Bio

Hao Zheng is a PhD candidate in CASS under the Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Research (ICCR) program. His study focuses on the cultural landscape in Chengdu Plain, China. Chengdu Plain as one of the most fertile soils is a representation of the distinct Chinese cultivation and agricultural skills. During the 2000 years after the establishment of the Dujiangyan irrigation system, nature has been significantly changed by the local farmers through their perennial labour and correspondingly, glorious culture is developed. Today, a diacritical landscape which records these complex integrations of nature and culture is presented. This landscape is either primitive or modern because it has an ancient structure but is somewhat reconstructed in recent years with a rapid improvement of life quality. His study critically examines these complex shifts in both landscape and culture, exploring culture, development, the politics of space, and the relationship between economic leaps, memory, and identity in a broader context of rural governance, nation-building, socio-economic rehabilitation.