The Sustainable Development of Choronymic Cultural Landscapes in China Based on Geo-Informatic Tupu

Abstract

As a part of cultural landscapes, toponyms with abundant cultural connotations and a long history are valuable cultural heritage assets. Choronyms not only reflect natural and social phenomena but also help with relevant management and naming work. In order to explore the historical development sequence of choronymic cultural landscape evolution, we analyze the spatial–temporal pattern evolution, spatial–temporal variation, spatial association, and semantic evolution of choronymic cultural landscapes since the Qin dynasty. We adopt the sequent snapshot model and an event-based state amendment model to establish a spatio-temporal database. That can provide decision supports and theoretical reference for the sustainable development of toponymic landscapes. Results indicate the following: (1) Spatial distribution of toponym density has been different since the Qin dynasty. The cores of toponym density spread from the middle-lower reaches of the Yellow River to Yangtze Plain, Chengdu Plain, Pearl River Delta Plain. (2) Spatial distribution of choronyms is agglomerative since the Qin dynasty and uneven at national and provincial scales since the Yuan dynasty. Temporal distribution of toponyms at different levels is centralized. (3) Spatial agglomeration phenomena of toponyms are positively clustered in nine periods. The Ming dynasty presents the largest degree of spatial aggregation. (4) Words relevant to blessings, orientation, and hydrological features have high proportions in the top 20 words. (5) Spatial distribution of county-level choronyms named over the last 1000 years and “Millennium Ancient Counties” are unbalanced at national and provincial scales.

Spatial-Temporal Characteristic Analysis of Ethnic Toponyms Based on Spatial Information Entropy at the Rural Level in Northeast China

“…For example, scholars used methods including geographic information map, kernel density estimation, and correlation coefficient analysis, respectively, taking Northeast China, North China, and the Yangtze River plain as examples, to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the toponym cultural landscape in county-level administrative regions since the Sui Dynasty (581-619 CE) and to analyze the correlation among population density, digital elevation model (DEM), gross domestic product (GDP), and toponym density [14]. Other scholars have established the spatial-temporal database of the evolution of toponyms, set the spatial-temporal change index from the natural and cultural perspectives, and expressed the influence index in the form of a geographic information map to analyze the differences in the spatial distribution of toponyms density since the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE) [15]. From the perspective of spatial correlation, this study emphatically analyzed the difference and stability of spatial agglomeration of toponyms and cultural landscapes on both sides of the "Hu line", which divided 96% of China's population on the eastern side of the line [16] as well as the semantic evolution of toponyms and cultural landscapes.…”

Deep Understanding of Urban Dynamics from Imprint Urban Toponymic Data Using a Spatial–Temporal–Semantic Analysis Approach

“…Contemporary interdisciplinary methods and techniques offer new ways to extend the field of toponymic research. For example, the GIS methods have been widely utilized to explore the complex systemic characteristics of toponyms [24,41]. Michele Tucci et al [41] quantified and analyzed hundreds of street toponyms varying spatially and temporally over two thousand years with the construction of a geographical vector database.…”

“…They emphasized that GIS can contribute to quantification and visualization of the spatial characteristics of toponyms. In addition, spatial statistical methods including the Moran's I, the density analysis, and the nearest neighbor analysis are the common measurement methods used to explore the features of toponyms [24,[41][42][43][44]. Some scholars regarded toponyms as a cultural landscape and employed landscape indices to analyze the distribution patterns of toponyms [24,45,46].…”

“…In addition, spatial statistical methods including the Moran's I, the density analysis, and the nearest neighbor analysis are the common measurement methods used to explore the features of toponyms [24,[41][42][43][44]. Some scholars regarded toponyms as a cultural landscape and employed landscape indices to analyze the distribution patterns of toponyms [24,45,46]. Through the aggregation analysis and balance degree of toponym landscapes, these studies provided theoretical and practical guidance for optimizing toponym management and helped to protect toponymic cultural heritages.…”

“…Toponyms gradually emerged and evolved with the rapid development of human society [22]. They often indicate changes in the local landscape and record local culture as historical documents [23,24]. Thus, they may provide basic information to reveal the natural and human characteristics of a region, such as land-use change [23,25], urban landscape [26], and society ideology [27].…”