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Spatial-temporal characteristics and causes of changes to the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in the eastern plains of China

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  • Yingying Wang
  • Yingjie Wang
  • Lei Fang
  • Shengrui Zhang
  • Tongyan Zhang
  • Daichao Li
  • Dazhuan Ge

Abstract

As part of the cultural landscape, administrative toponyms do not only reflect natural and sociocultural phenomena, but also help with related management and naming work. Historically, county-level administrative districts have been stable and basic administrative regions in China, playing a role in the country’s management. We explore the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China’s eastern plains areas. A Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis, Geo-Informatic Tupu, Kernel Density Estimation, and correlation coefficients were conducted. We constructed a GIS database of county-level administrative toponyms from the Sui dynasty onward using the Northeast China, North China, and Yangtze Plains as examples. We then summarized the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China’s eastern plains areas. The results indicate that (1) the number of toponyms has roughly increased over time; (2) toponym densities on the three plains are higher than the national average in the corresponding timeframe since the Sui; and (3) county-level administrative toponyms related to mountains and hydrological features accounted for more than 30% of the total in 2010. However, the percentage of county-level administrative toponyms related to natural factors on the three plains has decreased since the Sui. To explore the factors influencing this spatio-temporal evolution, we analyzed the correlations between the toponyms and natural factors and human/social factors. The correlation degree between toponym density and population density is the highest, and that between toponym density and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) the lowest. Temperature changes were important in toponym changes, and population changes have influenced toponym changes over the last 400 years in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingying Wang & Yingjie Wang & Lei Fang & Shengrui Zhang & Tongyan Zhang & Daichao Li & Dazhuan Ge, 2019. "Spatial-temporal characteristics and causes of changes to the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in the eastern plains of China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0217381
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217381
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhao, Fei & Zhang, Sujin & Du, Quanda & Ding, Jieyu & Luan, Guize & Xie, Zhiqiang, 2021. "Assessment of the sustainable development of rural minority settlements based on multidimensional data and geographical detector method: A case study in Dehong, China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Yingying Wang & Dazhuan Ge & Tongyan Zhang & Yingjie Wang, 2019. "The Sustainable Development of Choronymic Cultural Landscapes in China Based on Geo-Informatic Tupu," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.

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