The Landscape System and Characteristics of Ancient Impounding Lake from the “Water Conservancy-Landscape” Perspective

Impounding lake is a category of water body unit with certain storage capacity in traditional water conservancy system in China. Based on the functional requirements of water storage, the lake space and its landscape in history have some similar identification characteristics, forming a representative “water conservancy landscape” paradigm and an independent type which can be distinguished from other lake landscapes, and has a certain role in shaping the landscape structure and style of many historical cities. Based on the historical description of the space structure and landscape of the lake, and by analyzing the functional units and spatial characteristics of the lake functional regulation and storage system, this research outlines the lake landscape system, which covers five aspects: the natural environmental base, the regulation system units, the scenic recreational space, the secular and religious indoctrination space and human settlements and the production life. The basic structural and landscape feature of the lake landscape system are summarized. The exploration of the dual attributes of its “water conservancy–landscape” can help us understand the dialectical relationship between practicality and artistry of landscape space in ancient living environment, and provide clues for the reinterpretation of ancient water conservancy landscape and the logic exploration of human settlements construction.