The Protection of Urban Spatial Structures in Historic Cities: A Multi-Actor Perspective of the Cultural Space Construction in Fuzhou, China

Abstract

Currently, the role of culture in urban competitiveness is becoming increasingly important. How historic cities identify and protect the spatial structures formed since ancient times, which are the carriers of urban culture, has become an important issue. Fuzhou was awarded the first Global Sustainable Development City in 2023, indicating that it has a set of sustainable models that can be promoted in various aspects, including cultural sustainable development models. As a traditional way to show the spirit of cities, cultural spaces in Fuzhou have existed for 2200 years, which helps us to conduct systematic research. This study explores the role of multiple actors in the preservation and development of urban cultural spaces, using Fuzhou, China, as a case study. Employing historical atlas translation to extract lists and locations of cultural spaces, and GIS technology to display spatial patterns, our research reveals distinctive spatial distribution characteristics of various cultural spaces and the urban structure shaped by diverse stakeholders’ needs. Our findings illustrate the background and distribution pattern of cultural space construction by multi-actors in different periods, offering references for maintaining contemporary urban spatial structure and insights into the sustainable preservation of urban cultural heritage.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Background of Cultural Spaces in China

In China, cultural traditions deeply value the interplay of historical philosophies and modern insights to address contemporary challenges [1]. Guided by this concept, Chinese cities inherit the traditional methods of urban construction, focusing on the unity of city, landscape, and humanity, and finally form a unique oriental urban planning tradition [2]. Cultural spaces are carriers of the nature order, the social order, and the faith order in cities, and can unite the region and realize cultural inheritance. Because of this, we should excavate the unique cultural space planning methods, in order to better understand and protect the cultural characteristics of historic cities.

1.2. The Typicality of Fuzhou

Fuzhou was awarded the first Global Sustainable Development City in 2023, showing its ability for sustainable development. Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, boasts over 2200 years of history and is renowned for its unique oriental aesthetic, often cited as a prime example of oriental urban design [3]. Moreover, Fuzhou also has excellent cultural space constructions, which form a rich number of cultural spaces. In addition to common types such as the Town God’s Temple and the Confucian Temple, diverse types regarding local folk culture are also integrated, such as the Tianhou Temple and the Linshui Palace. During thousands of years of continuous construction, cultural spaces in Fuzhou have been derived from the same, which documents the city’s history. Undoubtedly, Fuzhou has available experience in historical preservation and urban structure maintenance.

1.3. Theoretical Background on Cultural Spaces

The proposal of the “Venice Charter” states that urban or rural environments are equally worthy of protection if they have witnessed specific civilizations, significant developments, and historical events [4]. From then on, identifiable space has gradually become the focus of historic preservation [5]. The term, Cultural Space, first appeared in the works of Henri Lefebvre. He puts forward many types of spaces [6], suggesting that space is not a given, but rather a context for social and cultural interaction [7]. Kevin Lynch refers to these memorable places such as Charles Riverside, Union Street, and Louisburg Square as urban cultural spaces [8]; anthropologists define them as regular “image spaces”, where local residents express their folk culture [9]. Similarly, the concept of cultural space originated from ancient Chinese urban construction. Researchers have shown that Chinese ancient people generally integrated philosophical concepts, the pursuit of values, and cultural beliefs into pagodas, temples, academies, and other spaces in urban construction. So, the culture spaces not only become the humanistic spirit carriers, but also become the inherent genes of ancient urban culture [10]. Cultural Spaces, both East and West, are spaces that carry the regional culture. Currently, research on cultural spaces focuses on the participants, space types, related elements, and the function.

1.3.1. The Participants of Cultural Spaces

Sun Shimeng points out that central and local officials, local gentry, geographers, folk craftsmen, monks and literati are all involved in the construction of ancient cities to varying degrees [11]; Mao Huasong sums up that all the urban landscapes are constructed by the three groups, namely, officials, monks, and Yiren, which refers to people from the same county [12]; Wang Shusheng points out that the participation of officials and literati is particularly important in the construction of traditional cultural spaces, and emphasizes that the construction mode of “literati + craftsmen” fundamentally supports the lofty cultural realm of Chinese cities [13].

1.3.2. The Space Types of Cultural Spaces

Wang Kai divides cultural space into four categories: educating the public, worshipping gods, praising moral models, and enjoying the scenery [14]; Wang Shusheng first puts forward the concept of the culture land system, and subdivides them into spiritual marking land, memorial land, religious land, cultural heritage land, and cultural facilities land; L. Kong, in his research on urban sustainability, selects two types of cultural spaces: state-led construction of state-vaunted edifices and spontaneous formation of more organically evolved visual arts clusters, representing the monumental and the everyday, the state-initiated, and the organic [15].

1.3.3. The Related Elements of Cultural Spaces

Wu Yubin analyzes the correlation between cultural space, natural environment, and urban form, identifying the elements of cultural space at macro, middle, and micro scales [16]. Based on the function of humanistic space, Sun Shimeng analyzes the construction models of 12 types of cultural spaces and derives their respective layout characteristics [17]. Cao Yongmao extracts cultural and construction features throughout the whole construction cycle based on the perspective of diachrony [18].

1.3.4. The Function of Cultural Spaces

From the perspective of cultural transmission, Lewis Mumford points out that the city has the ability to contain various cultures, and is able to transmit complex cultures to the next generation through storage facilities (buildings, archives, monuments, etc.), which indicates that the cultural space carries urban socio-cultural information [19]. From the perspective of maintaining the material spatial structure of cities, Li Xiaolong points out that the cultural space controls the construction of urban patterns in terms of height, scale, and skyline [20]; from the socio-economic point of view, cultural space is able to enhance the confidence of the residents and the competitiveness of the city. Moreover, it can transform into a tourism resource, promoting sustainable economic and social development [21,22,23]. Obviously, cultural space plays a crucial role in highlighting city features and inheriting urban culture in contemporary urban development [24].

1.4. The Gap in Current Research

On the whole, the review indicates that cultural spaces carry different functions under the different participants. Additionally, cultural space has a great influence on urban structure shaping, cultural cultivation, and socio-economic development. According to the literature review, we can find that the types of cultural spaces are closely related to the construction actors, who constructed cultural spaces based on their own needs. This further brings about differences in the related elements and functions of cultural space. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive system, which analyzes the relevance between participants and types, relevant elements, and functions of cultural spaces. At the same time, recent research has not yet revealed how the multi-actor mechanism affects the sustainable development of urban spatial structures. The multi-actor mechanism is a very beneficial experience for cities to maintain their own characteristics and historical structure in the process of urbanization.

Given the above, we try to sort out the background and purpose of cultural space construction by multi-actors in different periods, providing a theoretical basis for the current inheritance of urban culture. Secondly, we will summarize the distribution pattern of different types of cultural spaces, providing a reference for maintaining contemporary urban spatial structure. Thirdly, we will sort out the urban structure and multi-actor mechanism of Fuzhou and provide sustainable development models for different cities. In summary, this research analyzes the construction mechanism of Fuzhou cultural space from a multi-actor perspective, in order to extract the spatial structure of historic cities and the cultural sustainable development model.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Objects

Fuzhou, situated in China’s Fujian Province, plays a pivotal role in the southeastern region, boasting a rich history spanning over 2200 years. Fuzhou is surrounded by mountains (see Figure 1a), mainly including the first mountain range consisting of Gu Mountain, Qi Mountain, and Wuhu Mountain, the second mountain range consisting of Jinji Mountain, Jinniu Mountain, Gaogai Mountain, and Cangqian Mountain, as well as the soil hillocks within the city, mainly Ping Mountain, Yu Mountain, and Wu Mountain. The ancient city is surrounded by water on the east, west, and south sides (see Figure 1b), and there are two moats around the city wall, and the old moats, such as Dahanghai River and Jinan River, were all converted to urban rivers. By the Song dynasty, the water system pattern of ancient Fuzhou was basically established. The overall pattern of waterways was in the shape of “#”, each waterway started and ended with four water gates, which opened and closed at the same time to control the circulation of the water system (Figure 2). Meanwhile, Fuzhou established a water system pattern of two lakes in the east and west, and north water flowing south. The landscaped environment of “Mountain protection, water intersection” created the graceful landscape of Fuzhou, which is closely related to the evolution of cultural space. After a thousand years of development, it has shaped the characteristics of the city, which is characterized by the prosperity of literature and trade, and promoted people who lived here to pursue the ritual culture, education, beliefs, and the aesthetics of landscapes. However, the ancient people in Fuzhou experienced a transformation from natural worship and aesthetic appreciation to spiritual sustenance toward the landscape environment. In order to achieve harmony with the landscape environment, cultural spaces often formed an overall pattern of cultural spaces through location, sight connection, axis connection, and cultural correlation. Finally, the cultural space and natural landscape of ancient Fuzhou form a unified whole.

2.2. Data Sources

We extensively collected two kinds of materials, including historical documents and historical atlas that record the cultural space construction in ancient Fuzhou, as data source. Then, we extracted the spatio-temporal information of cultural space from it, providing basic information for subsequent map drawing.

2.2.1. Historical Documents

Historical documents provide the data on terrain, resources, customs, and culture about ancient Fuzhou. Due to the emphasis on literary and historical records in different periods and the avoidance of duplication in similar periods, the study selected three official records based on the Song dynasty, Qing dynasty, and contemporary times, including three books. The earliest surviving “San Shan Zhi” from the Song dynasty, the well-structured “Fuzhou Fu Zhi” from the Qing dynasty, and the contemporary chronicle “Fuzhou Urban and Rural Construction Zhi” compiled in vernacular Chinese. Two additional special chronicles were also chosen, Guo Baicang’s “Wushan Stone Annals” and He Zhendai’s “West Lake Annals”, to provide regional supplementary information for the construction of cultural spaces in key areas.

2.2.2. Historical Atlas

Local chronicles of ancient Chinese cities emphasize the inclusion of city maps, including territory maps, city maps, etc., which completely record the names, distribution, and forms of historical heritage, providing vivid and intuitive historiographical information for this study. However, due to the replacement or disappearance of cities, relics, place names, etc., in historical records, as well as the imbalance and differences in measurement and proportion in historical maps, research data still have certain limitations.

2.3. Research Methodology

Our research method consists of three parts, as shown in the framework diagram below.

2.3.1. Factor Information Extraction

In ancient China, there were nine major functions of ancient cities, namely, governance, education, worship, honor, trade, residence, transportation, defense, and storage. Among them, the market, residence, transportation, defense, and storage met the basic requirements for the survival and safety of residents, while the functions of ritual and music, education, commemoration, faith, and recreation became the resting place for the humanistic spirit of residents. Among them, the ritual space maintains the social hierarchy system, the education space provides an important way to educate and seek knowledge, the commemorative space highlights the moral reverence for the exemplary ancestors, the belief space carries the spiritual sustenance of residents’ lives, and the recreation space becomes a thought-provoking scenic spot. Based on the record in the historical documents and maps, information about five types of cultural spaces is extracted, namely, ritual, education, commemorative, belief, and recreation, and each of these categories is divided into a number of subsections (see

Table 1. Types of Cultural Space Elements in Fuzhou in Ancient Documents [14,25].

Type	Content	Example
Ritual Space
Education Space
Commemorative Space
Belief Space
Recreation Space

), so as to realize the precise summary and systematic sorting of historical information.

2.3.2. Translation of Historical Atlas

Guided by the tradition of “left map, right history”, this study analyzes historical information to determine the geographical location of cultural space construction throughout history. By leveraging the geographical and information collection characteristics of the ArcGIS platform, the spatial locations of different cultural spaces are combined with attribute information such as construction subjects, periods, and types to form measurable digital historical maps. Among them, the translation of historical atlas is a necessary way to ensure that research data are reliable and scientific, while the ArcGIS platform is the deep recognition of research data and an important method to explore the laws of human spatial construction. The combination of the two provides intuitive and scientific support for understanding the spatial structure of the ancient city [26].

• Principles of Historical Atlas Translation: In order to achieve an accurate translation of the historical atlas, based on the combing of the cultural space elements of ancient Fuzhou, and guided by the principle of “taking only one of the same items, deleting the items that cannot be located, and supplementing elements with the field survey”, 812 effective items of the cultural space of the ancient Fuzhou were finally extracted.
• Translation method of Historical Atlas: For the cultural space elements that can be located, multiple methods should be used to verify their precise location. (1) Landmark positioning method, using the landmark historical information proved by archaeology as a standard, and then determining the location of other cultural spaces. (2) Survey positioning method, experts use the known location and make the field investigation, to infer the spatial location of other cultural spaces. (3) Topological positioning method, based on the cultural spaces with known locations, analyzing the topological relationship among the known and unknown, experts position adjacent and related cultural spaces. (4) Reverse positioning method, as the maps with closer historical ages are closer to modern maps and the location information is more accurate, it is thus generally located first, and then copied to the previous map [27]. In the process of historical atlas translation, these complementary methods should be used together. Therefore, in addition to retaining the physical space of the present world or archaeological remains that can be accurately located, other cultural spaces are supplemented and used in conjunction with the above methods, and their positions are inferred based on their interrelationships with the surrounding terrain, landscape environment, and determined historical elements, greatly improving the accuracy and reliability of data translation.

2.3.3. Spatial Analysis Presentation

Kernel density analysis, employed in our study, calculates the distribution density of spatial elements [28], offering insights into the clustering characteristics of cultural spaces. This method avoids the loss of historical information caused by isolated analysis of humanistic space and demonstrates the cluster distribution characteristics of humanistic space. The formula is as follows [29]:

$$f=\frac{1}{nh}{\displaystyle \sum }_{i=1}^{n}k\left(\frac{x-x_i}{h}\right)$$

Among them, k() is the kernel function; n is the number of points; h is the search bandwidth for kernel density calculation; x and x_i are spatial sample points; (x − x_i) is the distance from the valuation point x to the event point x_i. By correlating the geographical characteristics of the agglomeration area with the information attributes of cultural space construction, it further reveals the differential preferences of cultural space for construction locations under different construction subjects, periods, and types.

3. Results and Discussion

The complex and extensive cultural space data of ancient Fuzhou, derived from historical atlas translations, necessitated further processing into distinct time slices for clarity. In this way, it is conducive to analyzing the evolution and the stage characteristics of cultural spaces. Based on the construction process of ancient Fuzhou cities, the study divides them into Han–Jin, Sui–Tang, Song–Yuan, and Ming–Qing periods according to the function, number, and spatial distribution in different periods. At the same time, this study also analyzes the spatial distribution pattern of five types of cultural spaces, aiming to understand their construction laws.

3.1. Time Dimension: The Evolution of Cultural Spaces

3.1.1. Han and Jin Dynasties: The Construction of Ritual Space Is the Main Focus

There were 16 samples of cultural spaces in the Han dynasty (see Figure 2). Fuzhou, as the Capital of Minyue State, was in a long-term war with Dongou State and Nanyue State. In terms of political enfeoffment, Wuzhu was crowned as the king of Minyue State on Damiao Mountain, and the descendants set up a temple here to worship him [30]; in terms of military defense, Minyue State government set up Shitou Temple on Fucang Mountain, in order to prepare for the war against the Dongou State, also for transportation and praying for blessings [31]. Kangshan Temple was built in the eastern suburb, worshipping the five marshals of Minyue State who sacrificed their lives to get rid of the evils for the people; in addition, Minyue Pavilion, Wanqin Stone, and Ouye Pond on Yuewang Mountain in the north of the city, and Diaolong Well and Yuewang Terrace on Damiao Mountain in the south of the city, marked the beginning of the formation of the early recreation space.

During the Jin dynasty, a total of 32 samples of cultural spaces were constructed (see Figure 2). The northern population gradually migrated to Fuzhou, and during this process, Central Plains culture and Minyue culture continued to exchange. The main types of cultural space construction during this period are the ritual space and the belief space. In the ritual space, the county government is the highest-level ritual building; it is located among the three mountains in the north of the city, which is also a part of the central axis; in the belief space, Shaoin Temple is one of the earliest temples built in Fuzhou. During this period, there were also Falin Temple on Jinji Mountain and the Dachengaitong Temple on Dong Mountain, all of which were near to hills.

The Han and Jin dynasties ushered in the embryonic stage of cultural space construction, mainly reflected in the following points. Firstly, with the southward migration of population, the attributes of cultural space shifted from political and military to ritual and religious. Secondly, although the number of cultural spaces in Fuzhou during the Han and Jin dynasties was not large, they began to involve various types of cultural spaces such as ritual, belief, commemorative, and recreation, laying the foundation for the subsequent construction of a large number of cultural spaces. Finally, as a prominent social figure during the Han and Jin dynasties, government officials became the main group leading the construction of cultural spaces.

3.1.2. Sui and Tang Dynasties: The Emergence of Faith Space and the Rise of Religious Thought

During this period, due to the influence of the Central Plains culture and loose religious policy, a number of classical academies and temples were built. At the same time, under the influence of the local separatist regime, palaces and government offices also became the main content of the cultural space construction, with 153 samples of cultural spaces altogether (see Figure 2).

In the ritual space, rulers of Min State, the separatist regime, built numerous palaces that accorded to the standards of the emperor, forming a political center during the Five dynasty period [31]. In the education space, Liyi, an official who attached great attention to education, moved Confucianism to the southern part of the city in the Tang dynasty, and Wang Shenzhi set up the Simenxue, which is an educational institution. At the same time the construction of the Lianjiang Academy and the Lizheng Academy showed that apart from the official school facilities, the classical academy system was well formed in the period, creating a good environment for the development of education spaces. In the belief space, it increased in number the most, demonstrating the prosperity of faith culture, with government officials and monks participating in the construction of faith spaces. In the recreation space, there is the Imperial Garden of Min State around West Lake and official hot springs in the eastern part of the city, indicating that the number of recreation spaces had increased, but most of it served officials and nobles, rather than the common people.

Based on the construction of cultural space during the Han and Jin dynasties and the more active and inclusive social background during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Fuzhou entered a stage of improvement in cultural space construction, mainly reflected in the following points. Firstly, in terms of ritual space, political centers are gradually forming. Secondly, in terms of education space, the rise and development of the school palace industry created favorable conditions for the development of cultural education. Thirdly, in terms of recreation spaces, based on the initial development during the Song and Jin dynasties, recreation spaces specifically serving high-ranking officials began to develop. Fourthly, in terms of the population involved in construction, compared to the embryonic period of the Han and Jin dynasties, government officials and monk priests dominated the construction of a large number of belief spaces during this period, resulting in a significant increase in the number of belief spaces.

3.1.3. Song and Yuan Dynasties: Construction of Education Spaces and Civilization of Recreation Spaces

In the Song dynasty, with the imperial family having migrated southward, the political center also moved southward, promoting the growth of Fuzhou’s ritual and recreation spaces. There are a total of 304 cultural space samples during this period.

In the ritual space, the political status of Fuzhou, which was the provisional capital in the Southern Song dynasty, grew immensely. Taishan Temple, in the southern suburbs of the city, became the palace of the Song Emperor. In the education space, government officials and literati built a wide range of academies, including Mianzhai Academy, Guling Academy, and so on, and Fuzhou has become a leading city in education nationwide. Lastly, in the recreation space, Cheng Shimeng combined the city gates to set up nine pavilions to appreciate the scenery from a high altitude. The literati became the mainstream of society and participated in landscape-making activities extensively, such as Lanhui Pavilion and Huayan Pavilion built by Chen Guan. In this period, recreation spaces gradually turned to serve the common people, which are mainly located in Ping Mountain, Yu Mountain, Wu Mountain, West Lake, and Gu Mountain.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Fuzhou entered a mature stage of cultural space construction, mainly reflected in the following points. Firstly, in terms of ritual space, Fuzhou’s political status greatly improved compared to before the Song and Yuan dynasties, which was reflected in the construction of the imperial palace. Secondly, in terms of education space, the participation of literati and government officials in construction significantly increased the number of educational spaces; the cultural and educational industry in Fuzhou achieved unprecedented prosperity and development, from being relatively backward before the Tang dynasty to becoming a national leader. Thirdly, in terms of recreation space, compared to the situation of serving high-ranking officials and nobles during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Fuzhou’s recreation space was continuously enriched, and gradually shifted toward being more accessible and open to the public. Fourthly, in terms of the construction population, government officials actively participated in various cultural space construction projects during this period, especially in recreation spaces, clarifying the main position of the government officials in the construction of cultural spaces.

3.1.4. Ming and Qing Dynasties: Strengthening of Centralization and Rapid Growth of Commemorative Space

In the Qing dynasty, there was a notable strengthening of the feudal rule system and control over social thought. The construction of cultural spaces in Fuzhou was mainly focused on commemorative spaces, education spaces, and recreation spaces, with 685 in total.

Firstly, in the commemorative space, government officials and country gentlemen built a large number of ancestral halls, such as the Jiuxian ancestral hall, Qixian ancestral hall, and Baogong ancestral hall. Generally speaking, the important ancestral halls are distributed in more than one place, for example, Guan Di Temple is located in many places, which has become the main place of indoctrination of the public. Secondly, in the education space, the government strengthened its control over the classical academy, which gradually became the official school. During this period, there were 55 classical academies; among them, the four major academies of Aofeng, Fengchi, Zhengyi, and Zhiyong were the most typical; in the recreation space, the literatus Caoxuequan built his own Shicang Garden under Miaofeng Mountain, which became the largest recreation space in Fujian. With the maturation of the traditional garden technology, artists chose good places to live, and started a wide range of gardening activities. Finally, the ritual space was heavily built with military installations, such as the General’s Office and Campus, while the belief space was mostly rebuilt and constructed, having the problem of “spending too much” as in the past.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Fuzhou ushered in a prosperous stage of cultural space construction, mainly reflected in the following points. Firstly, in terms of commemorative space, due to the needs of traditional feudal education, commemorative space steadily increased during this period and showed a trend of comprehensive popularization and close correlation with the daily lives of the people. Secondly, in terms of recreation spaces, traditional horticultural techniques have become quite mature, leading to a wider range of gardening activities during the Ming and Qing dynasties compared to before. Recreation spaces have also shifted from being popular and public in the Song dynasty to being niche and refined. Thirdly, in terms of the construction population, during this period, government officials were the absolute dominant force, and together with literati, they were the main group of people building recreation spaces, while monks and country gentlemen were mainly committed to building various belief spaces. A prosperous scene of various groups working together to build a cultural space was formed.

3.2. Spatial Dimension: The Distribution of Cultural Spaces

From the evolution of cultural space construction in ancient Fuzhou, it can be seen that various participants, driven by different purposes, took part in the construction of cultural spaces with different focuses, shaping the unique spatial distribution characteristics of each type of cultural space. Taking the five types of cultural space in ancient Fuzhou, namely, Ritual Space, Education Space, Commemorative Space, Belief Space, and Recreation Space, as a clue, we summarize their inclined site selection in the construction.

3.2.1. The Construction of Ritual Space

Aiming for effective social governance, government officials historically incorporated national governance concepts into the construction of urban cultural spaces, forming ritual spaces that have positive effects on the maintenance of feudal rule [25]. According to the distribution (see Figure 3) and counting (see

Table 2. Information Related to the Ritual Space.

Classification	Quantity	Percentage	Main Participant	Construction Purpose
Inside the city	105	76.09%	Government officials	Maintaining feudal rule
Outside the city	33	23.91%

) of ritual space, it can be found that ritual space is mainly distributed in the city center and high terrain areas, and mainly concentrated in the city, accounting for 76.09%. Meanwhile, it shows that, because of the differences in the hierarchy, social roles, and values, the location of cultural space has differences between north and south. On the other hand, 23.91% of the ritual spaces were distributed outside the city (Figure 3), which were mainly related to transportation, military, and official facilities, corresponding to the order of the inner city to achieve the goal of governance and propagation. First of all, the government offices, the place for issuing decrees and hearing cases, usually were located in the north and at high altitudes, distributed from north to south based on their administrative level. For instance, the Chief Executive (provincial positions in ancient China) Office was located on Yunbu Mountain in the north of the city, while the Min County Government and Houguan County Government were located on both sides of the central axis in the south of the city. Secondly, the Examination Office where local imperial examinations were held, and the Town God’s Temple, which was the symbol of people’s desire to defend the city, were distributed in the north of the city, near Yi Mountain, due to their important political significance. Thirdly, the Confucian Temple emphasizes public education, and is distributed in the southern residential area of the city. Finally, the altar mainly carried out sacrificial activities and was located in the beautiful landscape nearer to the city, such as the Imperial Divine Temple, which is in the north of the city, and, although distributed outside the city, was distributed in the urban central axis extension.

Overall, the ritual ideology of emphasizing hierarchy and pursuing order is the key to the construction of spatial order in ritual space. Its basic path is to construct spatial order around the urban axis from the inside out. At the same time, for the political purpose of showcasing imperial power, the distribution of ritual space often occupies a crucial position in the landscape. In its construction, the officials shouldered the mission of the rise and fall of a place, controlled the overall direction of the construction of the ritual space from the selection of the site to the construction of the order, and became the leaders who dominated the construction of the ritual space and coordinated the participation of all parties.

3.2.2. The Construction of Education Space

The construction of education spaces was usually led by government officials, with the assistance of literati and country gentlemen, to pursue urban education, morality cultivation, and local imperial examinations [17]. According to the distribution (see Figure 4) and counting (see

Table 3. Information Related to the Education Space.

Classification	Quantity	Percentage	Main Participant	Construction Purpose
Mountain-type	31	65.96%	Government officials Literati Country gentlemen	Developing education
Town-type	16	34.04%

) of education space, the education space can be divided into the mountain type, which favors the high terrain and natural water surroundings, and the town type, which is located in the streets and lanes, with emphasis on locations in the southeast direction that symbolizes the prosperity of culture. Generally speaking, the arrangement of education space emphasizes the use of natural scenery, so that scholars can learn knowledge surrounded by beautiful scenery, realizing the humanistic goal of promoting a method of emphasizing education and morality. First of all, the construction of official schools began in the Tang dynasty, located in the Confucian Temple, followed by the construction of the Min County School; Houguan County School is on both sides of the axis. Secondly, the rapid development of culture in the Song dynasty led to a large number of classical academies and private schools. Unlike the official school, the classical academy contains mostly the residences of Confucian scholars or the study halls of a family, distributed in the location of few people and beautiful scenery, such as the West Lake Academy, which was built next to West Lake. But, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the government made strict regulations on the management system and educational funds of classical academies, and the classical academies became official and distributed among streets and lanes, such as Aofeng Academy, which is one of the four major classical academies of the Qing dynasty.

It can be found that the mountain-type educational spaces built by literati and country gentlemen are influenced by the Confucian view of landscapes and the pursuit of the “unity of man and nature“, and they inject their own unique virtues and talent into the creation of urban space. Therefore, places with beautiful mountains and scenery are often the gathering places for mountain-type educational spaces, which pay more attention to the observation of the surrounding landscape environment and the local climate, such as lighting and ventilation, in order to realize a harmonious symbiosis with the surrounding environment. In the case of town-type educational spaces built under the leadership of the officials, they are located in the city in order to facilitate party activities and government administration, but still try to set up in quieter areas on the outskirts of town.

3.2.3. The Construction of Commemorative Space

With the goal of educating the public to learn from moral examples, government officials and country gentlemen formed the commemorative space to commemorate individuals or groups with moral transcendence [17]. It can be divided into collective commemorative types and family commemorative types. According to the distribution (see Figure 5) and counting of them (see

Table 4. Information Related to the Commemorative Space.

Classification	Quantity	Percentage	Main Participant	Construction Purpose
Collective commemorative-type	143	82.18%	Government officials Country gentlemen	Promoting traditional Morality
Family commemorative-type	31	17.82%

), the collective commemorative space is often distributed within the city or closer to the city and combined with the landscape or main roads. The mountains in the city, West Lake, and Damiao Mountain, which is located outside the city, have become the gathering place for collective commemorative spaces. Meanwhile, the construction of collective commemorative spaces emphasizes the integration with other cultural spaces such as celebrity residences and Confucian temples. On the contrary, the family commemorative space is located in streets and lanes inside the city, and shows a scattered spatial distribution outside the city, which is the most important moral place within the distribution area. By promoting the noble character of predecessors to educate the public, they ultimately promote a positive social atmosphere. First of all, collective commemorative spaces usually are temples with educational functions that commemorate individuals with noble character and significant social contributions. It is a place for official moral education and local spontaneous commemoration, consisting of a combined ancestral hall and specialized ancestral hall. Combined ancestral halls have uniform names and forms throughout the country, and the sacrificial objects are a local model, such as the Six Sages ancestral hall in Ping Mountain, worshipping Zhou Dunyi and Cheng Hao, who are sages of Fuzhou. On the other hand, specialized ancestral halls worship local moral models or officials who have made significant contributions, such as the Minwang Ancestral Hall, worshipping Wang Shenzhi, who had outstanding political achievements and was beloved by the people. Secondly, the Family Ancestral Hall is the main place for ancestor worship, and has become a material carrier for maintaining family sentiment and conveying family values through the generations.

The commemorative space jointly constructed by the officials and country gentlemen was influenced by the traditional Chinese idea of moral education, and they focused on the promotion of sages and examples of loyalty, righteousness, and filial piety, which became the source of the local culture’s pride and responsibility and an important cultural symbol. At the same time, the clan structure of the local society is fertile ground for the growth, dissemination, and maintenance of traditional morality, and the emphasis on the construction of clan temples is the intrinsic demand and self-expression of the local society. Therefore, the location of the commemorative space pays particular attention to the accessibility and pleasantness of the landscape, as well as the integration of the arrangement with other cultural spaces.

3.2.4. The Construction of Belief Space

The belief space, mainly constructed by officials, monks, and country gentlemen, is not only a place of worship, but also a public place with cultural, philosophical, and aesthetic characteristics. Consequently, belief spaces are typically situated in areas with scenic natural surroundings, convenient transportation, and proximity to the city, prioritizing aesthetic appeal [32]. Some of them are located on beautiful mountain peaks, or along rivers. It can be seen that all belief spaces occupy excellent scenic spots, achieving mutual success with mountains and rivers. According to the distribution (see Figure 6) and counting (see

Table 5. Information Related to the Belief Space.

Location	Quantity	Percentage	Main Participant	Construction Purpose
Mountain-type	163	66.80%	Government officials Monks Country gentlemen	Maintaining social order
River- and lake-type	48	19.67%
Street- and lane-type	33	13.53%

) of the belief space in ancient Fuzhou, it can be further divided into three types: mountain-type, river- and lake-type, and street- and lane-type. Among them, the mountain-type mainly relies on the mountains, such as the Shisong Temple in the Qi Mountain. The river- and lake-type is mainly combined with urban rivers, West Lake, and the Minjiang River in the south of the city, such as the Kaihua Temple in West Lake, and Jinshan Temple on the Minjiang River. The street- and lane-type is mainly located in the city, in courtyard form, such as the Guandi Temple in the Guan Lane.

Although officials, monks, and country gentlemen were all involved in the construction of belief spaces, there was a difference in the siting of different types of belief spaces dominated by different subjects. In the construction of mountain-type and lake-type belief spaces led by monks, influenced by the Chinese landscape culture, and out of the need to create a religious atmosphere conducive to preaching and practicing Buddhism, they mostly chose areas with beautiful and magnificent natural scenery, surrounded by mountains and water in the higher terrain, and focused on the location to bring out the characteristics of the environment that is natural and serene, quiet, and simple. In the case of the street- and lane-type belief space built by the officials and country gentlemen, considering that the population is the basis of belief, they usually set up the belief space in a place where there is a high concentration of residents with easy access to transportation, in order to attract more people to visit the place and to facilitate community activities.

3.2.5. The Construction of Recreation Space

In order to advance the aesthetic ability of literati, and provide a place for daily social and educational activities, officials and literati led the construction of recreation spaces. According to the distribution Figure 7 and counting (see

Table 6. Information Related to the Recreation Space.

Location	Quantity	Percentage	Main Participant	Construction Purpose
Official recreation space	44	21.26%	Government officials Literati	Scenic viewing Maintaining social interaction
Public recreation space	95	45.89%
Private recreation space	68	32.85%

) of recreation spaces, it can be found that the official recreation spaces are mainly distributed near the main government services and transportation centers in the city. While the public recreation spaces preferred scenic spots such as mountains inside the city, West Lake and Gu Mountain were outside the city. The private recreation spaces are mainly distributed in scenic spots inside the city. Meanwhile, there are also a large number of private recreation spaces built near Miaofeng Mountain, Tonggu Mountain, and Chengmen Mountain, which are outside the city, presenting a spatial pattern guided by a mountain–water landscape. First of all, the official recreation space was mainly combined with government services and a beautiful landscape to create a large-scale garden for officials to daily visit, and they were regularly open to the public, such as the Zhouxi Garden, which is on the west side of the Seat of the prefectural government, and was open to the public in February each year. Secondly, the public recreation space is mainly arranged in the scenic spots, such as Zhenhai Building in Ping Mountain, Daoshan Pavilion in Wu Mountain, etc., to provide people with a public space to enjoy the scenery. Finally, the private recreation space, which was mainly owned by famous scholars, gentries, and nobles, usually was built in their private villas, showing the literati’s pursuit of values and emotional aspirations.

The influence of traditional landscape aesthetics directly affected the creation of recreation space with the pursuit of observing the landscape, expressing ideals, and inspiring people. This was accompanied by the gradual increase in urban construction of landscape awareness, focusing on only serving a small number of people’s gardens, open to the public, and gradually popularized to the public, resulting in the phenomenon of official recreation space, public recreation space, and private recreation space, open space side by side. Among them, the official recreation space and public recreation space are led by the officials. Due to the public and exhibition nature of these two types of recreation spaces, the officials focused on the development of the official recreation space in conjunction with the Yamen space, during the construction of the public recreation space, was the re-construction of a good landscape in the city. For the construction of private recreation space led by the literati, driven by the traditional sense of landscape, in the process of its construction, there was a focus on the integration of the creation of beauty, the pursuit of spatial mood, and more layout in the neighborhoods between the lanes and the countryside hidden places.

3.3. Urban Spatial Structure under Multi-Actor Mechanism

3.3.1. The Evolution Characteristics of Different Cultural Spaces

Based on the changes in the quantity of five types of cultural spaces, it is concluded that (1) The ritual space originated in the Han dynasty, and through the development of the Tang dynasty and the Five dynasty period, it showed a sudden growth under the influence of becoming the provisional capital in the Song dynasty and the military function enhancement in the Ming and Qing dynasties. (2) The education space formed a well-formed system of academies from the Tang dynasty, which indicated the rise of the academy. Through the development of the Five dynasty period, it reached a prosperous state in the Song dynasty and became a leading city in education nationwide, with outstanding achievements in the imperial examinations, the number of literati and poets, and the development of science. Then, education spaces gradually matured in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and (3) the commemorative space grew steadily in the early stage. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, in order to satisfy the needs of feudal rule, the commemorative space grew rapidly and was closely related to the daily life of people. (4) The belief space originated from the Han and Jin dynasties. Under active cultural exchange and inclusive society, belief spaces were in a rapid growth period at the end of the Tang dynasty and the Five dynasties, and stably developed in subsequent dynasties. (5) Recreation spaces saw stable growth in the Tang and the Five dynasties, and in the Song dynasty, the literati became the mainstream of society and widely involved in landscape activities, leading to the rapid growth of recreation spaces. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, recreation spaces continued to enrich the city. It can be seen that the ancient Fuzhou cultural spaces that guided the overall spatial pattern of the city were a concentrated reflection of local culture, and were also a public activity space for urban residents. Various types of cultural spaces have been developed in the construction of different dynasties, enhancing the overall cultural level of the city. These historical processes highlight the values and cultural concepts of cities in different periods, which helps to extract and integrate excellent traditional culture in contemporary times and inherit culture through material space.

3.3.2. The Spatial Distribution of Cultural Spaces

Different types of cultural spaces in ancient Fuzhou often served different objects (see

Table 7. Analysis of Various Types of Cultural Spaces and Site Selection in Ancient Fuzhou.

Type		Distribution
Ritual Space	Inside the city	The northern and higher parts of the city
	Outside the city	The extension of the urban axis outside the city or the excellent scenery of the mountains and rivers
Education Space	Mountain-type	A quiet place with excellent mountain and water scenery
	Town-type	Between the alleys within the city
Commemorative Space	Collective commemorative-type	Excellent scenic spots within or near the city outside the city, as well as the side of major roads
	Family commemorative-type	The combined alleys within the city are distributed in the center of the residential cluster
Belief Space	Mountain-type	High mountain areas within or outside the city
	River- and lake-type	The banks of a river or lake
	Street- and lane-type	Between the alleys within the city
Recreation Space	Official recreation space	Transportation nodes surrounding the government office
	Public recreation space	Excellent scenic spots within the city
	Private recreation space	The combination of alleys and alleys within the city or the excellent landscape outside the city

), and had their own characteristics in terms of site selection, forming differentiated distribution patterns inside the city or outside the city, south or north, mountains and rivers, or streets and lanes. We have sorted out the distribution characteristics of various types of cultural spaces in order to provide references for the construction of contemporary cultural spaces.

3.3.3. The Urban Structure under Multi-Actor Mechanism

Ranking the number of ancient Fuzhou cultural spaces in which different actors participated from high to low, namely, government officials, literati, country gentlemen, and monks, indicates that government officials and literati are the main participants in cultural space construction, while country gentlemen and monks spontaneously participate in cultural space construction and management at a local level. Among them, government officials participate in the construction of different types of cultural spaces and play a role in the entire process of historical construction. Literati were mainly associated with the construction of education and recreation spaces after the Tang and Song dynasties. Monks mainly participated in the construction of belief spaces, and were mostly concentrated during the Tang and Five dynasties when Buddhism flourished. The country gentlemen spontaneously built smaller commemorative and recreation spaces, and participated in the construction of other cultural spaces through the donations of funds, houses, and land. The different participants were not isolated, but led by government officials, presenting a collaborative mechanism, which fundamentally supported the construction and development of ancient Fuzhou cultural space at each stage.

In this context, the cultural space of ancient Fuzhou developed in an orderly manner, laying the foundation for urban order. On a regional scale (see Figure 8a), the spatial distribution of cultural spaces shifted from an early horizontal expansion to a southeast expansion during the late Qing dynasty, reflecting the limitations of geographical conditions and the trend in urban development toward rivers. On the urban scale (see Figure 8b), the distribution of cultural spaces has always centered on the Ping Mountain–Yu Mountain–Wu Mountain axis of the city, showing the construction of cultural spaces adapts to geographical conditions, has specific scenic preferences, and likes group distribution. Both reflect the site selection preferences of different participants. Both reflect the cultural spatial agglomeration result of the site selection preferences of different participant groups, which also shapes the urban spatial structure.

In ancient Fuzhou, cultural spaces were distributed in a distinct linear pattern, forming three main axes (see Figure 9). Among them, the north–south main axis connects Lianhua Peak, Gaogai Mountain, Wuhu Mountain, and other natural attractions from the north to the south, and is mainly composed of Zhen Hai Tower, Gu Tower, and other cultural spaces; the east–west axis is constituted by Qi Mountain, Jin Temple, West Lake, Gu Tower, Gu Mountain, and other cultural spaces, which intersects with the north–south axis at the Gu Tower forming a cross-shaped as the framework of the city; the north–south secondary axis is based on the path of the north–south river, and supported by the flow of people from the harbor. It always focuses on the maritime trade, connecting the transport centers such as the Antai River Harbor and the Nantong Port. The whole pattern, which relies on the surrounding landscape and is combined with cultural spaces, contains three axes and provides an order to guide the construction of the contemporary city.

This multi-actor mechanism and urban spatial structure have persisted into contemporary Fuzhou and the joint efforts of contemporary government officials, planners, social groups, and the public have also played a significant role in modern urban construction. Among them, the government mainly provides policy, funding, and other support. For the past thirty years, the overall protection of historical heritage has been an important task of the Fuzhou government, forming overall regulations about heritage protection and management. The planner is responsible for planning compilation and implementation, which has formed a complete design and planning team covering the restoration of historic and cultural cities, historical districts, and old buildings. Real estate developers, scholars, and other groups propose suggestions for cultural heritage protection based on their own fields. The public has witnessed the history of Fuzhou and vividly displayed its culture through daily life; they are the city’s main culture disseminator. With the joint efforts of various sectors of society, the protection and development of Fuzhou as a historic and cultural city have achieved significant results. Since the restoration of the first historic and cultural district, Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, in 2006, the historic and cultural blocks and historic and cultural areas near the central axis have been successively restored and protected [33], retaining the urban structural framework that has existed since ancient Fuzhou was built and demonstrating Fuzhou’s respect for historical traditions and culture. The ancient urban spatial structure of Fuzhou has been continuously given new cultural significance in contemporary construction, and the traditional aesthetics of eastern cities have been displayed again. Contemporary global cities are facing the challenge of balancing protection and development. How to maintain the vitality of traditional culture in modern construction has become one of the key issues for contemporary urban sustainable development. Therefore, the experience of Fuzhou in ancient and modern times is worth analyzing and sharing.

3.3.4. The Multi-Actor Construction Mechanism of Cultural Spaces

Compared to the research on cultural spaces in other cities, the construction of cultural spaces in Fuzhou has formed a complete development system under the interactive influence of different social periods, spatial types, and construction subjects.

Based on the historical records of the main body of traditional cultural space construction in local chronicles, and through mathematical statistics, it can be seen that all cultural spaces have been completed by officials, literati, monks, and local people overall, but each has its own emphasis on the number, content, and mode of construction (see Figure 10).

Firstly, in terms of the number of constructions, according to the participation of different subjects in the construction of ancient Fuzhou cultural spaces, from high to low, orderly officials, literati, country gentlemen, and monks account for 64%, 17%, 12%, and 7%, respectively. This indicates that orderly officials and literati have become the main subjects in the construction of cultural spaces, while country gentlemen and monks play an auxiliary role in grassroots autonomy and entrusted management. Secondly, in terms of construction content: (1) Officials participated in the construction of different types of cultural spaces and played a role in the entire process of historical construction. (2) Literati are mainly associated with the construction of education and recreation spaces after the Tang and Song dynasties. (3) Monks mainly participated in the construction of belief spaces, and were mostly concentrated in the prosperous Tang and Five dynasties period of Buddhist temples. (4) Country gentlemen spontaneously built smaller commemorative and recreation spaces, or participated in the construction of other cultural spaces through donations of funds, houses, and land. Thirdly, in terms of the mode of action, different construction entities are not isolated, but rather take the obedient officials as the absolute subject, presenting a collaborative approach of official–monk union and official–country gentlemen union.

Overall, through the diverse participation and collaboration of officials, literati, monks, and country gentlemen, traditional cultural spaces in Fuzhou exhibit an overall characteristic of focused content, different goals, and mutual cooperation. Moreover, different subjects have different leading times to participate in the construction, fundamentally supporting Fuzhou’s cultural spaces to become cultural places with universal applicability and shared values at different stages

4. Conclusions

This research uses the historical atlas translation method and GIS technology to analyze the construction process of Fuzhou cultural space under the multi-actor mechanism, in order to extract the continuation experience of maintaining urban spatial structures from ancient to modern times. Our results reveal that the collaboration among various actors included ancient government officials, literati, monks, and country gentlemen, along with contemporary entities like governments, planners, and social groups. On the one hand, the urban spatial structure of Fuzhou presents a continuous feature, and fully displays the historical features of the millennium-old city. On the other hand, different types of cultural spaces in ancient Fuzhou often served different objects, and had their own characteristics in site selection, forming differentiated distribution patterns, such as inside the city or outside the city, south or north, mountains and rivers, or streets and lanes. At the same time, the spatial structure of Fuzhou presents an obvious linear distribution, mainly forming three axes, which provides a development framework for contemporary urban construction and historical protection planning.

Cities around the world have different spatial structures, partly because of the cultural differences [34]. Therefore, in the background of globalization, where multiculturalism is being exchanged in historic cities, the key to avoiding the convergence of global cities lies in the local culture of cities. This is the reason why we need to review the past construction experience. This research offers a model for multi-actor cooperation and a distribution pattern of cultural space in ancient Fuzhou, applicable to contemporary Fuzhou and potentially other historic cities. Firstly, cultural land or spaces in contemporary historic cities can be designed by different planning teams based on their usage subjects and needs. Drawing on the paths of ancient Fuzhou, where different subjects constructed different cultural spaces, to create more adaptable cultural spaces in contemporary times. Secondly, when constructing different types of cultural spaces in historic cities, we can learn from the site selection of the same types of cultural spaces in ancient times, to inherit the concept of regional planning. Thirdly, cultural space selection should connect to the urban structure and cultural axis formed since ancient times of contemporary historic cities, in order to shape places that can reflect historical culture in contemporary times. We hope to use these strategies to build Fuzhou, and other historic cities, into a historic city with vitality and creativity that is able to fully show and utilize historical culture to achieve sustainable development.

At the same time, we also noticed the following limitations. Firstly, ancient cultural spaces have different functions and types from contemporary cultural spaces; this research analyzes the traditional cultural space in ancient Fuzhou, which is not completely applicable to contemporary cultural space in terms of element sorting and type division. Secondly, the time range of this research is before the Qing dynasty, and has not yet touched on the multi-participant model in contemporary Fuzhou, which is also worth analyzing as proposed in the Section 3. Thirdly, the combination of the historical atlas translation method and GIS technology provides the foundation for exploring the construction rules of cultural spaces. However, our research mainly relies on ancient maps and spatial topological relations to speculate on the approximate location, which reduces the accuracy of the results.

Therefore, future research can focus on the following three points. Above all, nowadays, the urban structure in Chinese cities is shaped by both government and market forces [35], the relationship between multi-actors has changed, so we can further explore the cultural spaces system for contemporary cities, and the multi-actor mechanism in present-day Fuzhou. Furthermore, future research can explore how multi-actor mechanisms can expand their application to other urban planning fields. For example, it can explore how multi-actor mechanisms and cultural space construction can be integrated into land-use planning, which serves as an efficient policy tool that can promote regional economic development [36]. Last, but not least, the location of cultural spaces obtained from the historical atlas and literature still deviates from reality. If future research could combine with archaeology in the future, to obtain more accurate coordinates of previously existing cultural spaces, it can greatly enhance the accuracy of the research results. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, there is a significant correlation between cultural space and the natural environment, and relevant technology can be considered to present the spatial distribution of cultural space in three-dimensional terrain, which can better demonstrate the characteristics of cultural space.