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Interpreting the Inheritance Mechanism of the Wu Yue Sacred Mountains in China Using Structuralist and Semiotic Approaches

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  • Shangyi Zhou

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Weilin Xu

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

The sustainability of sacred mountains has attracted the attention of both international communities and scholars. However, few studies have focused on the sustainability mechanisms of sacred mountains in the cultural dimension. This article presents a case study of the Wu Yue, i.e., five sacred mountains in China, which is endowed with the highest status and has been a sustainable cultural heritage for more than two thousand years. Drawing on the approaches of structuralist geography and semiotics, this article seeks to systematically interpret the inheritance mechanism of the Wu Yue. Two major conclusions are drawn. First, based on the approach of structuralist geography, the spatial structure of the Wu Yue can be viewed as a surface structure that is determined by a deep structure: the Five Elements Philosophy. Despite the relocation of the South Yue and the North Yue, each mountain of the Wu Yue has almost always been located in the five cardinal directions of the territory in accordance with the Five Elements Philosophy; this fact shows that the deep structure is crucial to maintaining the sustainability of the Wu Yue. Second, based on the semiotic approach, the sign of the sacred mountains has three levels. It is the third level of the sign, consisting of the spatial pattern as signifier and the Five Elements Philosophy as signified, that distinguishes the Wu Yue from other sacred mountains and has allowed them to be inherited for many generations. Poststructuralism can explain the Chinese semiotics of sacred mountains, but it is difficult to interpret the sustainability of the Wu Yue.

Suggested Citation

  • Shangyi Zhou & Weilin Xu, 2018. "Interpreting the Inheritance Mechanism of the Wu Yue Sacred Mountains in China Using Structuralist and Semiotic Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2127-:d:153825
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark A. Fonstad, 2017. "Mountains: A Special Issue," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(2), pages 235-237, March.
    2. Franz K. Huber & Michael Morlok & Caroline S. Weckerle & Klaus Seeland, 2015. "Livelihood Strategies in Shaxi, Southwest China: Conceptualizing Mountain–Valley Interactions as a Human–Environment System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Philip J. Burton, 2010. "Striving for Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Unprecedented Change: The Case of the Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(8), pages 1-21, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Li Xu & Shang-Chia Chiou, 2018. "An Exploration of the Cultural Landscape Model of Zhuge Village," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Qi Liu & Zaiyi Liao & Yongfa Wu & Dagmawi Mulugeta Degefu & Yiwei Zhang, 2019. "Cultural Sustainability and Vitality of Chinese Vernacular Architecture: A Pedigree for the Spatial Art of Traditional Villages in Jiangnan Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-27, December.

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