have enriched the research connotation of vernacular dwellings. However, at the medium level, research on the living conservation and utilization of vernacular dwellings in China is not quite enough. Most studies focused on areas with distinct regional characteristics, such as Jiangnan and ethnic minority areas, while insufficient attention has been paid to the vernacular dwellings in the north of Jiangsu, where the northern and southern characteristics are blended, and the regional style is not quite distinct.

Although northern Jiangsu is located in the developed area of eastern China, its economic development level has not kept up with the rich southern Jiangsu region for a long time. According to the data of Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics, although northern Jiangsu has maintained a faster economic growth rate than the average of the whole province in recent years, its GDP accounts for only one-fifth of the total for the whole province [55]. The relatively low economic level has also led to the long-term lack of awareness of local cultural heritage conservation, and there are deficiencies in heritage conservation work at all levels. However, at present, the development of southern Jiangsu has entered the saturation period, and the development of southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu is not balanced. Therefore, the key to the overall rise of Jiangsu province lies in the revitalization of northern Jiangsu, and the same is true for the conservation of cultural heritage [56]. Under the condition of China’s vast territory and unbalanced economic development between the east and the west, how to minimize the damage to vernacular dwellings in the process of conservation, how to reproduce the value of vernacular dwellings in cultural inheritance, and how to carry out the living conservation of vernacular dwellings and make them more operable are important problems that deserve further exploration.

This paper takes five vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu as the research object, considering three aspects. First of all, northern Jiangsu is located in the transitional area between the north and south of China, and its vernacular dwellings also reflect the grand and plain northern style, which is essentially different from the delicate and simple style in southern Jiangsu. Secondly, the ecological characteristics of the traditional construction techniques used in some vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu, including walls with raw earth inside and baked brick outside, a herringbone beam frame and a roof truss without folding [26], are also in line with the local climate adaptability; thus, it is necessary to continue this living characteristic through conservation. Thirdly, the five vernacular dwellings selected in this paper cover different cities, and their scale and subordination are relatively typical. Although these five dwellings cannot completely represent the overall situation of vernacular dwellings across northern Jiangsu, they can provide a reference for the protection and development of vernacular dwellings, as well as a relevant research case for improving local economic and social development and for solving the problem of unbalanced development across the province

3. Research Design

3.1. Research Method

Vernacular dwellings are not only the place where people live, but also the embodiment of social elements such as customs and habits. The existing conservation cases of vernacular dwellings and villages are often supported by theories such as “style restoration theory” and “organic renewal theory”; however, these theories are more suitable for relatively grand and broad issues of principle. Due to the different regional conditions, history, and culture, vernacular dwellings often encounter different practical problems in the process of protection and development; therefore, there are certain limitations in adopting the above theories. In addition, for a long time, China’s urban and rural planning, architectural design, heritage protection, and other industries have typically focused on the vernacular dwellings themselves, opting for their protection, design, and repair on the material level, while ignoring the humanistic and social aspects, thus leading to phenomena such as unmet early requirements, improper later stage management mode, and unsustainable living conservation [57].

Grounded theory is a qualitative research method proposed by American scholars Glaser and Strauss [58], which aims to establish a theoretical framework based on empirical data, and to explore and study the theories behind phenomena through systematic data collection and analysis, mainly used for discovering logic rather than verifying logic. In recent years, this theory has been widely used in sociology, management, education, and other aspects, but relatively rarely used in the conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings, traditional villages, and other cultural heritage.

Grounded theory requires that all documents are derived from the first-hand information of the researcher, as an in-depth observation of the research object can reduce “developmental damage” and other phenomena commonly seen in the development of vernacular dwellings, which endows the research method of grounded theory with a certain locality in the conservation and development of vernacular dwellings. In addition, the conservation subjects of vernacular dwellings are complex, and the development direction needs to be appropriate to the case. As a research tool in the social field, grounded theory can provide theoretical guidance for the creation and development of vernacular dwellings in a certain region, based on the participation of researchers and interaction with research objects in the research process, which is exploratory and practical.

In view of the above situation, this paper tries to combine the traditional surveying and drawing of vernacular dwellings with in-depth interviews based on grounded theory, so that studies on the material, social, and humanistic levels can complement each other. Then, the overall analysis and research of relevant cases can be carried out, and case study materials can be enriched to the greatest extent, thereby providing strong support for the subsequent conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings. The overall research method framework is shown in Figure 2.

In the traditional surveying and drawing part, this paper first carried out a background investigation of the research cases, including genealogy, homeowner’s background, heritage filing, management status, and other basic information. Then, it carried out surveying and drawing of the study site to collect the construction data of the vernacular dwellings. Next, the drawings were completed according to the collected data. Lastly, value research and evaluation of the vernacular dwellings were performed on the basis of the above content. The basic data collected in this part could also be used in the background investigation before the follow-up grounded theory interviews, as shown in Figure 2.

In the interview part based on grounded theory, this paper first acquired data under a specific research background. Next, concepts and categories were summarized and extracted from the data, and then constantly compared to empirically generalize the original materials and conclude concepts and propositions from top to bottom (Figure 3).

3.2. Sample Selection

The research of grounded theory should follow the principle of theoretical sampling [59]. This paper took five vernacular dwellings in three cities in northern Jiangsu as case studies with three main considerations: firstly, the scale of these vernacular dwellings was different; secondly, the distribution of these vernacular dwellings covered different cities in northern Jiangsu; thirdly, these vernacular dwellings belonged to different levels of government, including the municipal level, town level, and village level. These five cases, located in three different cities in northern Jiangsu, were all residential buildings (

Table 1. Basic information of typical cases.

Serial Number	Sample 1	Sample 2	Sample 3	Sample 4	Sample 5
Location	Yunlong District, Xuzhou City	Meng Zhai Village, Pei County, Xuzhou City	Wushao Village, Tongshan District, Xuzhou City	Yanghe Town, Suqian City	Nancheng Town, Lianyungang City
Conservation level	National level	None	City level	City level	None
Conservation status	Converted into a cafe	Residential	Residential	Residential	Residential
Habitation situation	Uninhabited	Inhabited	Uninhabited	Inhabited	Uninhabited
Scale	Architectural group	Single building	Single building	Single building	Single building
Management organization	Government	Individual	Communal	Individual	Individual
Land situation	Public	Homestead	Collective	Homestead	Homestead
Financial investment	Yes	No	No	No	No
Repair and renovation	Yes	No	Planned	No	No
Structural form	Brick–wood structure	Wood structure	Stone structure	Brick–wood structure	Brick–wood structure
Time of construction	1920s	Late Qing Dynasty	Late Qing Dynasty	Late Qing Dynasty	Late Qing Dynasty
Wall material	Brick wall	Brick wall	Stone wall	Brick wall	Brick wall
Residential population	Uninhabited	Two persons	One person	Four persons	Two persons
Architectural decoration	Chinese and Western combined	Traditional style	Local style	Traditional style	Traditional style
Current situation photo

). In terms of scale, both building complexes and single buildings were included. These cases were also different in terms of financial input, living condition, repair status, protection level, etc., thus meeting typical sampling requirements.

3.3. Data Collection

In this paper, in-depth interviews were conducted for each vernacular dwelling. The following aspects were considered in the selection of interviewees. First, the residents of the vernacular dwellings and the indigenous people living in similar buildings were selected to investigate the dwellings from the perspective of users, including the indigenous people living in the vernacular dwellings (2–3 persons) and the neighbors or people around them (1 person or 2). Second, from the perspective of village and town administrators, the environment of villages where vernacular dwellings are located were investigated, including the village-level management department (1 person or 2) and the town-level or centralized management department (1 person). Finally, from the perspective of designers, the transformation status and trend of vernacular dwellings were investigated, including the relevant designers of the vernacular dwellings (1 person or 2) and design practitioners (2–3 people). In general, the interviewees were selected from the three interrelated perspectives of residents, administrators, and designers, reflecting the scientificity and representativeness.

In-depth interviews were conducted and relevant interview materials were sorted out (Appendix A). As the situation of the interviewees was different, the requirements involved and the description of the current situation were also different, so an interview summary was prepared before the interviews, as shown in Annex 1. A total of 71 interview records were formed, among which 64 interviews were used for coding and 7 interviews were used for verification of theoretical saturation.

4. Grounded Theory Research on Vernacular Dwellings

4.1. Open Coding

As the research basis and primary purpose of grounded theory, open coding needs to digest and absorb the collected materials, followed by their conceptualization and categorization. This process is mainly divided into three steps:

• Conceptualization of interview materials. Keeping an open mind with respect to the collected literature, all kinds of materials were classified, and important cases and sentences in the literature were extracted. At the same time, the interview recording was transcribed, and all texts were read thoroughly, while making remarks in the form of a memorandum. Finally, on the basis of the literature and interview materials, sentences and cases were abstracted, and then numbered and named.
• Summarization of similar cases. Aimed at solving the problem of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings, 49 initial concept codes were classified, abstracted, and labeled (

  Table 2. Concepts and categories of open coding formation.

  Serial Number	Excerpt from Original Interview Materials (Part)	Initial Concept Coding	Initial Category
  4	4-01 The laws and regulations of the government are only applicable to the approved Famous Historical and Cultural Towns and Villages, and have no binding force on vernacular dwellings.	Promulgate targeted laws and regulations	Policy support
  23	23-01 The government blindly pursues political achievements, blindly promotes the construction of new villages, and demolishes vernacular dwellings.	Evaluate government achievements scientifically
  45	45-01 The government’s enforcement of laws and regulations is insufficient and cannot be put into effect.	Strengthen policy enforcement
  54	54-01 The procedures of government demolition should be standardized and need to be further improved.	Standardize policy implementation procedures
  55	55-01 Government biddings often attract large companies from other places, which is not conducive to protecting local small repair companies.	Adjust relevant policies to benefit local companies
  9	9-01 Commercial operation is in danger of pursuing economic interests, ignoring the conservation of vernacular dwellings.	Avoid pure commercial operation	Strengthen control
  16	16-01 The construction of ancient-style buildings with various modern materials and techniques has added some historical and cultural landscapes to the buildings that are inconsistent with the facts.	Avoid the appearance of ancient-style buildings inconsistent with the facts
  7	7-01 Private houses are sold to commercial companies or individuals, and vernacular dwellings are moved to other places as a whole.	Prohibit overall relocation of residential houses and private sales
  11	11-01 Urban villages close to the city are developed in the mode of real estate, with the requirement of transferring net land, and the overall demolition of original vernacular dwellings is carried out.	Prohibit the transfer of net land in real estate development mode
  1	1-01 The renovation of old residential houses is too formal. They are painted and decorated, but there are no substantive changes.	Avoid formalism in conservation and inheritance
  30	30-01 Specimen-type and freezing-type conservation deprive indigenous people of their right to enjoy modern life.	Avoid specimen-type and freezing-type conservation
  38	38-02 The loss of decorative components of vernacular dwellings occur from time to time.	Prohibit the theft of cultural elements of vernacular dwellings
  18	18-01 There are too many vernacular dwellings, with large maintenance scale, high cost, and insufficient financial investment.	Increase financial input	Attract investment
  5	5-01 Without industrial guidance, the simple conservation of vernacular dwellings lacks subsequent momentum.	Industrial guidance
  35	35-01 The rich people and businessmen who go out of the village do not pay enough attention to the construction of their hometown.	Call for the return of the villagers to their hometown
  49	49-01 The lack of local characteristic industries and the reliance only on agriculture lead to insufficient funding sources.	Develop new industries
  13	13-01 The general lack of rural infrastructure and the poor environment have a certain impact on the conservation of vernacular dwellings.	Improve the infrastructure level and environmental quality of vernacular villages	Environmental remediation
  14	14-01 The original groups of vernacular dwellings are destroyed, and only a single building remains, lacking the original spirit of the place and spatial sequence.	Partially restore the original vernacular residential space
  54	54-02 Drinking water is inconvenient, and the supply time is not continuous.	Improve water supply
  56	56-01There is a lot of sewage in front of and behind the dwellings, especially after rainy days, which smells bad.	Increase investment in sewage treatment
  58	58-01 Villages lack places for daily worship, such as ancestral halls.	Create a cultural atmosphere
  63	63-01 The dwellings are located in high places, and the water supply pressure is insufficient.	Improve water supply condition
  7	7-02 Daily life is inconvenient; hence, it is necessary to add kitchens, toilets, and utility rooms.	Modernize the interior of vernacular dwellings	Life improvement
  9	9-02 In order to protect vernacular dwellings, the government has to restrict the villagers from building new houses, forming some confrontation between the government and the villagers.	Increase the construction of new villages
  5	5-02 Under the policy of “one family, one house”, the villagers have no new homestead, and the phenomenon of demolishing the old and constructing the new appears.	Carry out residential intensification and increase homestead
  9	9-03 Young male villagers get married and separated, hoping to build new houses; the living space is too narrow and there is a demand for new houses.	Meet the housing needs of indigenous people
  5	5-03 Many people go out to work, resulting in a lack of human activities and vitality in the original vernacular dwellings.	Attract migrant workers to return	Population return
  2	2-01 The property rights of vernacular dwellings are unclear or scattered; thus, it is difficult to form a unified opinion.	Sort out the property rights of indigenous people
  58	58-02 In many villages, only the elderly and children are left behind. Young people often go to other places to work.	Strengthen supporting facilities in villages and towns to attract people to return home
  64	64-01 Many villagers move to cities after making money.	Attract villagers to build their hometown
  1	1-02 The property rights can be replaced, and the original private property rights of vernacular dwellings can be replaced with collective ownership to protect vernacular dwellings.	Collective management model	Model innovation
  12	12-01 The village party secretary should take the lead to form a development model of collective economy and cultural relics protection, so as to promote the conservation of vernacular dwellings.	Create a new model of combing collective ownership and cultural protection
  30	30-02 The local government can rent the houses of indigenous people, thereby bringing in funds to repair and run the houses.	Consider a government overall guidance mode
  17	17-01 Grassroots organizations can organize development, and villagers can become shareholders of the tourism company, which can be opened for operation after renovation.	Advocate villagers’ spontaneous organization model
  29	29-01 Social organizations can step in and work with the government and grassroots organizations to carry out protection work together.	Advocate the promotion model of social organization
  24	24-01 The conservation of vernacular dwellings can be decided by villagers’ democratic consultation at the grassroots level.	Promote grassroots democratic consultation
  7	7-03 Vernacular dwellings have no protection value, and there is no culture worth inheriting.	Improve the value research of vernacular dwellings	Cultural awakening
  15	15-01 There is a lack of local culture such as family etiquette and festival customs.	Strengthen the construction of traditional vernacular culture and other spiritual aspects
  41	41-01 The media has not done enough to publicize local culture.	Strengthen the role of the media in the publicity of local culture
  64	64-02 Young people currently do not pay much attention to traditional culture.	Promote young peoples’ attention to traditional culture
  9	9-04 Vernacular dwellings meet the needs of local life in terms of energy saving, land saving, and frugality, and the wisdom of ancient construction can be inherited.	Inherit ancient construction wisdom	Technology inheritance
  20	20-01 The lack of traditional skills and repair techniques makes it impossible to continue to maintain the original style.	Continuation of traditional repair technology
  23	23-01 The repair techniques of the south are not suitable to the vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu.	Strengthen local technical characteristics
  49	49-02 There are few local enterprises that can repair vernacular dwellings.	Help related local enterprises
  35	35-02 There is a lack of training base for traditional construction technology.	Construct protection technology training base	Personnel training
  4	4-02 There is a serious shortage of protection professionals.	Strengthen the training of professional talents
  34	34-01 It takes a long time to train professionals in conservation.	Speed up the efficiency of professional talent training
  43	43-02 Due to institutional reasons, it is difficult for professionals in conservation to survive.	Create a good living environment
  48	48-01 Those who know how to repair dwellings are mostly old craftspeople, but few young people.	Improve the inheritance between new and old craftspeople

  ).
• According to the connotation and denotation of the 49 initial concepts, they are abstracted to form the initial category. For example, the ancient construction wisdom of vernacular dwellings, the lack of traditional repair technology in northern Jiangsu at present, and the inappropriate use of southern repair technology in the vernacular dwellings of northern Jiangsu all belong to the measures of traditional construction and repair technology; therefore, they were classified into the category of technology inheritance. After this process, a total of 10 initial categories were formed (Table 3).

4.2. Axial Coding

Axial coding involves analyzing and comparing the initial categories summarized by open coding, so as to extract the main categories. In the open coding stage, the original texts were decomposed into different types and levels of coding, and the initial categories were extracted. In the axial coding stage, the 10 initial categories were further refined, and four main categories are summarized, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Axial coding analysis.

Main Category	Initial Category	Connotation Interpretation
Policy and control	Policy support	Promulgate targeted policy documents and conduct scientific evaluation on relevant government work.
	Strengthen control	Control the real estate and commercial development mode of private sale, formalism, specimen-style, freezing-style, ancient-style buildings and net land transfer.
Funding and improvement	Attract investment	Increase financial input, and actively enhance the capacity of local characteristic industries.
	Environmental remediation	Improve the infrastructure level of villages where vernacular dwellings are located, and repair the site space of original villages.
	Life improvement	Build intensive housing to meet the housing needs of indigenous people, while modernizing the interior of vernacular dwellings.
	Population return	Sort out the property rights of indigenous people and attract migrant workers to return home to participate in rural construction.
Culture and innovation	Cultural awakening	Improve the value cognition level of indigenous people and government management departments toward vernacular dwellings, and strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization.
	Model innovation	Innovate the organization mode of vernacular dwellings and villages, including overall government planning, villagers’ self-organization, social organization intervention, and collective management.
Technology and talents	Technology inheritance	Continue the traditional repair technology, inherit the ancient construction wisdom, and strengthen the expression of the technical characteristics of vernacular dwellings.
	Personnel training	Actively train local talents with professional repair skills.

Table 3. Axial coding analysis.

Main Category	Initial Category	Connotation Interpretation
Policy and control	Policy support	Promulgate targeted policy documents and conduct scientific evaluation on relevant government work.
	Strengthen control	Control the real estate and commercial development mode of private sale, formalism, specimen-style, freezing-style, ancient-style buildings and net land transfer.
Funding and improvement	Attract investment	Increase financial input, and actively enhance the capacity of local characteristic industries.
	Environmental remediation	Improve the infrastructure level of villages where vernacular dwellings are located, and repair the site space of original villages.
	Life improvement	Build intensive housing to meet the housing needs of indigenous people, while modernizing the interior of vernacular dwellings.
	Population return	Sort out the property rights of indigenous people and attract migrant workers to return home to participate in rural construction.
Culture and innovation	Cultural awakening	Improve the value cognition level of indigenous people and government management departments toward vernacular dwellings, and strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization.
	Model innovation	Innovate the organization mode of vernacular dwellings and villages, including overall government planning, villagers’ self-organization, social organization intervention, and collective management.
Technology and talents	Technology inheritance	Continue the traditional repair technology, inherit the ancient construction wisdom, and strengthen the expression of the technical characteristics of vernacular dwellings.
	Personnel training	Actively train local talents with professional repair skills.

4.3. Selective Coding

For selective coding, in-depth research was conducted on the main categories, their internal correlations were analyzed, the “core categories” were identified, and the logical relationship and structural framework between categories were obtained, as shown in

Table 4. Logical relation analysis of categories.

Initial Category	Main Category	Core Category
Policy support	Policy and control	Living conservation
Strengthen control
Attract investment	Funding and improvement
Environmental remediation
Life improvement
Population return
Cultural awakening	Culture and innovation	Cultural heritage
Model innovation
Technology inheritance	Technology and talents
Personnel training

.

On the basis of selective coding, this study focused on the two core categories of “living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings”, within the four main categories constituting the story of vernacular dwellings from the aspects of economy, policy, culture, and technology. That is, in the face of the conflict between economic development and the conservation of vernacular dwellings, local governments in northern Jiangsu need to actively provide guidance through policies, which can be carried out using a two-pronged approach. They should not only implement effective laws and regulations and scientifically evaluate government performance, but also strengthen management and control to avoid adverse situations. On this basis, investment attraction in northern Jiangsu can be closely combined with the conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings, adopting popular forms such as Taobao Village and Fruit and Vegetable Village. After the development and expansion of the industry, the vernacular dwellings should be actively protected, the level of infrastructure should be improved simultaneously with the improvement of living conditions, and persons working in southern Jiangsu should be attracted to return to their hometown, enabling its reconstruction.

The inheritance of traditional construction technology should be strengthened, and talents should be trained in northern Jiangsu, while minimizing the influence of southern dwelling culture on the local area. In addition, it is also necessary to stimulate the awareness of protection and inheritance of indigenous people and local governments in northern Jiangsu, as well as select or learn from the operation modes of vernacular dwellings in different regions. Figure 4 describes the relationship between each process in the form of a strategy model of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings.

4.4. Theoretical Saturation Test

In order to verify the theoretical saturation of the strategy model of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings, a saturation test was carried out on the seven interviews, and the open coding, axial coding, and selective coding processes were performed again according to the steps described above. After analysis, no new concepts and categories were found, and no new relationships were found between categories. Therefore, it can be concluded that the strategy model of the living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings reached theoretical saturation.

5. Analyses of Rooted Results and Surveying and Drawing Results

5.1. Rooted Result Analysis

The results of grounded research basically revealed the current situation and characteristics of the conservation and utilization of these five vernacular dwellings, as well as their current difficulties, which are described below.

5.1.1. The Policies Implemented by the Government Are Not Well Targeted, and the Control Measures Are Not Strict Enough

Compared with southern Jiangsu, policymaking in northern Jiangsu is obviously lagging behind. For example, many cities in southern Jiangsu, including Suzhou and Nanjing, completed the compilation of administrative regulations on famous historical and cultural cities more than 10 years ago, while Xuzhou, also a famous historical and cultural city, has not yet issued relevant administrative regulations. This shows the lag of protection policies in the underdeveloped region of an economically developed province, which also exists in the conservation of vernacular dwellings. In addition, there are many policies for famous historical and cultural cities, towns, and villages, while there is no clear definition and policy basis for vernacular dwellings [60]. Therefore, there occur various phenomena in the villages where these five vernacular dwellings are located, such as the blind implementation of new village construction (23-01), ancient-style buildings inconsistent with local characteristics (16-01), private sale of vernacular dwellings (7-01), and loss of decorative components (38-02).

At present, absolute poverty has been eliminated in northern Jiangsu, but relative poverty will still exist for a long time [61]. Among the five vernacular dwellings studied in this paper, samples 2, 3, and 5 were in a relatively poor state. As for sample 2, rich businessmen from other places proposed to buy the whole building and move it to another province. If this happens, it will cause devastating damage to the state of vernacular dwellings. In contrast, for sample 3, the whole village has been favored by relevant policies and listed as a traditional village. With the government’s attention, the process of conservation, restoration, and reuse is being steadily promoted.

5.1.2. Relatively Poor Living Conditions and Infrastructure, and Insufficient External Capital Investment

Before reform and opening up, the environment in northern Jiangsu used to be superior. However, with the transfer of backward industries from southern Jiangsu to northern Jiangsu, some areas in northern Jiangsu have been plagued by environmental pollution. This has caused great damages to the village infrastructure and living environment attached to vernacular dwellings, subsequently leading to the outflow of population. Therefore, the residents of the five vernacular dwellings and surrounding villagers gave feedback on aspects such as bad kitchen and toilet function (7-02), drinking water problems (54-02), inadequate sewage treatment facilities (56-01), insufficient financial investment (18-01), lack of industrial guidance (5-01), and young people going out to work (5-03) and not returning home after making money (64-01).

The textile industry in Pei County, where sample 2 is located, was transferred from southern Jiangsu, which polluted the local environment to a certain extent. Sample 3 is located high up on a hill. The lack of water supply has brought inconvenience to the villagers’ lives; therefore, the indigenous people have built houses at the bottom of the original natural village to meet the needs of water use. Sample 4, which is located in Yanghe Town, Suqian City, has been listed as a cultural protection unit and its renovation activities can only be carried out with the approval of relevant governments. Yanghe Town was once famous for its brewing manufacturing industry, and the rise of the internet company JD.com has produced a great driving effect on the town in recent years. Therefore, Yanghe town is also actively exploring the integrated development of the internet and the brewing industry to drive the development of the local economy through industrial upgrading. Sample 5 is located in a slate-paved street. Due to the rise of surrounding business circles, the original street space has gradually declined, affecting the living space of vernacular dwellings.

5.1.3. Weak Awareness of Conservation and Single Operation Mode

Influenced by economic factors, the protection consciousness of indigenous people in northern Jiangsu is much less than that in southern Jiangsu [8], and the interviewees related to the five vernacular dwellings considered the vernacular dwellings to have no protection value (7-03). Moreover, original family etiquette, festival customs, and other cultures are also seriously lacking (15-01), resulting in a disconnect among modern life, social development, and traditional culture. In addition, the media has not sufficiently publicized the local culture (41-01), young people do not pay enough attention to traditional culture (64-02), and government leases form the dominant mode of operation and management of vernacular dwellings (30-02). The lack of flexible and easy operation modes makes it difficult to stimulate the enthusiasm of indigenous people to participate in protection.

Due to the excessive pursuit of economic development and neglect of cultural heritage conservation, the protection consciousness of vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu is relatively weak [9]. In the downtown area of Xuzhou, where sample 1 is located, a historical block was demolished and a new ancient-style building block was built. Although the design and construction of the ancient-style building block are good, they cannot replace the original historical blocks in terms of cultural inheritance and living conservation. The property rights of samples 2–5 are all privately owned. The indigenous people go out to work and their dwellings stay vacant for a long time, making it difficult for the government to replace and transform them. Meanwhile, samples 3 and 5 have been uninhabited for a long time, and their current conditions are poor, requiring regular maintenance. Sample 1 is well maintained, due to its government property rights. Sample 3 is currently maintained by villagers’ autonomy, whose specific effect needs to be tested in the future.

5.1.4. Insufficient Conservation Technology and Personnel

Traditional restoration techniques and professional talents play an important role in cultural inheritance. Some interviewees considered there to be a serious shortage of talents in the conservation profession (4-02); furthermore, they stated that talent training takes a long time (34-01), and they identified survival difficulties (43-02), a lack of local enterprises capable of repairing vernacular dwellings (49-02), and a lack of young craftspeople (48-01). Some also highlighted the survival dilemma of professional talents. In addition, in terms of the restoration technology of vernacular dwellings, it is considered inappropriate to use southern repair techniques in northern Jiangsu (23-01). It is also considered that the traditional technology of vernacular dwellings is a reflection of the ancient construction wisdom (9-04).

Sample 1 is a national cultural relic protection unit, and its restoration work was completed by local protection technical teams. Such restoration not only trained talents in the repair of vernacular dwellings, but also attracted some local young people to engage in residential restoration, cultural relic protection, and other related industries, playing an exemplary role in the inheritance of local culture. Lvliang town, near the village where sample 3 is located, adopted the wrong method when transferring the style of folk houses in Jiangnan Area to northern Jiangsu, which produced a negative impact on the inheritance of original culture (Figure 5).

5.2. Surveying and Drawing Result Analysis

In the surveying and mapping of the five vernacular dwellings, the plan, elevation, and section data were collected, and the corresponding drawings were drawn. At the same time, the key decorative elements of these dwellings were carefully measured, and finally a database based on the five vernacular dwellings was formed. These data provide a reference for the study of vernacular dwellings and provide cases for future repair and restoration of local dwellings. This database will be supplemented and improved in the future.

According to on-the-spot investigations in combination with the query of local chronicles and historical documents, it was found that only sample 1 among the five vernacular dwellings had some historical records. There were no written materials for the other four vernacular dwellings; thus, we could only learn some historical clues from the occupants’ narration. This situation shows that the historical context behind these vernacular dwellings has been broken.

In contrast to the lack of historical context, the five vernacular dwellings embody high artistic, technical, and cultural value as an architectural carrier. Sample 2 in Pei County was taken as an example, which was ignored by the government and management departments in the past. However, in the survey, it was found that the architectural level of this dwelling is very high, wherein an extremely rare lifting-beam wood structure has been adopted. At the same time, there are a large number of decorative patterns on the wooden structure, reflecting the once prominent position of the owner. In addition, the gable wall head of the dwelling was carved from a whole stone, and a whole bluestone was used outside the main gate, which is also very rare. All of these elements reflect the artistic, technical, and cultural value of this vernacular dwelling (Figure 6).

6. Countermeasures and Suggestions

On the basis of the surveying and drawing investigation and the interviews guided by grounded theory, starting from the actual needs of the conservation and inheritance of five vernacular dwellings, this paper constructs a strategic model of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings, and puts forward a strategy with living conservation as the core and cultural inheritance as the supporting means. The specific strategies are described below.

6.1. Formulate Targeted Policies and Control Measures

• Formulate measures or regulations for the protection and administration of vernacular dwellings.

At present, the national and provincial governments have successively promulgated laws, regulations, and detailed rules for the protection of famous historical and cultural cities, towns, and villages, but there is no clear definition of vernacular dwellings. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate measures or regulations for vernacular dwellings to clarify the concept, definition, value, management responsibility, protection methods, technical means, and corresponding reward and punishment measures for vernacular dwellings. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between conservation and utilization, as well as the principle, framework, and mode of active display. In addition, scientific performance evaluation standards should be established for government administration institutions at all levels in northern Jiangsu, and value cognition and operation training should be given to the principal persons in charge, so as to control the large-scale demolition and construction of vernacular dwellings from the source.

• Formulate detailed rules for the conservation and utilization of vernacular dwellings.

The provisions of administrative regulations or measures should be implemented, and detailed rules should be formulated for the conservation and utilization of vernacular dwellings. These rules should be specific and clear regarding possible commercial activities, including the prohibition of net land transfer, relocation of vernacular dwellings, superficial renovation of dwellings, or construction of inconsistent ancient-style buildings. In addition, the project bidding policy should be conducive to the conservation of vernacular dwellings.

6.2. Promote and Improve the Conditions of Vernacular Dwellings

• Promote the intensive development of villages and the suitable renovation and expansion of vernacular dwellings.

The key to the living conservation of vernacular dwellings lies in the people. Vernacular dwellings without people will lose their vitality; therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the living conditions of vernacular dwellings meet the needs of modern people. In terms of a large living environment, villages should be intensively developed to guide indigenous people to live in a concentrated way, or the surrounding homestead should be vacated to rebuild and expand vernacular dwellings, so as to alleviate the tension of the original living area. In terms of a small living environment, reasonable modernization should be carried out on the interior of the original vernacular dwellings, adding modern living facilities such as toilets, showers, and broadband, so as to meet the requirements for the modern social life of indigenous people.

• Improve the public service level and infrastructure-supporting conditions.

The improvement of infrastructure should focus on improving the entire village where the vernacular dwellings are located, paying attention to supporting facilities such as transportation, medical care, pipe networks, childcare, and elderly care. At present, Jiangsu province has taken the lead in the country in completing the road traffic project connecting villages, but the improvement of some village- and town-level roads in northern Jiangsu needs to be further strengthened. It is suggested to take the administrative village as the construction site, increase the supporting facilities for medical treatment, childcare, and elderly care, and provide living support for natural villages where vernacular dwellings are located. In addition, the construction of hidden pipelines and other projects should be accelerated, particularly the foundation of water supply, drainage, and sewage pipelines, so as to meet people’s demand for production, life, and ecology.

• Increase capital investment through various channels.

The living conservation of vernacular dwellings is a costly and laborious task, but its cultural value is far more important than demolition and reconstruction; therefore, it is necessary to further increase capital investment. In terms of external input, it is necessary to increase public financial support or offer preferential fiscal policies, such as tax reduction for local residential industries, active contact with local people who succeeded elsewhere to give back to the villages, and establishment of public development funds. In terms of internal development, it is required to tap into several advantages, consider taking local industries as the guide, and combining rural tourism, home accommodation, and internet industries to create new industrial models such as “online + offline” and “internet + tourism”, so as to help revitalize the villages where vernacular dwellings are located and provide a steady financial stream for the conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings.

6.3. Strengthen Protection Consciousness and Train Protection Talents

• Strengthen the protection awareness of local governments and indigenous people.

The conservation and the inheritance of vernacular dwellings are dependent on the awakening of consciousness; that is, the local government and indigenous people need to realize the value of the dwelling’s existence and the significance of conservation and inheritance, so that the sustainable development of vernacular dwellings can be achieved. It is suggested to, first, organize the heads of local administrative departments and representatives of indigenous people to investigate the successful cases of vernacular residential conservation in southern Jiangsu and stimulate their awareness of protection through on-the-spot investigation. Second, training of various grassroots organizations should be carried out for local activists, and various laws and regulations should be established to promote the overall level of protection awareness. Third, the internet, short videos, WeChat, and other modern means should be used to actively broadcast new ideas to the public.

• Inherit living technology and strengthen the training of professional and technical talents.

Vernacular dwellings need daily maintenance; hence, traditional construction and repair techniques are also very important for the living conservation of vernacular dwellings. On the one hand, the traditional technology and culture can be continued; on the other hand, a change in local dwelling style caused by the erosion of non-local dwelling culture can be avoided. It is suggested to, first, establish a professional protection team and pay attention to cultivating local talents who are interested in vernacular dwellings, which can not only alleviate the phenomenon of population outflow, but also highlight the residential culture characterized by a herringbone beam frame in northern Jiangsu. Second, a technology base should be established for traditional construction of vernacular dwellings, so that the training of professionals can be scaled up, and the government’s attention and policy preference can be obtained. Third, exemplary demonstration restoration cases of traditional construction technology of vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu should be established, so as to further expand the cultural influence of vernacular dwellings.

6.4. Adopt Effective and Sustainable Operation Mode

At present, the top-down management mode dominated by the government is still prevailing in the villages where the five vernacular dwellings are located. By learning from successful experiences and adopting a variety of modes to solve the problems of property ownership and operation mode of vernacular dwellings [53], we can consider the bottom-up approach to promote conservation and inheritance. On the one hand, self-governing organizations of local villagers can be formed to arrange the overall development of vernacular dwellings. On the other hand, social organizations can also serve as leaders to guide the cooperation of villagers and different parties, as well as offer channels for the villagers to participate and for the government to supervise.

7. Conclusions

7.1. Research Conclusion

This paper adopted the method of combining traditional surveying and drawing research with grounded theory to conduct a comprehensive study on five vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu. On the basis of the background investigation, surveying, and drawing, in-depth interviews were conducted with people related to these five vernacular dwellings. According to the interview records, we performed a gradual coding and systematic analysis, thereby obtaining the strategies of living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu. The research conclusions are as follows:

• Taking five vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu as the case studies, through background investigation and surveying and drawing, it was found that vernacular dwellings in this underdeveloped region of an economically developed province have high artistic, technical, and cultural value, reflecting the regional styles and characteristics. However, due to the economic impact and lack of social attention, its protection situation is not optimistic. Therefore, it is urgent to jointly promote its overall protection from the aspects of both the material level and cultural level.
• Using grounded theory, this paper constructed a strategy model of living conservation and cultural inheritance based on the above five vernacular dwellings. In this model, policy and control, funding and improvement, culture and innovation, and technology and talents were the main categories.
• From the aspect of living conservation, it is necessary to introduce targeted local policies, improve the living conditions of the indigenous people, and train professional technical teams for the conservation of vernacular dwellings.
• In terms of cultural inheritance, it is necessary to strengthen the control measures of commercial behaviors relating to vernacular dwellings, improve the level of rural infrastructure, increase capital investment, strengthen the protection awareness of local governments and indigenous people, and adopt an effective and sustainable operation mode.

7.2. Research Contribution

This paper carries theoretical value from three aspects. Firstly, this paper focused on northern Jiangsu, an underdeveloped region in an economically developed province in China. Due to insufficient economic support, regional style, and social attention, it is difficult to promote the conservation of vernacular dwellings. Secondly, this paper combined surveying and drawing research with grounded theory, carried out research at the social and cultural level through in-depth interviews at the material level, and finally constructed a strategy model for the living conservation and cultural inheritance of vernacular dwellings. Thirdly, this paper used grounded theory as the theoretical basis to carry out research on the five vernacular dwellings, thus enriching the application scope of grounded theory.

This paper carries practical value from two aspects. Firstly, this paper adopted the method of surveying and drawing to carry out the research on five vernacular dwellings. The investigation of the background and current situation of these dwellings enriches the cultural connotation of vernacular dwellings in northern Jiangsu. Secondly, on the basis of in-depth interviews related to the five vernacular dwellings, this paper used the method of grounded theory to put forward practical strategies for the living conservation and cultural inheritance of the dwellings, thus embodying strong practicality in technology inheritance, talent training, and mode innovation.

7.3. Research Limitations and Prospects

The data of this research came from in-depth interviews related to five vernacular dwellings in three cities in northern Jiangsu, China, as well as various policies, reports, papers, and other documents. Although the differences in scale, distribution, current situation, and level of these five cases were considered to meet typical sampling requirements, they are still insufficient for the whole northern Jiangsu region. In terms of research methods, this paper attempted to combine building surveying and drawing at the material level with grounded theory at the social and cultural level to build the overall research framework of these five typical cases, but some subjectivity and one-sidedness inevitably existed in the research. In the future, research cases of vernacular dwellings in this region can be expanded to improve and supplement the strategy model proposed in this paper. In addition, the living conservation and cultural inheritance proposed in this study on the basis of the above five vernacular dwellings still need to be tested in practice, so as to verify the rationality and operability of this strategy model. Nevertheless, as an important part of the historical and cultural heritage, the conservation and the inheritance of vernacular dwellings represent the main trend of epoch development. Particularly for an underdeveloped region in an economically developed province like northern Jiangsu, there is still a long way to go for the conservation and inheritance of vernacular dwellings, and more theoretical guidance and practical testing are needed.