溇、圩田与村落OA

Lou,literally means the'cut-off water-ways',is a common type of artificial waterways in the villages of Shaoxing,Zhejiang Province,serving as docking spaces for boats.Over centu-ries,lou have evolved from a practical solution for farmland drainage into integral parts of the regional landscape systems,such as the'Seventy-two Lou'in Dongpu Ancient Town.Together with stone bridges,taimen(vernacular dwellings typical of Shaoxing),and butou(piers),lou form the distinc-tive water town fabric of Shaoxing,collectively known as lou villages.Through the lens of lou,this article investigates these villages and their relation-ship with land-water management systems,such as weitian(polders).It further traces the development and operational logic of lou villages,and elucidates how lou,as fundamental spatial units,shape the water town fabric of Shaoxing.It further reveals that the enduring prosperity of the lou village land-scape system lies in its ability to meet the diverse needs of different groups across temporal and spa-tial dimensions.