Exploring Ecological Wisdom of Traditional Human Settlements in a World Cultural Heritage Area: A Case Study of Dujiangyan Irrigation Area, Sichuan Province, China

Since the industrial revolution, the relationship between human and nature has not improved in line with technological and social innovations. In this paper, Dujiangyan irrigation area in the Chengdu Plain is selected as study subject. Historical comparative method is adopted to study the evolvement rule of ecological wisdom of human settlements. The results indicate that natural processes played a crucial role in determining human settlements in Dujiangyan irrigation area. Relationship between human and nature in these four phases reflects the transition from submission to nature through respect for nature, reconstruction of nature, and finally to the conquest of nature, respectively in the pre-construction period, original construction period, development period and modern period. The wisdom of the harmonious coexistence between social and natural systems has been revealed from the five aspects of the holistic view of Dao-Sheng-Wan-Wu (everything from the Tao), the practice view of Dao-Fa-Zi-Ran (following nature’s lead), the social view of sharing benefits across, the ethical view of Tao controls technology, and the good governance view of spontaneous order. Lastly, this paper points out several principles of landscape and urban planning in the presence of deep urban sustainability challenges: Coevolution of natural and social systems would help promote sustainability of human settlements; nature-guided human settlement practice can maintain various healthy life-support systems; maintain or reconstruct healthy natural process through planning practice; modular units should be constructed through integrating environmental management units with planned unit development; selfgovernance organizations could be fostered likely based on modular units; and finally but not lastly, some technology application should be subject to restriction of environmental ethics. 关键词: 世界文化遗产区;人类聚居;生态智慧;协同进化;都江堰灌区