Constructing a five-dimensional framework for traditional village building protection in China: A BERTopic bibliometric analysis linked to rural tourism
Protecting traditional village buildings is a global challenge, as it relates not only to cultural identity but also to the sustainable development of rural tourism. Establishing a unified protection system has become an important objective in the field of cultural heritage. This study applies a bibliometric approach using the BERTopic model to analyze 602 academic papers published between 1999 and 2024 in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Web of Science databases. The analysis provides quantitative evidence for the integrated development of traditional building protection and rural tourism. Topic evolution analysis based on the BERTopic model reveals that research on traditional village buildings has progressed from building culture to material technology, then to function adaptation, community participation, and finally to digital transformation. This trajectory reflects a shift from static preservation to dynamic regeneration and from a focus on physical space to social relationships. Using topic similarity analysis and semantic clustering, nine original topics were consolidated into five main dimensions—building features, materials and construction, spatial and functional adaptability, building culture, and social culture—forming a five-dimensional framework for evaluating building protection. This framework has theoretical depth and potential for policy use. This study advances beyond traditional qualitative approaches by proposing a quantitative model of semantic modeling, topic evolution, and framework construction, offering structured and visualized data to support theoretical understanding and policy development in cultural heritage protection and rural tourism.
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