Beautiful countryside construction cannot rely on assumptions

The one-sided understanding of rural construction is mainly manifested in three aspects: first, believing that only what is foreign is beautiful; second, replacing rural culture with urban culture; third, emphasizing appearance while neglecting content. To recognize rural value, one must first recognize that the countryside is an indivisible whole, and must also pay special attention to the diversity of the countryside and the irreplaceability of rural value. Only in this way will beautiful countryside construction take fewer detours.

In the 2013 No. 1 Central Document, based on the concept of Beautiful China put forward at the 18th National Congress, the goal of building a "Beautiful Countryside" was proposed for the first time, and beautiful countryside construction became a hot topic. People began to think about where exactly the "beauty" of a beautiful countryside should lie. It should be said that the creation of beautiful countrysides has brought both joy and concern. The joy is that various places have created a great deal of experience, and a number of most beautiful villages featuring natural beauty, beauty of life, and social beauty have emerged. The concern is that people have many mistaken understandings of beautiful countryside, leading them to transform the countryside based on assumptions, resulting in large-scale destruction of the countryside and planting hidden dangers for social stability.

The one-sided understanding of rural construction is mainly manifested in three aspects:

First, simply believing that only what is foreign is beautiful. There is an attempt to replace China's "earthy" villages with "foreign" villages. In beautiful countryside construction planning, foreign rural dwelling styles are transplanted into China's countryside, creating things such as "Dutch towns," "Swiss dwellings," "Japanese style," and "exotic-style tribal areas," while the value of China's own countryside cannot be seen. They fail to realize that the countryside is a cultural complex; forcibly bringing in some empty shells makes it hard to adapt to Chinese rural life and culture, and is truly incongruous.

Second, replacing rural culture with urban culture. The countryside is treated as a synonym for backwardness and ignorance, and everything about the city is considered good and advanced, so the countryside must inevitably be replaced by the city. It is proposed that the countryside should be transformed according to the thinking of urban construction. For example, it is believed that multi-story buildings are better than single-story houses, and large-scale village demolition campaigns are launched, forcing people upstairs; it is believed that urban sanitation is better, so rural household breeding should be eliminated, which leads to rural garbage problems; urban culture is also replicated in the countryside while ignoring the protection and development of rural customs. As a result, rural culture is built into a rootless culture.

Third, emphasizing appearance while neglecting content. People pursue visible gloss but do not understand the connotations of beautiful countryside construction. They are keen on building new houses, "putting on makeup," and carrying out all kinds of image projects. The inner beauty of a beautiful countryside is a harmonious way of life, which some summarize as cultivation rooted in the heart, self-awareness that requires no reminder, freedom premised on restraint, and kindness that considers others. In the final analysis, the inner beauty of a beautiful countryside is expressed in people's spirit and attitude toward life.

In addition to the above three manifestations, some people also set village protection against rural development. Regardless of which manifestation it is, the reason ultimately lies in a lack of understanding of rural value and functions. In the long process of development and evolution, the countryside has formed a specific structure and functions and has its own specific laws of development and evolution. Rural value is integrated with village buildings, morphology, natural and social structures, culture, and so on; even every blade of grass and every tree is endowed with profound cultural meaning and rural sentiment.

How can rural value be recognized? First, one must recognize that the countryside is a multifunctional and indivisible whole. The many tangible and intangible, material and spiritual elements of the countryside cover mountains, water, fields, forests, roads, dwellings, villages, and public facilities, and also include customs, beliefs, habits, lifestyles, spirit, and attitudes. These elements are interwoven and embedded together, depending on one another, and organically combined to display a series of functions such as production, livelihood, ecology, society, and culture. If any one element is arbitrarily changed, it will affect the exertion of its overall functions. Take the form of dwellings as an example. The typical rural dwelling is the farm courtyard, which is not only suitable for rural production but also constitutes specific rural social relations; the transparent character of farming households is the foundation of rural public opinion, education, a culture of honesty, and harmonious social relations. If farm courtyards are turned into unit apartments, the rural production, life, and social structure will be completely changed. The phenomenon of "returning upstairs and falling back into poverty" is a typical case of damage to livelihoods caused by changing the form of dwellings.

Second, in understanding the countryside, special attention must be paid to the diversity of the countryside and the irreplaceability of rural value. Because of differences in history, environment, resources, and lifestyles, distinctive customs, beliefs, and local knowledge have formed in various places, constituting important content in China's cultural treasury and containing important value for production, ecology, and life. If villages are copied uniformly according to a certain preset model, cultural differences will be eliminated, cultural carriers will disappear, and rural culture will cease to exist. When we re-examine rural value from the perspective of ecological civilization, we will find that what the countryside carries is a brand-new form of civilization. Only by recognizing this will beautiful countryside construction have a foundation and a goal, take fewer detours, and be able to build the countryside more beautifully.