Abstract
Space syntax has been widely used in studies with historical components to developing a common analytical language for the comparative study of urban morphology across time and space by visual diagrams. This paper uses space syntax to analyse the inner and outer city parts of the daily life of residents in the capital cities of two dynasties, Tang and Song, to reveal the impact of changes in urban planning on the overall spatial structure of the city, the structure of commercial space, and the role of urban squares in the two dynasties under centralised rule. Based on the quantitative analysis, the results show significant differences between the Tang and Song dynasties in all three aspects of comparison. The changes in the Tang and Song dynasties’ capital cities result from the interaction between the materiality of the ancient Chinese capital city form and the spatial function of the city, and the analysis of space syntax is useful for interpreting their relevance.
Highlights
Metropolitan studies are the specialised study of historical and contemporary cities and metropolitan regions
The lack of historical documents and incomplete archaeological data has led to a lack of basis for these deductions, making it impossible to make a rational connection between the cause and effect on the overall urban spatial structure
The space syntax and depthmap analysis and findings for two ancient cities, Chang’an City and Dongjing City, were compared with documentary records to verify the validity of the space syntax findings
Summary
Metropolitan studies are the specialised study of historical and contemporary cities and metropolitan regions. This study is derived from the archaeological and documentary data on the layout and social structure of these ancient capitals [1,2,3] Previous studies on this context include that of Chang’an City of Tang [4,5], the Dongjing City of Song [6,7,8,9], as well as comparative studies of the two cities [10,11,12]. This was attributed to the collapse of the Fang system due to the closed “market” being replaced by a new market system These studies of the Tang and Song capital cities typically employ a multidisciplinary approach and are characterised by the integration of economic [14,15,16], sociological and anthropological theories. The lack of historical documents and incomplete archaeological data has led to a lack of basis for these deductions, making it impossible to make a rational connection between the cause and effect on the overall urban spatial structure
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