12. From Feudalism to Socialism: Socialization Process and Changes in Political Meaning of the Built Environment in Traditional City Central Areas

Among all the urban components, relatively political spaces in the urban built environment, often reflect the most political control of urban planning and construction, reflecting symbols of national and local power over a period of time. The changing spatial pattern of such plots is thus often a materialized reflection of the spatial order and political meaning, testifying to the adaptability of space in different historical periods. In the context of the Conzenian School, institutional plots refer to the major categories of land use, including educational, medical, military, central and local government, research, recreational and religious. As J.W.R Whitehand said, institutions are an often ignored but extensive category of urban land use, but they are vital to the functioning of city (Whitehand 1972). Among them, spaces with relatively strong political and power attributes, dominated by institutional plots, tend to be more pervasive in the socialization process.

From a geographical point of view, it is the process of cultural infiltration, institutional change and personification that transforms the sacred place or place of power in ancient times into a monumental space with political meaning (Rubén et al. 2016), thus becoming a witness to the social history. From a sociological point of view, institutional plots can be seen as a special type of monumental space, also known as ritualized space. It was first described by the French sociologist Lefebvre as a spatial expression of people’s collective identity or shared national beliefs (Lefebvre 1972). In cities, especially in traditional city centres, this kind of institutional plots is often an important part of the urban structure, in the form of monumental sites, large decision-making bodies, monumental axes or streets, network patterns, etc. In particular, as the axis of the spatial organization planning, it is used to express the centralized attribute of politics and power in the city. Since such spaces tend to have strong stability and permanence, they have a special significance in shaping urban culture, constructing collective memory and guiding urban development, which can provide a dynamic perspective for understanding the political meaning of the built environment and analysing the adaptation of old cities in different stages of social development.

Although institutional plot has a certain degree of permanence compared to other spaces due to the stability of its own function, it has also evolved into a new model due to the development of the society and the growing demand for space. According to scholars’ studies on the primary elements of Chinese cities in Qing Dynasty, such spaces were often acquired long-term institutional support, and thus maintained a strong permanence. However, in societies undergoing revolutionary change, primary elements tend to be the most vulnerable to reform (Dai 2017).

In the context of urban development and social change, the spatial organization logic of institutional plot changes with the change in usage and accessibility. In addition to the functional changes of the buildings themselves, the activities, events and characteristics of people, have also changed greatly in the socialization process and changes in the political meaning of the built environment. In terms of specific performance, it can be divided into core element, crowd flow, element organization, structure and so on, which are closely related to the change of use.

In terms of social functions, throughout the world, monumental spaces with political meaning in the early ancient cities were all based on religious worship and ritual respect, characterized by the unity of God and power, and thus generally had a strong sacredness (Liu and Xu 2017). Over time, under the influence of human civilization and social institutions, such spaces have become more secular, with their functions and objects reflecting the characteristics of compounding and diversification. Essentially, it is the transformation of theocratic and monarchical spaces into urban public spaces. The German scholar Gerhard Curdes summarized such a process of landscape reconstruction as an ‘Adaptation Process’. It is to change the function and use mode of urban landscape without changing the morphological framework, and then to change the structural relationship of spatial elements, so as to present new functions to meet the new development needs (Curdes 1993).

Throughout China and the West, the socialization process of the institutional plot is similar in terms of function and commemorative behaviour, but very different in terms of social institutions. In Western countries, the socialization of traditional spaces from feudalism to capitalism has tended to focus on the existence of a mass gathering place, often as a continuation or deepening of previous social functions, with a more singular and explicit agent. For example, the Roman Temple of Augustus in Pula, Croatia, has been transformed since the Middle Ages into a church, a granary, and a museum. In addition, many large theatres with great acoustics are still in use today. In the case of socialist countries, the particular path from feudalism to socialism determines its own particularities. The socialization process of the change in political meaning tends to be more complete and changes much faster than in traditional Western countries, where different issues of interest can lead to the renewal of spatial patterns, architectural texture and land use functions to take place in a short period of time.

As Ivor Samuels’ research on post-socialist cities in Belgrade and Krakow has shown, the interest-driven process of local government, new housing supplied by the local authorities, was the main characteristic of socialist urban space (Kantarek et al. 2021). In post-socialist or so-called capitalist cities, due to the stability of the morphological framework of the city, the influence of the built-up spatial pattern of the previous period tends not to disappear completely, but retains a certain socialist character. In contrast, the process of socialization of traditional Chinese cities has also been influenced by the Western concept of modernity, represented by capitalism. The traditional urban space, which was originally created, developed and gradually refined within the Chinese vernacular, is also responding to and transforming itself to meet the urban construction needs of Western society, reflected in an increasing tendency towards liberalization and marketization. Institutional plots are also undergoing the same socialization process, which is reflected in the physical spatial elements such as housing units and urban morphology, as well as in the logic of spatial management and governance, and is the materialized expression of the political thought of the period.

Particularly in China, the evolution of institutional plot and its political meaning is influenced not only by the factors mentioned above but also by the involvement of the government and other mandatory stakeholders, who dominate the evolution of town plans. In recent years, large-scale urban renewal has been carried out in various historic cities in China, which has brought about a dramatic change in the institutional plot in the traditional city central area. The original self-built houses, settlements and commercial activities in the institutional plot have been completely relocated, and the archaeological excavation and cultural preservation work has been carried out and opened to the public after in situ display restoration. In terms of spatial organization logic and social relations, we proposed that it can be systematically summarized in the following three forms: (1) Breakthrough of function, (2) Breakthrough of town plan and (3) Breakthrough of the accessibility. All of them can be seen in the following case study, to explain the socialization process of institutional plot in Beijing, China.

For Beijing, as the capital after the founding of New China, one of the fundamental tasks in the development of its urban landscape is to preserve the special appearance of the old city and its ancient buildings, while discarding the ideas and main spaces associated with feudalism, which have long been outdated, and giving them a new spirit and function of the times. This feature is particularly prominent in the reconstruction of the central axis and the old city of Beijing, which reflects the process of reconfiguring the political spatial order in Beijing.

The study adopts the Conzenian approach, or morphogenetic approach, to analyse the urban morphology of the typical traditional city central areas in Beijing during the transition from feudalism to socialism. The study also adopts a socialization process perspective, combining geography and sociology. By relating the town plan and the function of the institutional plot to the events and collective memories that took place, the spatial practices of different periods are explained. Its main approach is twofold.

The first is the restoration of morphogenetic process, i.e. based on an evolutionary perspective, looking back at the history of the existing form, exploring and interpreting the underlying evolutionary process. Based on the method of morphological period, the study aims to identify the unique landscape remains of different periods, combined with the interpretation of the underlying mechanisms to restore the morphological process of the landscape.

The second is the interpretation of intrinsic mechanisms, i.e. the economic, social and institutional contexts of each period are taken into account, to identify the key factors of townscape change from feudalism to socialism. The study relates urban physical space and social relations from the perspective of development and evolution, and to highlight the characteristics in the context of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In terms of the specific analytical framework, the study integrates the Conzenian morphological and Rossi’s typological theories, emphasizes on the particular geographical location of the central areas in the traditional city, emphasizes the association with locus and event, and incorporates the analysis of institutional plot into our proposed framework of three forms of breakthrough.

In terms of the case, the study chose two of the most representative traditional city central areas in Beijing, China. Both of them are typical institutional plots in function, and are important for centralized rule and social governance during the feudal period and the current socialist period. Tiananmen Square and Shouhuang Palace were built on the central axis of Beijing, on the south and north sides of the Forbidden City. In feudal times, both were forbidden royal places. Today, after more than a hundred years of development, Tiananmen Square is a place of popular assembly, while Shouhuang Palace has become a place of cultural exhibition. The two cases are different in terms of crowd, function and spatial organization, but both have undergone the same socialization process at the same time, as reflected in the three ‘breakthrough’ processes we have proposed. As a world-famous institutional plot, the evolution of Tiananmen Square is closely related to the Chinese social context. Therefore, the study of it is an opportunity to understand its socialization process, as well as to deepen the understanding of Chinese history and culture, preparing for the following case study of Shouhuang Palace.

Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, covers an area of 440,000 m² and is the most prominent and representative institutional plot in Beijing and China, which is located in the centre of Beijing, to the south of the Forbidden City (see Fig. 12.1). As the site of numerous major revolutionary, historical and political events, Tiananmen Square is an important symbol of China’s decline to its rise, uniting the revolutionary memory of the entire Chinese nation. In historical times, it was once a palace square belonging to the rulers of the feudal dynasty, used to highlight the status of the rulers. But nowadays, with the establishment of socialist China, Tiananmen Square has been transformed into a people’s square for mass gatherings. Both the spatial structure, functional attributes and opening pattern of the square have undergone significant changes during this historical process, epitomizing the socialization process of the past into the present during the reconstruction of Beijing’s old city.

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The transformation of Tiananmen Square from feudalism to socialism has been studied in some detail, and has been linked to the historical process of China’s revolution, construction and reform periods, with a clear division of the morphological periods (Hou and Wu 1977; Ye 2021; Hu and Liu 2021). However, these studies tend to focus on the change of physical space, lacking the continuity of different periods and the ‘breakthrough’ process of institutional plot, to reveal the changes in the political meanings of the built environment. This paper will focus on the relationship between major historical events and places in Tiananmen Square, and briefly explain their role and position in social changes in different periods.

In terms of the evolution of Tiananmen Square’s form itself, the changes in the logic of its spatial organization can be divided into four periods, as shown in Fig. 12.2. Before 1912, the Thousand-Step Corridor on both sides of the square was the office of central government. The long and narrow shape of the building was used to emphasize the towering authority of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. After the Revolution of 1911, the Thousand-Step Corridor on both sides of the square was demolished and the palace walls were opened with two small gates to allow traffic to flow from east to west. After the founding of the country in 1949, with the demolition of the palace wall, the square was expanded from its original irregular shape into a square, with the People’s Heroes Monument in the centre, and two new large buildings, the Great Hall and the History Museum, were built on either side, which were selected as the ten most iconic buildings of the new China. After 1977, the Zhengyang Gate was added to the south side of the square, and a new Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was built to the south of the Monument so that the overall morphological pattern of the square has remained stable to this day. On the whole, the diversity of the Square’s functions, building types and structures has been accompanied by a gradual expansion of the Square’s area.

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And the ‘breakthrough’ process of Tiananmen Square could be summarized in the following three points.

On the whole, as the most representative institutional plot in Beijing and even in China, its social reconfiguration has taken place with the commonality of institutional plot and urban development and renewal in China and abroad, reflected in the diversity of spatial organization, structure and function, as well as the involvement of people, also with the specificity of the institutional context of socialist China (Table 12.1). It not only carries a series of events that have been held in the square since its construction, but is also a historical microcosm of the continuous march of the Chinese nation during the same period. The influences and traces of different periods are changed by the process of accumulation, transformation and replacement of forms, and are also a process of adaption to the times and functions, resulting in the Tiananmen Square we see today.

Shouhuang Palace, located in Beijing, China, is part of Jingshan Park, which means ‘longevity’ in Chinese. It is located in the northern part of the central axis of Beijing, to the north of the Forbidden City (see Fig. 12.3), and its main buildings may date back to the Ming Dynasty (Zhou 2018). In ancient times, Shouhuang Palace was mainly used to hang and worship the portraits of the emperors. It was a typical monumental space with political meaning for the royal family to make sacrifices, and it is the most highly regulated building group for royal ancestor worship in Beijing and the largest ancient building group on the central axis outside the Forbidden City. And if you look at the functional zoning within the city of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties, this was also a typical institutional plot, taking on a larger imperial function.

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In the context of urban development and social change, the logic of spatial organization has been changed twice completely. During the feudal period, it was a typical place of worship and the exclusive property of the royal family. After the founding of New China, under great pressure from the development of the old city, the government decided to allocate a part of Jingshan Park for Beijing Youth Activity Centre, and Shouhuang Palace became the classrooms and activity places for the youth. Until the Activity Centre moved out, after the conservation and renovation, Shouhuang Palace was opened as a cultural exhibition for local residents. The old, middle-aged and young generations of Beijingers therefore have different memories of this area.

The reasons for choosing Shouhuang Palace as a case study are as follows. First, it has experienced the whole process of social space evolution from feudal to modern society, as well as the changes in material spatial organization and urban landscape. Secondly, this process is a true reflection of Beijing’s political, economic and cultural background, and a model for the renewal of traditional urban institutional plot. Thirdly, due to its special geographical location, the socialization process of this space differs from ordinary old city renovation, with great specificity in terms of functional transformation and morphological evolution. At the same time, although Shouhuang Palace has always held a place in Beijing’s urban spatial organization and political function, its political meanings have gradually diminished due to its publicity and secularization, and new developments have emerged.

In this context, we apply the Conzenian school’s method of morphological periods. The morphological process is studied with the establishment and emigration of the Youth Activity Centre as the time nodes, divides the process into three periods, as follows: (1) Pre-Socialist Period (Before 1949); (2) Period of Youth Activity Centre (1949–2016); (3) Period of Exhibition (2016–2022).

On the whole, for Shouhuang Palace, the breakthrough of architectural function was the fundamental driving factor in the socialization process under the changes of political meanings (Table 12.2). On this basis, the need for a different function led to the breakthrough of the town plan of the previous period. This was reflected in the addition and demolition of bungalows, the renewal of facilities, and the change of sub-plots. The result is an increase in the secularization of the space and a change in the overall landscape and the experience of use. At the same time, the original fixation line represented by the courtyard wall has been broken, and many new entrances have been created on the east and west sides, resulting in changes in the organization of traffic and pedestrian routes. On the other hand, as the function changed, the people who used these monumental spaces and their social relationships also changed, creating a breakthrough in accessibility. In this case, Shouhuang Palace was transformed from a space reserved exclusively for the royal family to a place of leisure for the general public, with a much greater openness. And the dominant driving factor behind this process is the different political form of the city of Beijing.

From the logic of spatial organization, the socialization process of Shouhuang Palace, is not only a direct reflection of the political and social context in different periods, but also with the cultural and economic conditions of the time, and the understanding of space is closely related. Under the original feudal system, the emperor occupied the most prestigious space in the city, and architectural regulations and rituals were often of the highest order, so the spatial order was constructed around the emperor. After the founding of New China, economic development and national rejuvenation became the theme of the period, with the elimination of the original feudal rule and the strengthening of youth education being the main concerns. Therefore, it made sense to transform the ritual space for sacrifice into a place for activities and education. And in recent years, as society has begun to pay great attention to history, cultural heritage and the preservation of the old city, the improper use and destruction of ancient buildings has become an issue of urban governance. Thus, it is urgent to carry out the vacating of Youth Activity Centre and restore the heritage as part of the urban renewal policy dividend. This act promotes the relative integrity of Beijing old city and the important urban space, and contributes to the nomination of Beijing's Central Axis as a historical urban landscape for World Heritage.

Interestingly, although the current Shouhuang Palace has restored the pre-socialist layout of the city, the exhibition was also displayed as much as possible in its the original form. However, from the perspective of the urban landscape development, it is not a complete restoration of the heyday in Qing Dynasty, but an accumulation and overlaying of different periods in space. Among them, the Shouhuang Palace area in the middle is the spatial layout of Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, the Emperor’s Farm in the west is the legacy of Yuan Dynasty emperors, and Yongsi Palace, which is the administrative office in the east, is restored to the Ming Dynasty pattern. The reason for this is still unknown to us and needs further investigation.

As an ancient human behaviour, memorials or rituals originate from people's memory and inheritance of their material and spiritual life. Politics, on the other hand, has its roots in the desire to regulate order and improve the quality of life. It is against this background that institutional plots and monumental spaces with political meaning have emerged in cities. From Vitruvius’ The Ten books on Architecture to Rossi's The Architecture of the City, the significance of political space is self-evident. As the source of architectural art and urban planning, it has played an important role in the emergence and development of the urban landscape, and dominates the spatial structure of the city. As Rossi said, such kinds of primary elements ‘are not only preserved but continuously presented as propelling elements of development’ (Rossi 1982), and also give us the basis for studying the evolution of morphology and the social processes behind it. For this reason, the paper explores the process of transformation of the old city in socialist China in terms of the morphological study of institutional plots, focusing on the breakthrough of plot pattern, function and accessibility under the changes of political meanings, and traces the evolution of two traditional institutional plots in Beijing old city since the end of the feudal dynasty.

Although there are great similarities between China and the West in terms of the relationship between urban elements, spatial organization and power structures, the logic of spatial use in old Chinese cities in historical periods can be revealed through the study of the main elements represented by institutional plots. However, under the guidance of the unique Chinese cultural view of the unity of man and nature, the influences behind the traditional feudal dynastic cities of the pre-socialist period and the socialist urban construction of today, as well as the evolutionary logic of the agent and agency, are all different from those in the West. In this process, traditional Chinese urban construction has been able to leave behind the shortcomings of the feudal period, and modern Western ideas of urban construction, represented by capitalism, have been gradually integrated, resulting in a new urban renewal programme for socialist China. In this process, the royal palace space, represented by Tiananmen Square and Shouhuang Palace, was transformed into a popular space, allowing the traditional Chinese city to develop in a new context, and with it, a change in spatial organization. These special institutional plots can, on the one hand, guide the viewer to understand the place by recalling the history of the country and the nation in the past, and, on the other hand, have a new special mission and role along with the needs of political, social, economic and cultural development,. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research from the perspective of historical geography.

According to the above case study of Tiananmen Square and Shouhuang Palace in Beijing, we believe that the results can reflect the relationship between morphological transformation and urban social reform. Because of the close relationship between the material space and the context of social relations, the study of the institutional plot is also the study of the surrounding social space of the area. Therefore, in the process of socialist China’s transformation, the institutional plots and monumental space under the original feudal system are being transformed accordingly. At the same time, the transformation of politics, society and citizens is also taking place at the same time, which is integrated into the social network through the use and perception of the space. Unlike in the West, the institutional plots in the Chinese traditional city central areas have often served only for the king's authority in historical times, and have always been inaccessible, and even unimaginable places for the people since time immemorial, although they share the same space and city with their living environment. Therefore, the socialization process during the transformation of the old city is a process of integration into social networks, as well as a process of compromise, adaptation and renewal with modern urban life, thus truly transforming places into memories.

As a result, it is necessary to study the process and relationship between urban morphological transformation and urban social change, to establish a mechanism of influence between the renewal of institutional plots and the political, social and cultural conditions.