This study addresses the pervasive issue of conventional heritage management, which frequently reduces cultural sites to static historical information, thereby neglecting the essential emotional and embodied dimensions of place. Grounded in Landscape Research theory, our study analyzes the "Poet's Path" project in Jiadong, a traditional Hakka settlement in southern Taiwan. We employ the Poetic Inquiry framework, which methodologically treats the dynamic practices of guided walking and poetic recitation as intertwined tools for uncovering deep landscape narratives. The comprehensive training program, provided to local guides, transforms their interpretive role into one of embodied research practice. Guides are trained to recite Hakka poetry, utilizing the expressive work of a local poet, thereby linking the intangible cultural resonance to the tangible structure of the "Huo-Fang" communal architecture. This dynamic approach challenges static interpretation by successfully imbuing the traditional Hakka buildings with new vitality and contemporary meaning. The project’s integration of language, literature, and physical movement achieves deep mapping, effectively overlaying crucial historical and emotional layers onto the physical landscape. The resulting felt knowledge fosters a profound, enduring sense of place among participants and tourists, ultimately realizing critical goals in rural place-making, cultural revitalization, and intergenerational language inheritance.

Authors:
Su-Li Lin, I-Shou University, Taiwan
Chih-Hao Tsai, Cheng Shiu University, Taiwan
Chih-Fang Chiu, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Chih-Hao Tsai is an adjunct assistant professor at Cheng Shiu University, Taiwan. His interests include community revitalization and Hakka cultural heritage, and he is currently working on a cultural internationalization project in Jiadong.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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