Rural Housing and Village Transformation in Taiwan and Fujian
Population growth, small-scale agricultural development and popular beliefs concerning fengshui guided the evolution of the areal form and content of Chinese rural settlements during the imperial past. Over the last half century, on the other hand, more formal planning, top-down political decisions and the broad economic policies of the state have altered the Chinese countryside. Since 1949, on both Taiwan and the coastal mainland, quite different political and economic systems influenced the geometry and morphology of villages, affecting their inherited appearances and functions. The hybrid rural settlements that have emerged, while echoing traditional village forms, are often neither rural, urban nor suburban settlements. This article examines and compares the reshaping of village settlements in Taiwan and Fujian over the past half century and probes the role played by the state in guiding such transformations. In both Taiwa