Analysis of the Aesthetic Image and Landscape Characteristics of Hainan's Ancient Eight Views

XIAO Yubing; YANG Dinghai; CHEN Zhijian; MENG Yuan; YUAN Yizhe; HULIU Qianhui

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2025.04.007

Abstract：The Eight Views represent a collection of regional landscapes from an aesthetic perspective.Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views occupy a special geographical location and have significant records,playing an important role in traditional Chinese culture.However,they have been significantly affected by the passage of time,resulting in poor maintenance.Ruins and poems are available about many of Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views,but they lack protection;therefore,their record-keeping and intelligibility are significantly affected. Among existing information,poems serve as the most abundant and well-preserved reference materials for Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views.By composing poems about the Eight Views,the ancients integrated their cognition of spatial places with their own aesthetics and emotions,recording historical and geographical landscape information. Based on the textual data of poems about Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views and the comprehensive application of text mining and spatial mapping techniques,this study summarizes clusters of landscape themes by analyzing the creative elements,emotional vocabulary,semantic analysis,and spatial locations mentioned in relevant poems.The relationship between the aesthetic themes of Eight Views and their aesthetic spatial layouts was explored thoroughly.Furthermore,the relationship between aesthetic cognition and landscape characteristics was analyzed,facilitating a discussion of the landscape features of Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views. Through the data-based analysis of 622 poems about Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views,some conclusions could be drawn:(1)Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views highlight five major themes:"mountain peaks shrouded in clouds and mist","wanderings amidst mountain traces","sunset over steep cliffs","fishing boats at dusk",and"tower shadows bathed in twilight glow".They embody the detached perspective of a spiritual space beyond the mundane world and the delight of close-range travel in an aesthetic and pleasurable living space.These themes have formed two recognizable structural landscapes:magnificent and stirring coastal scenery and natural and leisurely countryside.(2)In terms of the macroscopic spatial distribution,Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views cover the entire island,with a concentration in towns,surrounded by mountains and seas.They are distributed along the coast,more sparse in the north and concentrated in the south,and more numerous in the east than in the west.This distribution pattern is closely related to the natural environment,territorial development,and socio-economic development of Hainan Island.At the micro level,individual Eight Views landscapes were analyzed using spatial scene simulation,which yielded three spatial creation methods:the streamline type,cohesive type,and enclosed type.These landscapes focus on mountains and water bodies,feature a compact layout,and show scenes like ponds,toads,and coconut tree shadows in a poetic and picturesque manner.Influenced by literati landscape aesthetics,they emphasize the sequence and artistic conception of landscapes,as well as the characteristics of life experiences.(3)Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views originated relatively late but developed rapidly,with a complete system and coexistence of diversified landscapes.They highlight the landscapes'regional characteristics by being grounded in the local area,drawing inspiration from nature and transmitting humanistic charm. In the new era,the landscape aesthetics depicted in the poems were explored and inherited from the perspective of ancient Eight Views poetry.Moreover,key tasks like tourism development,rural revitalisation,and landscape restoration were integrated according to local conditions,which helps protect,inherit,develop and innovate Hainan Island's ancient Eight Views.