Landed and Rooted: A Comparative Study of Traditional Hakka Dwellings (Tulous and Weilong Houses) Based on the Methodology of Space Syntax

Both Tulous (土楼) and Weilong Houses (围龙屋) are important types of traditional Hakka (客家) dwellings whose architectural morphology is closely related to the historical origin, social organisation, and cultural values of Hakkas. Previous studies focused on the influence of Chinese traditional etiquette systems and ritual values on the physical morphology of Hakka traditional dwellings, where ancestral halls are often the core of the entire building. This article selects six typical case studies of Tulous and Weilong Houses and launches a comparative study on their spatial configurations through quantitative analysis of space syntax. This study found that compared to Tulous, Weilong Houses exhibit decentralisation and gridification in their spatial structure, in addition to a decrease in defence capability and an increase in residential privatisation. The ancestral hall of the Tulou is still the spiritual and living centre of Tulou residents, located in the geometric centre and possessing high spatial configurational values. However, although the ancestral hall of the Weilong House is still located in the geometric centre of the entire building, it does not exhibit the highest spatial configurational values, indicating that the increase in secularisation and the decrease in ritualisation of Hakka communities inhabiting Weilong Houses resulted in the separation of secular space and ritual space. It coincides with the “Centre–Periphery” distribution characteristics of Hakka communities related to Tulous and Weilong Houses, reflecting the different community existence paradigms of the Hakkas “landed” and “rooted” in the Guangdong–Fujian–Jiangxi border area.

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