A Study on Villages by Zengwun River in Madou with Particular References to Substantive and Spiritual Subsistence

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the sociocultural-spatial transformations of rural settlements locating at the Riverland of Zengwun River from Japanese Colonial Period to Contemporary A spatial scope which is proper to view and recognize the ‘multiple-settlements relationship’ is established And this study discusses the spatial structure and diachronic context of settlements from the perspective of subsistence production to reveal the transformations of the space for basic surviving and livelihood earning of settlements The first purpose of this study is to discuss geographic and built environment of the settlements from macro and micro perspectives In macro scale the terrain is considered when site-choosing is discussed; in micro scale the geological condition is analyzed to understand the subsistence production of settlements The second purpose is to observe the characteristics and influencing factors of these settlements Though theses settlements generally locating at similar terrain the geological condition subsistence productions and business activities differ consequently The third purpose is to analyze the interactive relationship of the settlements This relationship could mainly be observed in two dimensions the socioeconomic and the religious dimensions Official statistics and Quantum GIS are spatially visualized to re-present field survey results of land use and the relationship between the built environment and the subsistence area The data shows that the Chia-Nan Irrigated System Excavation does affect the subsistence environment of settlements However another kind of spatially ethnic cohesion relies on religious beliefs At this point the transformations of the Riverland settlements show that living activities and religious beliefs in the village's built environment still affect their lives

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Ping-Sheng Wu (Supervisor)