Research on the spatiotemporal distribution and factors influencing intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province from a multiscale perspective

Abstract

The spatiotemporal distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province, China, and the factors that influence it were explored using multiple spatial scales. The samples include five batches of Chinese national-level and six batches of Chinese provincial-level intangible cultural heritage items, totaling 554. The samples involve city-scale, county-scale, and traditional dwellings, and the analysis uses various methods, such as gravity migration theory and the GeoDetector model. The results show that, in terms of historical timescales, the moving trajectory of the center of gravity of the intangible cultural heritage distribution in Fujian Province involves reciprocation from north to south, and the center moves south in time from the pre-Qin period to the modern period. Spatially, intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province forms an overall aggregate pattern, among which traditional skills fall into an aggregate pattern; five categories, including traditional drama, fall into an aggregate-random pattern; and four categories, including traditional medicine, fall into a random pattern. The traditional art category and other intensive distribution areas are located in coastal areas, and the traditional dance category is scattered in northwestern Fujian Province. Experiments on the factors influencing intangible cultural heritage distribution were conducted at the city and county levels. At the city level, human geography factors, such as the resident population, urbanization rate, and gross domestic product, have a greater influence on distribution. At the county level, the influence of physical geographical factors clearly increases. The dominant factors for coastal cities are the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), average precipitation, and coastline, and that for inland cities is elevation. From the perspective of categories, the dominant factors of traditional music and Quyi are human geography factors, and those of other types of intangible cultural heritage are the synergistic effects of physical geography and human geography. The conclusions of this study are helpful for systematically protecting and developing the intangible cultural heritage industry and improving research theories and methodological systems of the spatiotemporal distribution and mechanism influencing intangible cultural heritage.

Introduction

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) refers to practices, shows, performance forms, knowledge, and skills of cultural heritage and includes associated tools, objects, handicrafts, and cultural sites [1]. ICH is not only an accumulation of history and culture but also a source of cultural continuity. The “Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” promulgated by UNESCO in 2003 emphasized the "living" characteristics of intangible cultural heritage and proposed protecting ICH worldwide. The formation and continuation of the ICH in Fujian Province have been influenced by a series of natural and anthropogenic factors that have promoted the emergence, development, and evolution of Fujian culture. Natural factors, including elevation, landforms, vegetation, rivers, climate, and coastlines, have continuously affected ICH since the early days of civilization. As long-term influential factors, natural factors have a more significant impact on the development of culture, so factors affecting the distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Fujian must be considered. For example, Fujian is characterized by high mountains and proximity to the sea. High mountains block the flow of culture, but they also cause unique regional cultures to form. The emergence of marine culture is closely related to the distribution of coastlines. Human factors can influence the formation and migration of ICH quickly. Together with natural factors, human factors have created the cultural distribution pattern of modern society [2,3,4]. Human factors mainly include transportation, population, economic development, urbanization, residential zoning, and policies. By comprehensively understanding the distribution of human factors, we can obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the ICH in Fujian Province, thereby helping decision-makers in the field of planning propose targeted protection measures and providing theoretical support for the planning of ICH development. For example, due to the influence of topographical factors, traditional dances with strong local characteristics have been nurtured in traditional dwellings in northwestern Fujian. However, the protection of these ICHs faces multiple difficulties, such as remote geographical location, limited dissemination, and difficulty in integration with modern life. Therefore, we need to explore the factors influencing these ICHs and formulate corresponding protection measures on this basis. For example, increasing economic development can lay a solid foundation for the inheritance and protection of ICH, and adding local tourist attractions to attract more tourists can enhance dissemination and influence. These scientific initiatives will effectively promote the integration of ICH with modern society and contribute to the inheritance of ICH.

Existing research on ICH has focused mainly on the perspectives of anthropology, folklore, sociology, and other disciplines. Research methods, such as literature induction, case studies, sampling surveys, model simulations, and other methods, are mainly qualitative. Previous research has focused on conceptual connotations [5,6,7], utilization value [8,9,10,11,12], protection and development [13,14,15,16,17], tourism development [18,19,20, 20,21,22,23], etc. These studies have discussed the connotations and extended application of ICH from conception to implementation. However, since the sustainable development of ICHs is affected by the external environment, such as regional culture and global societal evolution [24, 25], it is highly important to explore the overall spatiotemporal characteristics and factors driving ICHs. The origin of intangible cultural heritage depends on the culture of the region where it is located. Expanding the research on ICH from the perspective of geography can closely link it with ecology and society, promote the construction of cultural ecological reserves and the integrated preservation of ICH [26,27,28], and break the traditional single "academic discipline" approach [16]. Temporal evolution, spatial patterns, and influential factors have become research foci in this field [29,30,31,32,33].

There are two main types of temporally focused studies of ICH. One type is based on the groups of submissions, and the other is the historical period in which the ICH formed. Chang analyzed the changes in the spatial distribution of five groups of national intangible cultural heritage resources in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2021 and concluded that the ethnic intangible cultural heritage of each group of submissions moved from northeast to southwest [34]. However, the changing patterns of intangible cultural heritage originating from different historical periods cannot be presented from this perspective. Xu and Wang explored the evolution of the ICH of the Tomb-Sweeping Day from the Republic of China to the period of reform and opening up and concluded that changes in the political system and folk customs resulted in the evolution of the Tomb-Sweeping Day [35].

In terms of spatial patterns, the distribution of ICHs has been analyzed at global [36], national [18], provincial [30], and other scales. Dippon found that the spatial distribution of global intangible cultural heritage was seriously unbalanced, and there were a large number of items in Europe and Asia [29]. Nie et al. reported that the spatial distribution of traditional Chinese medicine-related ICHs is aggregated overall, with a tendency to cluster and a strongly imbalanced distribution, forming two high-density clusters in the Beijing-Tianjin and Zhejiang-Shanghai areas [37]. Yuan et al. reported that the ICHs in Hunan Province, China, exhibited spatial agglomeration and were concentrated in plain and hilly areas with long histories and rich cultures [38]. Moreover, the analyzed unit is generally an administrative division [20], which separates regions with the same origin, folklore, and language to a certain extent and ignores the correlation between intangible cultural heritage and regional culture.

From the perspective of driving factors, research methods have gradually shifted from early qualitative descriptions to quantitative analysis, and the GeoDetector method, which specifically reveals spatial heterogeneity and can provide a more quantitative interpretation of the relationships among geographical phenomena, has been used in this field [36,37,38,39,40]. Wang and Zhan qualitatively described the influence of terrain, topography, climate, and rivers in Shaanxi Province and noted that the geographical environment was the most fundamental and important factor [39]. The statistical method can quantitatively describe the correlation between the driving factors and the ICH. For example, Xiao used the IPA regression method to analyze the correlation degree between each industry and the intangible cultural heritage tourism industry [40]. However, it is still difficult for statistical methods, such as regression analysis, to reveal the influence of each factor and its mechanism of influence spatially. Therefore, GeoDetector and other methods began to be applied in studies of the explanatory power of factors affecting the distribution of ICH, and it was concluded that the spatial distribution of ICH in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei was most affected by economic development and social culture, while the impact of the physical environment was relatively small [41]. The analyzed scales of influential factors are mostly city, province [30, 38], region [37, 41], and country [18, 21], but few studies have used multiple scales to evaluate influential factors.

Fujian is a typical region with a long history and strong compatibility. By integrating Central Plains culture and marine culture and merging local culture and foreign culture, China has formed distinctive regional cultures and produced rich and distinctive types of ICH. Fujian is the only province in China to be included in the directory of Three sequences of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage. Fujian is in an advantageous geographical position with crisscrossing mountains and proximity to the sea. The physical geographical features of the mountainous coast have influenced the cultural evolution of Fujian. High mountains isolate cultural exchange but protect cultural uniqueness at the same time and influence regional development characteristics. The sea has created favorable conditions for economic development and external communication. In ancient times, Fujian was the birthplace of the Maritime Silk Road. At that time, overseas trade flourished, and society was prosperous and enlightening. The predominant material conditions promote the development of spiritual civilization. Therefore, in this study, we focus on intangible cultural heritage items in Fujian Province and use a multiscale analysis to explore the patterns of spatiotemporal change and factors driving ICH. The main research objectives include the following:

• (1)We aim to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of the ICH from the pre-Qin dynasty to the modern era in Fujian Province via the standard deviation ellipse and gravity model.

• (2)We aim to explore the spatial distribution of ICH from the perspective of geography. The nearest neighbor index and kernel density estimation are used to analyze the distribution characteristics overall, as well as various types of traditional dwellings.

• (3)We aim to determine the mechanism influencing the spatial distribution of ICH. Combined with the GeoDetector method, the influence of natural and human geographical factors on various ICH types is explored at the city and county scales.

The research results are helpful for the construction of urban culture and the formulation of the tourism industry in Fujian Province, and they promote the sustainability of culture, economy, society, and ecology in Fujian Province. The results can also be applied to other relevant research on ICH and provide theoretical support for the protection, utilization, and inheritance of marine intangible cultural heritage.

Research area and data source

Study area

Fujian has a large number and variety of ICHs, especially in Xiamen and Quanzhou city, and they are highly densely distributed. Figure 1 shows the spatial distribution of the ten categories of ICH. Fujian Province (115°50′ ~ 120°43′E, 23°31′ ~ 28°18′N) is located on the southeastern coast of China and has a subtropical monsoon climate. The total area of Fujian Province is 124,000 km². Fujian Province has abundant natural resources, and its forest coverage rate is 66.8%, which ranks first in China. In 2020, the population and GDP were 41.61 million and 4390389 billion yuan, respectively. Fujian is surrounded by mountains and bordered by the sea. The two mountain ranges, the Wuyi Mountains in the west and the Jiufeng Mountain–Daiyun Mountain–Boping ridge in the middle, cover approximately 80% of the area in the province. In addition, basins are present between these mountains, dividing Fujian into individual geographical units. Bordering the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the marine resources have created the rich marine culture of Fujian. Its winding coastline is 3324 km long, the length of which ranks second in China. There are many good ports, such as Fuzhou Port and Quanzhou Port. Fujian has many river systems, with a river network density of 0.1 km/km². The rivers that flow through Fujian are the seats of the ancient "Min" area.

Fig. 1

Distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province

Data source and preprocessing

The intangible cultural heritage data and natural, social, and economic data of Fujian Province were collected from the following sources (Table 1):

Table 1 Research data and sources

The data of ICH and its additional items are from the official website of the Fujian Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center; the data include 662 items in five national groups and six provincial groups. Among them, there are 145 national ICH items (including 2 world-class ICH items) and 517 provincial items (including 1 item of world-class ICH and 137 items of national ICH), totaling 554 items after preprocessing. The preprocessing principles are as follows: (1) The 19 provincial items are not included because of the difficulty of location. (2) The relatively small number of 8 world-class items are not included in the statistics. (3) The highest level should be applied to the same intangible cultural heritage item at different levels. (4) The same items distributed in different areas should be divided according to cultural protection units. According to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List, all processed ICH data are divided into ten categories: folk literature, folk custom, traditional music, traditional dance, traditional drama, Quyi, traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics, traditional art, traditional medicine, and traditional handicraft.

Methods

The technical route mainly includes the following steps, the first is the temporal and spatial analysis of ICH. Distribution data of ICH in Fujian and the influencing factors data of natural and humanistic were selected in our experiments. Several methods, such as Standard Deviation Ellipse, Center of gravity migration model, Nearest Neighbor Index, and Kernel Density Estimation were used to reveal the spatiotemporal pattern. Then, the analysis of influencing factors and mechanisms of ICH was implemented through the GeoDetector, and multi-factors including natural, cultural, historical, and ecological factors were considered. Finally, a targeted protection strategy is proposed. The detailed methods used in each step are shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Research framework

Standard deviation ellipse

The standard deviation ellipse can present the spatial pattern, dispersion and agglomeration status, and the dynamic process of changes in the distribution of ICH points [41]. The formula is as follows:

$$SDE_{x} = \sqrt {\frac{{\mathop \sum \nolimits_{i = 1}^{n} \left( {x_{i} - \overline{X}} \right)^{2} }}{n}} ,SDE_{y} = \sqrt {\frac{{\mathop \sum \nolimits_{i = 1}^{n} \left( {y_{i} - \overline{Y}} \right)^{2} }}{n}}$$

(1)

where $\left( {\overline{x},\overline{y}} \right)$ is the coordination of spatial unit i; $\overline{X}$ and $\overline{Y}$ represent the average coordination of all units $i$; and $n$ is the total number of samples. The angle of the direction is calculated as follows:

$$\begin{array}{c}tan\theta =\frac{\left(\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{x}}_{i}^{2}-\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{y}}_{i}^{2}\right)+\sqrt{{\left(\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{x}}_{i}^{2}-\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{y}}_{i}^{2}\right)}^{2}+4{\left(\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{x}}_{i}{\widetilde{y}}_{i}\right)}^{2}}}{2\sum_{i=1}^{n}{\widetilde{x}}_{i}{\widetilde{y}}_{i}}\end{array}$$

(2)

where ${\widetilde{x}}_{i}$ and ${\widetilde{y}}_{i}$ are the coordinate deviations between the ith unit and the average center, respectively.

Center of gravity model

The center of gravity model is an important method for analyzing spatial evolution patterns. The movement trajectory of the center of gravity can indicate the process of spatial change in the ICH during different periods and can reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of the ICH [42]. The formula for the center of gravity is as follows:

$$\begin{array}{c}\overline{x }=\frac{\sum_{i}^{n}{m}_{i}{x}_{i}}{\sum_{i}^{n}{m}_{i}}, \overline{y }=\frac{\sum_{i}^{n}{m}_{i}{y}_{i}}{\sum_{i}^{n}{m}_{i}}\end{array}$$

(3)

where $\left( {\overline{x},\overline{y}} \right)$ represents the coordinates of the regional center of gravity; (${x}_{i},{y}_{i}$) represents the coordinates of the i th unit; and ${m}_{i}$ is a certain attribute value of the $i$ th subregion.

Nearest neighbor index

The nearest neighbor index is the ratio of the actual average nearest neighbor distance to the theoretical average distance. Theoretical values were obtained when the samples within the observation distance were extremely randomly distributed [20]. The formula is as follows:

$$\begin{array}{c}NNI=\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{N}\frac{{\text{min}(d}_{ij})}{N}}{0.5\sqrt{\left(\frac{A}{N}\right)}}\end{array}$$

(4)

where $min\left( {\mathop d\nolimits_{ij} } \right)$ indicates the distance between the $i$ th ICH point and its nearest neighbor ICH point; $N$ is the total number of intangible cultural heritage sites; and $A$ is the gross area of the study region. It is generally accepted that $NNI$≤0.5 represents an aggregated distribution, 0.5 < $NNI$≤0.8 represents an agglomeration-random distribution, 0.8 < $NN\text{I}$<1.2 represents a random distribution, 1.2 ≤ $NNI$<1.5 represents a random-discrete distribution, and $NNI$≥1.5 represents a uniform distribution.

Kernel density estimation

Kernel density estimation is a nonparametric method that uses a smooth peak function, namely, a kernel function, to fit data points and simulate the true probability distribution curve. It can be used to explore the spatial agglomeration degree of ICH points [38]. The formula is as follows:

$$\begin{array}{c}{\widehat{f}}_{h}\left(x\right)=\frac{1}{nh}\sum_{i=1}^{n}K\left(\frac{X-{X}_{i}}{h}\right)\end{array}$$

(5)

where ${X}_{1}$,…,${X}_{n}$ are the sample points extracted from the population, $x$ is an arbitrary point in space, and ${\widehat{f}}_{h}\left(x\right)$ is the estimated value of $x$.

GeoDetector

GeoDetector is a method used to explore the spatial stratified heterogeneity of geographical features and reveal the driving factors behind them, which have clear physical meanings. The results c can reflect the explanatory power of stratification or classification for dependent variables [43]. The formula is as follows:

$$\begin{array}{c}q=1-\frac{{\sum }_{h=1}^{L}{N}_{h}{\sigma }_{h}^{2}}{{N\sigma }^{2}}=1-\frac{SSW}{SST}\end{array}$$

(6)

$$\begin{array}{c}SSW={\sum }_{h=1}^{L}{N}_{h}{\sigma }_{h}^{2}, STT={N\sigma }^{2}\end{array}$$

(7)

where $SSW$ is the sum of variance within strata, $SST$ is the total variance of the whole area, $L$ is the stratification of dependent variables or factors, and ${N}_{h}\text{ and }N$ denote the number of units in strata $h$ and in the whole region, respectively. ${\sigma }_{h}^{2}$ and ${\sigma }^{2}$ denote the variance of stratum $h$ and dependent variable $Y$ of the whole region, respectively. The value of the q-statistic is within [0,1], and the larger the q-statistic is, the more obvious the spatial heterogeneity is, and the stronger the explanatory power of impact factors on the spatial distribution of ICH is.

Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of ICH in Fujian Province

Temporal distribution characteristics

Obtaining the distribution characteristics from a temporal perspective helps reveal the mechanism influencing historical factors and their effect on the origin of the ICH. The changes in number among different historical periods reflect the rise and fall of the history of various types of ICHs, while the center of gravity and its trajectory record the factors influencing historical events, cultural changes, population concentration, and economic development.

Distribution of ICHs in seven historical periods

In light of the development and transformation of culture, Fujian's history can be divided into three phases: formation and rise, prosperity and development, and decline from prosperity. According to the cultural characteristics of different historical periods, the original period of ICH in Fujian can be further divided into seven periods: the Pre-Qin period, the Han and Jin Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and modern times. There were 543 items whose origin time could be identified according to the origin time of ICH, accounting for 98% of the total (Table 2).

Table 2 The quantitative distribution of various types of intangible cultural heritage in Fujian during the historical period

The formation and rise phase included three historical periods: the pre-Qin period, the Han and Jin Dynasties, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the pre-Qin period, the number and types of ICHs were the lowest due to the sparse population and blocked traffic. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, shipbuilding and navigation technology promoted overseas trade and cultural exchanges [44], and the number and types of ICHs began to increase. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, 110 new items were added, which was a greater increase than that in the previous phase. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the political relationship between central Fujian and the Central Plains of China has changed from confrontation to reconciliation, and the stability of the political pattern has led to economic and cultural development. With the war of the late Tang Dynasty causing a massive influx of people into Fujian, the culture of the Central Plains and Minyue gradually merged [45]. At the same time, the government encouraged overseas trade, resulting in the formation of several shops and thriving trade. During this period, traditional handicraft, folk custom, and traditional art were the majority, and the amount of traditional art peaked at this time, with typical representatives such as Zhangpu paper-cutting, Quanzhou lantern, Quanzhou wood carving, and Putian wood carving.

The prosperity and development phases included the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and there were 112 ICHs. Since the Song Dynasty, the center of the national economy has moved south, and the maritime trade of Fujian Province has also undergone unprecedented development [46]. The culture of Fujian was highly prosperous, with a large amount of talent and a prominent cultural status. At this time, Fujian culture was named Min culture because Min is the abbreviation for Fujian Province. This laid the foundation for acquiring knowledge through investigating the cultural characteristics of items. During the Yuan Dynasty, maritime trade was encouraged, and a variety of religions arrived, and thus, the title of a "museum of religions" was earned. The inclusive and open attitude of Fujian Province led to a peak in the integration of foreign cultures. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, intangible cultural heritage was produced in large quantities, and folk customs were the most common in each period. Among them, the customs and beliefs of Mazu, which was honored as “the Goddess of the Sea”, and Zhu Zi's festival, which was in memory of the thinker Chu His, are typical representatives.

The decline from the prosperous phase included three historical periods—the Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and modern times—with 146, 111, and 31 items, respectively. The Ming Dynasty began to implement the sea ban policy [47], and coastal residents began to engage in a large number of private maritime trade activities under livelihood pressures. In particular, Moon Port in Zhangzhou city was a representative port that produced traditional handicrafts, such as the watertight bulkhead technology of Fujian shipbuilding. At the same time, restrictions on sailing led to the significant development of performing arts, such as the unprecedented prosperity of traditional drama, traditional music, and traditional dance. Later, due to war and turmoil, residents in southern and eastern Fujian moved from the coastal plain inland. Quyi developed rapidly along with the migration of the population, known as the "Yong’an Singing Flowers". During the Qing Dynasty, there were 111 ICH items. Due to the gradual decline of the shipbuilding industry and overseas cultural exchanges, economic and cultural strength decreased, and the number of ICH items also declined slightly. During this period, most were traditional handicrafts. In addition, the production of traditional sports, recreation, and acrobatics, such as Xiang-dian Quan and Yongtai Huzhuan Quan, peaked due to the frequent movements of Anti-Qing during the Ming Dynasty [48]. The number of ICHs that has originated in modern times was 31, which was relatively small. Because of the short period, social unrest and the external environment, the ICH formation was limited.

Overall, the incidence of ICH first increased but then decreased. Among them, the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties had many ICHs. Economic prosperity, cultural diversity, policy support, and social stability are more likely to prompt diverse types of ICH.

Migration of the center of gravity of ICH distribution

From the pre-Qin period to modern times, the center of gravity of ICH presented a north–south trend but moved southward overall, and it is mainly in Fuzhou and Quanzhou (Fig. 3a, b). The center of gravity was first in Fuzhou city; then, it moved back and forth between Fuzhou and Quanzhou in various periods, and finally, it moved south to Quanzhou city. The shift in the center of gravity of ICH is closely related to changes in the regional pattern of politics, economy, and culture during different periods.

Fig. 3

Diagram of the center of gravity of intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province

In the pre-Qin period, the center of gravity was located in Fuzhou city, and most of the ICHs were distributed in the area to the north of Mulan Creek. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, the center of gravity moved south to Quanzhou city because the Han Chinese residents in the Central Plains continued to move south, and the Central Plains culture also began to spread southeast. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as a new starting point for Fujian's cultural development, the center of gravity of intangible cultural heritage moved north to the vicinity of the junction of Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and Putian. Putian city became the most developed area in Fujian, and its cultural development flourished from this time onward. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, influenced by flourishing Neo-Confucianism in northern Fujian, the center of gravity moved to the northwest and was located at the junction of Fuzhou and Quanzhou. During the Ming Dynasty, the port trade in southern Fujian flourished, especially the private maritime trade in the Moon port of Zhangzhou city. Rapid economic development changed the weak cultural foundation, so the center of gravity moved south to Quanzhou city. In the late Ming Dynasty, the position of Moon Port was gradually replaced, and the economy of southern Fujian began to decline. During the Qing Dynasty, Fuzhou city placed equal emphasis on domestic and foreign trade and overhauled academies, becoming the center of Fujian culture and ICH distribution. In modern times, the cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou opened their doors to trade; the Maritime Silk Road was opened; Quanzhou paper-cutting, Quanzhou puppet sculpture, and other arts became widespread throughout the world; and the center of gravity eventually moved south to Quanzhou city.

There were significant differences in the distribution range and directionality of ICH during different periods (Fig. 3c). Among them, the standard deviation ellipse in the Ming and Qing dynasties was large, and the oblateness was small, indicating that the ICH in this period was widely distributed and had strong directionality. From the Sui and Tang Dynasties to modern times, the axis of the standard deviation ellipse in the x-axis direction was consistent with the direction of the coastline, which confirms that the development of Fujian's ICH depends on vigorous marine culture. During the Pre-Qin period and the Han and Jin Dynasties, the long axis of the ellipse tended north–south, showing a trend toward an inland origin. This is because the maritime trade was not sufficiently developed and the population was not large; thus, ICHs mainly depended on terrain, topography, and other factors and were mainly distributed in inland areas where the terrain was flat, near water sources, and conducive to human survival.

Spatial distribution characteristics

Spatial distribution pattern

The nearest neighbor index can be used to reveal the spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage. When the NNI ≤ 0.5, it indicates a clustered distribution. Fujian’s ICH showed a significant overall aggregated distribution, and the nearest neighbor index was 0.281 (Table 3). From the perspective of cultural types, traditional handicraft shows a significant aggregated distribution. Quyi, traditional art, traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics, traditional drama, and traditional music present a random aggregated distribution. Folk literature, folk custom, traditional dance, and traditional medicine are randomly distributed. Among them, the nearest neighbor index of folk literature is the highest.

Table 3 Spatial distribution of ICH in Fujian Province

Regional distribution of ICH

The "living" characteristics of ICHs are comprehensively influenced by population migration and cultural integration. This section introduces traditional dwellings into the spatial analysis of the ICH to reveal the relationships between spatial agglomeration characteristics and population migration, cultural transmission, and ethnic division. Compared with administrative partitions, traditional dwellings have a better spatial coupling relationship with the distribution of ICHs, thereby helping to reveal the mechanism governing the regional characteristics of Fujian’s ICH. For example, the traditional dance in northwestern Fujian, with three gathering areas, completely coincides with that of western Fujian, northwestern Fujian, and the traditional Hakka dwellings. When administrative divisions are adopted, the three focal areas are separated by Nanping and Sanming cities, thereby destroying the integrity of intangible cultural heritage.

When the kernel density estimation results of Fujian ICH and traditional dwellings were overlaid, dense, and relatively dense areas appeared in southern Fujian, eastern Fujian, and Puxian traditional dwelling areas. The relatively sparse areas are distributed in the traditional dwelling areas of northern Fujian, central Fujian, and Hakka (Fig. 4a), and other areas are sparse. In general, the dense and relatively dense areas are mainly distributed in the eastern coastal areas and have a banded distribution, while several cluster-like agglomeration areas are scattered in western Fujian.

Fig. 4

Distribution characteristics of ICHs in Fujian Province: a All; b traditional handicraft; c folk custom; d traditional drama; e traditional music; f traditional dance; g traditional art; h traditional sports, recreation, and acrobatics; i traditional medicine; j folk literature; k Quyi

The economy and culture of the Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and Zhangzhou regions peaked in Fujian via well-developed navigation activities, which provided superior conditions for ICH inheritance. Therefore, all kinds of intangible cultural heritage are relatively common in coastal areas, with obvious spatial differences. Traditional handicrafts, traditional drama, folk custom, traditional music, and traditional dance are widely distributed, and there are large dense and relatively dense areas in the traditional dwelling areas of southern Fujian, Puxian, and eastern Fujian (Fig. 4b–f). The main areas of traditional handicrafts and dramas are in the traditional dwelling areas of southern Fujian and eastern Fujian. The populations in southern Fujian and eastern Fujian are relatively dense. On the one hand, traditional handicrafts have been produced in large numbers under crowded conditions and have been constantly improved, innovated, and preserved. On the other hand, there are many good ports in southern and eastern Fujian, and the prosperity of overseas trade promoted the export of handicraft products and gave rise to the firing technology of Dehua porcelain and other skills. Among traditional dramas, Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, Gezia Opera, Quanzhou Marionette, Zhangzhou cloth puppet, etc., are well preserved and are mainly distributed in the traditional dwellings of southern Fujian and eastern Fujian. Folk customs are mainly concentrated in traditional dwellings in southern Fujian and Puxian. Famous ICHs include Mazu belief and Mazu ceremony, which reflect coastal residents' worship and belief in the god of marine protection. Traditional music and dance are concentrated in the traditional dwellings of southern Fujian, Puxian, and eastern Fujian, and traditional dance has three main distribution areas in the traditional dwellings of northern Fujian, Hakka, and northwestern Fujian. Surrounded by mountains in the central and western parts of Fujian, there are basins in the middle that are not connected. Such topography has led to the preservation of the originality of local culture. For example, the Hakka residential area has formed a unique local culture, such as the Datianban Lantern Dragon and Dayuan Exorcism Dance in Taining County.

Traditional art, traditional medicine, traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics, folk literature, and Quyi are distributed sparsely. There are several relatively small main areas in southern Fujian, eastern Fujian, and central Fujian (Fig. 4g–k). The main areas of traditional sports, recreation, acrobatics, and traditional medicine are relatively similar and are located in the traditional dwelling areas of southern Fujian and eastern Fujian. These two areas once have prosperous economies and culture in Fujian, with rich cultural traditional Chinese medicinal resources. Traditional arts are mainly distributed in southern Fujian and Puxian, represented by paper cutting, Huian stone carving, Putian wood carving, and the Quanzhou lantern. Quyi and folk literature are densely distributed in the traditional dwelling areas of southern Fujian. Quyi came into being with the migration and settlement of the population and simultaneously incorporated the artistic elements of other operas. Finally, Puxian Opera, Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, Fujian Opera, and other local operas formed. As a place where marine culture and foreign culture blend, Fujian provided a good environment for the inception of folk literature.

The factors influencing the Fujian ICH distribution

Evaluation index system of influential factors

The factors influencing the spatiotemporal distribution of ICHs are dimensional and are related to the geospatial attributes of the natural environment and the cultural spatial attributes generated by human activities. To a certain extent, the factors reflect the geographic research paradigm embodying the relationship between humans and land. In this study, the natural and human geographical characteristics of Fujian Province are comprehensively considered; 11 index types are selected, such as terrain and topography, which are refined into 16 representative factors; and the influential factor system of ICH distribution is constructed (Table 4). The elevation, normalized difference vegetation index, average annual precipitation, and average annual temperature factors are expressed according to the calculated means of county-level administrative areas. According to the Geomorphologic Atlas of the People's Republic of China, Fujian consists of six types of landforms: plains, platforms, hills, small undulating mountains, medium undulating mountains, and large undulating mountains. The river factor is described by the number of ICHs in the stream buffer areas of each county. Ten rivers are selected: the Min River, the Chiu-lung River, the Tingjiang River, the Zhangjiang River, the Mulan Stream, and the Longjiang River. The buffer distance is set to 20 km. The coastline factor is calculated in the same way as the river factor. The climatic regionalization factors are classified into three categories by secondary climate zoning in China. The Oujiang River-Min River-Nanling District has a central subtropical humid climate, and the Jiangnan District and Minnan-Zhujiang River District have a southern subtropical humid climate. The factors of traffic, population, GDP, and urbanization rate are expressed by roads in various counties in Fujian, traffic mileage, permanent population, GDP value, and urbanization rate value in 2020, respectively. Influential factor analysis adopts a 5 × 5 km² spatial resolution for resampling and obtains 4898 sample points in total. All influential factors are resampled, with a spatial resolution of 5 × 5 km², and 4898 samples are obtained in our experiment.

Table 4 Factors influencing ICH incidence in Fujian Province

Analysis of influential factors at the city scale

The mechanism influencing the ICH distribution is revealed via the factor and differentiation detector, i.e., the GeoDetector model, in this section. The results show that both natural and human geographical factors are significantly correlated with the distribution of ICHs, and the influence of human geographical factors is stronger than that of natural geographical factors (Table 5). The factors with explanatory power (q-statistic) from strong to weak are permanent population, urbanization rate, GDP, elevation, river, average annual precipitation, average annual temperature, NDVI, coastline, highway mileage, traditional dwellings, policy orientation, number of historical and cultural towns and villages, number of museums, climatic planning, and landform. The dominant factors are permanent population, urbanization rate, and GDP.

Table 5 Results of the analysis of the factors influencing intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province

Among the human geographical factors, the permanent population, urbanization rate, and GDP have the strongest influences on the distribution of ICH, all of which exceed 30%. Human activities form the basis of the origin of ICH, and the aggregated distribution of the population is an important factor in the generation and development of ICH. Since the Tang Dynasty, the population has continued to move southward, leading to the development of the Fujian region. By the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the outline of Fujian had roughly formed, and it gradually became a civilized and enlightened place. The immigration of a large number of people has accelerated the integration of foreign and local cultures that have gradually developed into various types of local cultures. The influence of the urbanization rate is 35.8%. The urbanization process promotes changes in the form of settlement and the gradual formation of settlements into regional economic centers. A relatively high economic level is a material guarantee of people's lives and stimulates residents' pursuit of spiritual life. For example, the economically developed Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and Xiamen have become the areas where ICHs have accumulated.

The influence of natural geographical factors is less than that of human geographical factors, but elevation and rivers also strongly influence the distribution of ICHs in Fujian. The percentages of ICH points with average elevations less than 200 m, 200 ~ 500 m, and more than 500 m are 40%, 33%, and 27%, respectively. This indicates that plain areas are conducive to human settlement and easily generate and spread culture. The influence of the river factor is 32.4%. Water sources are necessary for people's production and life. There are often more traditional dwellings near rivers, so it is easier to cluster ICH sites. Within the 20 km buffer zone of ten major rivers in Fujian, 384 ICHs are present, accounting for 69% of the total number of ICHs.

The influence of other factors is less than 30%. The average annual precipitation and temperature in Fujian are 28.5% and 23.6%, respectively. Precipitation and temperature are often closely related to the production and life of residents. In particular, typhoons and other climatic disasters often occur near coastal areas, leading to the custom of seeking blessings from sea gods, such as in Mazu beliefs and customs. The influence of the NDVI is 21.6%. As the area with the highest forest coverage rate in China, Fujian produced many ICHs via wood in the early years, such as the traditional Chinese construction technique of wooden arch bridges and the traditional wood carving technique. The driving force of the coastline factor is 17.3%. Fujian’s land coastline ranks second in China, and it has the highest zigzag rate in the country. The dense ICH areas are concentrated near the coastline. The influence of the traffic factor is 16.8%. Convenient transportation can promote the exchange and development of ICHs. The influence of traditional dwellings is 16% because Fujian culture has distinctive regional characteristics; for example, the Hakka culture has produced the Hakka Earth Building construction technique. The existence of cultural facilities, such as museums and historical and cultural towns and villages, provides opportunities for the substantive promotion and protection of ICH. The influence of policy direction is 14%. By promulgating relevant regulations and laws or propagating ICH activities, the government can improve the ICH protection system and strengthen public participation in ICH protection.

Study on the factors influencing ICH at the county scale

Compared with the influential factors at the city scale, there are obvious differences in the number of responses and dominant types of each factor on the distribution of ICHs at the county scale (Fig. 5). First, the number of response factors at the county scale ranges from 10 to 14, which is slightly less than that at the city scale. The impacts of factors, such as policy orientation and coastlines, can be ignored. Second, at the city scale, human geographical factors, such as the permanent population, are the dominant factors, while at the county level, the response of natural geographical factors, such as elevation, is increasing, indicating that natural factors in small areas have a greater impact on the distribution of ICH.

Fig. 5

Explanatory power of the dominant factors of intangible cultural heritage at the county scale

The leading factors of the nine cities in Fujian Province are also different. The first and second dominant factors for the noncoastal cities of Sanming, Nanping, and Longyan are elevation and highway mileage. Since the three cities are all dominated by mountains and hills, the topographic conditions limit the increase in kilometer mileage, instead making the preservation of original folk culture, such as She Nationality clothing and Huian women's clothing, more complete. The dominant factors of coastal cities are mostly the NDVI, average temperature, average precipitation, and elevation. Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Ningde are greatly affected by the NDVI. The distribution of ICHs is lower in areas with high NDVI values, indicating that high vegetation coverage decreases the space for ICH survival. The influences of temperature and precipitation on Putian and Zhangzhou cannot be ignored. Typhoons and other climate disasters are important factors affecting production activities, such as fishing in marine coastal areas.

Studies on the explanatory power of various types of ICH factors

The dominant factors of various types of ICH are similar to those at the city scale, showing that the influence of human geographical factors is greater than that of natural geographical factors (Fig. 6). The gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization rate, and permanent population are the three most common dominant factors of various types of ICH. Human geographical factors are often derived from natural geographical human activities, which directly affect the inheritance and dissemination of ICH items. Therefore, the human geographical factor is a key aspect to consider in the conservation of ICH.

Fig. 6

Frequency of the main dominant factors of various types of intangible cultural heritage

The dominant factors are different among the various types of ICH. The dominant factors of traditional music and Quyi are the urbanization rate, highway mileage, GDP and urbanization rate, GDP, and permanent population, respectively, all of which are human geographical factors. The other types are influenced by both natural and human geographical factors. Traditional art places particular stress on the influence of natural geographical factors, while traditional handicrafts, folk customs, and traditional dramas place particular stress on the influence of human geographical factors. The categories of dominant factors of various types are different from those of city dominant factors. Only two categories have human geographical factors as dominant factors, while all the other categories have synergistic effects of natural and human geographical factors. Various types of ICH are significantly affected by natural conditions. For example, elevation and the NDVI have become the dominant factors of traditional art, elevation has become one of the dominant factors of traditional drama, traditional dance, and folk literature, and rivers have become the first dominant factor of folk customs (Fig. 7). As the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage reflects the inheritance between people, the relationship between people must be taken into consideration within the scope of nature. The influence of nature on several types of ICHs is particularly important, thus giving rise to Fujian folk customs distributed close to rivers, such as the Zhou Ning carp creek fish protection custom and the Yanxi Kyutang sacrificial custom.

Fig. 7

Explanatory power of factors on various types of intangible cultural heritage

Discussion

Comparison with similar studies

Fujian Province is the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. It integrated inland and overseas cultures and gave rise to the marine culture of southern Fujian, the Hakka culture of western Fujian, and the Sanshan culture of central Fujian, etc., and its culture has significant regional characteristics. Fujian Province is the only province in China that has been included in the "Three sequences of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage". It has five groups of national and six groups of provincial ICH lists, with a total of 662 items and ten types. It is a typical area for studies of marine ICHs. Considering the regional cultural characteristics of Fujian Province, in this paper, the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of ICH in Fujian Province are analyzed from a geographical perspective, and the mechanism influencing ICH distribution is discussed.

The development of ICH is closely related to the analysis of cultural conditions in historical periods. Liu [33] counted the number of ICHs of ancient Qin-Shu roads in prehistoric times, pre-Qin period, Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties and modern times. It was concluded that the number of ICHs in each historical period was unevenly distributed, with "three rising and three falling", with the largest number occurring in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In this study, the historical rise and fall of Fujian Province is divided into three stages: formation and rise (pre-Qin period, Han and Jin Dynasties, and Sui and Tang Dynasties), prosperity and development (Song and Yuan Dynasties), and peak and decline (Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and modern times). It is concluded that the number of ICHs increased with the prosperity of culture and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The time scale is divided into two dimensions, cultural prosperity and historical dynasties, which are helpful for further exploring the correlation between cultural development and the origin of the ICH.

In terms of the spatial distribution characteristics, the agglomeration degree and distribution characteristics overall and for various types of ICHs in Fujian were analyzed, and a correlation analysis was performed with the cultural regions. At present, most studies on spatial distribution use administrative boundaries as the analyzed units [49], which divides the spatial coupling relationship between regional culture and the distribution of ICH. By taking cultural division as the analyzed unit to discuss the distribution characteristics of various types of ICH, the influence of local origin, customs, and language on the distribution of ICH can be more comprehensively considered. All ICHs in Fujian exhibit significant aggregation. The dense and relatively dense areas are distributed in the coastal southern Fujian, eastern Fujian, and Puxian traditional dwellings, which is consistent with Marzeion and Levermann's [50] conclusion that world cultural heritage sites are clustered near coastlines. Xu documented nine types of ICHs in Sichuan Province, including traditional techniques, traditional art and folk literature. The analysis revealed that the overall distribution of ICHs shows outward distribution characteristics, with Chengdu as the center, and there is a lack of analysis on the distribution of various ICH types [35]. In addition to the nine types mentioned above, Fujian also has traditional sports, recreation, and acrobatics. The distribution of different types of ICH in dense and relatively dense areas is greatly influenced by regional culture. The agglomeration areas of traditional handicrafts and traditional dramas are distributed in southern Fujian and eastern Fujian traditional dwellings; folk custom and traditional art are distributed in southern Fujian and Puxian traditional dwellings; traditional music and traditional dance are concentrated in southern Fujian, Puxian and eastern Fujian traditional dwellings; traditional sports, recreation, acrobatics and traditional medicine are distributed in southern Fujian and eastern Fujian traditional dwellings; and Quyi and folk literature are densely distributed in southern Fujian traditional dwellings.

When GeoDetector has been used to explore the causes of ICH distribution in previous studies, the influence of various factors on the overall ICH in the study area has mostly been analyzed from a macro-perspective [41]. In this study, three analytical perspectives are selected: the city scale, the county scale, and various types of ICH. At the city scale, the influence of human geographical factors is greater than that of natural geographical factors, and the dominant factors are population, urbanization rate, and GDP. The research conclusions coincide with Yang's discovery that population and GDP are important factors influencing the distribution of ICH in the Grand Canal [28, 31, 43, 51]. At the county scale, it is concluded that the degree to which natural geographical factors respond increases. Natural factors in small areas have a greater influence on ICH, and natural factors are the source of influence on ICH [39]. On the scale of different types of ICH, the dominant factors of different types of ICH are different. For example, elevation is the dominant factor in the ICH of traditional dance, and the barrier of high mountains has produced distinctive national cultures. Exploring the dominant factors affecting the distribution of ICH from different analytical perspectives will help decision-makers protect and develop ICH in a more targeted way.

Practical implications and suggestions

At present, geographical methods, such as spatial analysis and visual expression, which can more clearly reflect the spatial characteristics of research content, have been applied in an increasing number of subject area studies [22, 26, 52]. In this study, geographical research theories and methods are introduced to the study of the Fujian ICH, and the spatial–temporal evolution patterns and the mechanism of influential factors are obtained. It is helpful to clarify the context of traditional Chinese culture and better highlight the regional characteristics of the Fujian ICH. ICH has no specific carrier and is easily affected by external factors during the process of inheritance. Therefore, the influence of natural and human factors on the distribution of ICHs during mining, inheritance, and protection of ICHs needs to be considered. In terms of natural geography, attention should be given to ecosystem protection to provide a safe ecological barrier for the development of ICHs. Considering the rich ecological resources and abundant marine resources in Fujian, appropriate development and comprehensive application are needed to highlight the cultural characteristics of Fujian's marine ICH. In terms of human geography, permanent population, urbanization rate, and GDP are the dominant factors affecting the distribution of ICH. ICHs are concentrated in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and other places with high social and economic development levels. The government should promote the construction of cultural infrastructure based on abundant material life, provide more places for cultural experience, and improve the overall cultural cultivation of residents to better protect and develop intangible cultural heritage. In terms of policies, relevant laws and regulations on the protection of ICH should be improved. The government should actively respond to national cultural protection work, strengthen cultural confidence, pay attention to the appropriate development of industries related to ICH, and strengthen the protection of the core cultural connotation of ICH. In addition, the amount of ICH in western Fujian and northern Fujian is relatively small. In the future of ICH assessment, the government should appropriately deepen the excavation of ICH items in western Fujian and northern Fujian to promote the balanced development of ICHs in different regions.

Future research

This study focuses on the temporal and spatial distribution of the ICH in Fujian Province and its influential factors from a geographical perspective and selects more natural and human geographical factors to construct an influential factor index system. This study reveals that human geographic factors such as population, urbanization rate, and GDP have important impacts on the distribution of ICHs. However, ethnic factors may also affect the incidence of ICH. Limited by the difficulty of data collection, such data can be included in subsequent studies of influential factors. In the future, multidisciplinary integration should be strengthened to further integrate the cultural landscape and residents' perceptions to play a positive role in the protection of ICH. At the same time, the temporal granularity of multisource factors should also be considered to make the short-term floating statistical yearbook, temperature, and precipitation data more comprehensive and reflecting averages to coordinate with the long-term unchanged terrain and topography data and further improve the comprehensive evaluation system of the distribution of the ICH.

Conclusions

In this paper, five groups of national and six groups of provincial intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province were selected. With a variety of spatial analysis methods, the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics and factors influencing Fujian’s intangible cultural heritage are analyzed. The main conclusions of this study are as follows:

• (1) From the pre-Qin period to modern times, the number of ICHs overall showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The Sui and Tang, Song and Yuan, and Ming dynasties were periods of economic prosperity and civilization opening in the history of Fujian. The number of ICHs was large in the three periods and reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty. The movement of the center of gravity of intangible cultural heritage in different periods presented a "reciprocating from north to south, and south overall", which mainly occurred in Fuzhou and Quanzhou.

• (2) The overall spatial distribution of the intangible cultural heritage of Fujian Province shows a significant trend toward aggregation. Dense and relatively dense areas are distributed in the coastal southern Fujian, eastern Fujian, and Puxian traditional dwellings, while relatively sparse areas are distributed in northern Fujian, central Fujian, Hakka, and northwestern Fujian traditional dwellings. Ten types of intangible cultural heritage are densely distributed in southern Fujian traditional dwellings. Traditional handicraft and traditional drama are densely distributed in eastern Fujian traditional dwellings, folk custom and traditional art are concentrated in Puxian traditional dwellings, traditional music and traditional dance are densely distributed in Puxian and eastern Fujian traditional dwellings, and traditional sports, recreation, and acrobatics and traditional medicine are densely distributed in eastern Fujian traditional dwellings.

• (3) Under different administrative units, the distribution of intangible cultural heritage has different responses to natural and human geographical factors. At the city scale, human geographic factors such as permanent population, urbanization rate, and GDP are the dominant factors affecting the distribution of ICH in Fujian. The number of factors at the county scale decreased, while the degree of influence of natural geographic factors increased. The distribution of intangible cultural heritage sites in inland cities is affected by elevation and highway mileage, while that in coastal cities is affected by the NDVI, mean precipitation, and mean temperature.

• (4) The dominant factors affecting the distribution of different types of ICH differ. Quyi and traditional music are dominated by human geography, while the other types are dominated by the joint action of natural and human geography. Compared with the overall intangible cultural heritage, which is dominated by human geography elements, all kinds of intangible cultural heritage are significantly influenced by physical geography.

The results show that the temporal evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of the Fujian ICH are closely related to historical and cultural factors. The mechanism influencing natural and human geographical factors on the distribution of Fujian intangible cultural heritage is explored from the perspective of multiple scales and types, which provides theoretical support and a data reference for the protection and development of Fujian intangible cultural heritage.