As this global pandemic broke out, the infection accelerated at an alarming rate ushering the world into a pending depression, and mounting people’s level of anxiety out of fear and uncertainty. I was inadvertently reminded of an influential Chinese poet, Tao Yuanming, known for his famous prose Peach Blossom Spring. Written around 400A.D. at a time of instability and unrest, the fable depicts an ethereal utopia where the people lead an idyllic existence in harmony with nature. The imagination of an ideal world, rooted in man’s relationship with nature, takes place in a bucolic rural area. Ultimately, this imagery has laid the foundations for Chinese intellectuals over the ensuing centuries, forming many of the philosophical and religious tenets which continue to influence Chinese cultures today.
What can we draw from this utopian imagination given many of the similar circumstances between the time it was written and in our present realities? Is returning to the rural area only a tactile move in the wake of a world-wide crisis, an escape strategy, or could such return present feasible alternatives? With the rural reconsidered, could we look beyond the dichotomy of urban and rural in conceiving a balanced equilibrium between these two ways of living? In such a case, what would be the role of architecture? Would our current architectural practice, based on neoliberal values, still be viable? And if we were to respect nature and revert the impact of global warming, how would our future practice address ecological and economic sustainability issues?
Is returning to the rural area only a tactile move in the wake of a world-wide crisis, an escape strategy, or could such return present feasible alternatives?