河西走廊历史文化空间时空跃迁特征及影响机制

Spatiotemporal transition characteristics and influencing mechanisms of historical and cultural space in the Hexi Corridor

关键词:  河西走廊  历史文化空间  跃迁特征  影响机制

Key words:  Hexi Corridor  historical and cultural space  transition characteristics  influencing mechanism

摘要:

历史文化空间是文脉传承的核心载体，河西走廊作为古丝绸之路的关键枢纽，研究其历史文化空间时空跃迁规律，可为文化传承与区域可持续发展提供支撑。文章以河西走廊史前-近代以来的3121处不可移动文化遗产为研究对象，采用核密度、标准差椭圆、探索性时空分析、通径分析等方法，系统刻画河西走廊历史文化空间演化过程和跃迁特征，综合分析历史文化空间时空跃迁的影响机制。结果表明：（1）河西走廊历史文化空间演变形成以“点-轴”结构为核心、重心南北向移动、类别分异显著的总体格局。（2）历史文化空间跃迁在空间上呈现出“北稳南动、中部活跃”的差异化格局，时间上表现出跃迁活跃程度先增强后减弱的阶段性特征。（3）绿洲面积和道路密度对历史文化空间时空跃迁具有显著影响，经济表现出较强的正向作用。总体而言，历史文化空间时空跃迁是自然因素与人文因素直接作用和间接作用共同塑造的结果。

Abstract:

Background, aim, and scope Historical and cultural space serves as an important spatial carrier of cultural heritage and reflects the long-term interaction between human activities and geographical environments. Existing studies have mainly focused on spatial distribution patterns, network structures, influencing factors, and heritage conservation; however, most are limited to single heritage types or relatively short periods, with insufficient attention to long-term spatiotemporal transitions and the pathways through which natural and human factors jointly influence historical and cultural space. The Hexi Corridor, as a key passage of the ancient Silk Road with a continuous cultural sequence from prehistoric to modern times, provides an ideal region for examining these issues. This study therefore aims to identify the long-term spatiotemporal transition characteristics of historical and cultural space in the Hexi Corridor and to clarify the associated influencing mechanisms. The findings are expected to enrich research on the long-term evolution of historical and cultural space and provide scientific support for regional cultural heritage conservation and sustainable development. Materials and methods This study takes 3121 immovable cultural heritage sites in the Hexi Corridor from the prehistoric period to the modern era as the research object, and uses methods such as kernel density, standard deviational ellipse, exploratory spatiotemporal analysis, and path analysis to systematically depict the evolution process and transition features of historical and cultural space in the Hexi Corridor, and comprehensively analyze the influence mechanism of historical and cultural space transition. Results The historical and cultural space of the Hexi Corridor generally presents a distribution characteristic of “dense in the south and sparse in the north”, with the “point-axis” structure as its core and a high dependence on oasis city nodes. Its center of gravity has undergone a “north-south-north” migration trajectory: from the southern part of Jiuquan to the southern part of Zhangye from the Prehistoric period to the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, it moved northward to the central part of Zhangye and stabilized during the Yuan-Ming-Qing dynasties, with no significant changes since modern times. Discussion The spatiotemporal transition of historical and cultural space in the Hexi Corridor reflects the long-term combined effects of environmental constraints and human activities. Oasis environments provide the fundamental ecological conditions for settlement continuity and cultural accumulation, while economic development enhances the capacity for cultural construction and maintenance. In contrast, the negative effect of road density suggests that intensified transportation networks may primarily reinforce existing spatial structures rather than continuously generate new centers of cultural agglomeration. Overall, the evolution of historical and cultural space is not determined by a single factor, but is jointly shaped by the integrated effects and pathway-dependent influences of natural and human factors, thereby providing a more comprehensive explanation for the long-term spatial differentiation of cultural heritage in the Hexi Corridor. Conclusions (1) The evolutionary process of the historical and cultural space in the Hexi Corridor has formed an overall pattern centered on the “point-axis” structure, featuring a north-south migration of the core focus and significant categorical differentiation. (2) The transition of historical and cultural space exhibits a spatially differentiated pattern of “stability in the north, dynamism in the south, and activity in the central region,” while its intensity shows a temporal pattern of first increasing and then decreasing. (3) Oasis area and road density exert significant effects on the spatiotemporal transition of historical and cultural space, while economic development shows a relatively strong positive effect. Overall, the spatiotemporal transition is jointly shaped by the direct and indirect effects of natural and human factors. Recommendations and perspectives Constructing a coupling analysis framework of “historical events-cultural space-environmental changes”, which combines archaeological chronology with GIS spatial analysis to accurately identify the triggering effects of key historical nodes on cultural space transition; and expanding the dimension of influencing factors by incorporating quantitative indicators such as policy intensity and ethnic integration, so as to reveal the hierarchical causal relationships of multi-scale factors and further enhance the research depth.