澳門“圍”的歷史源流與社會意涵

Macao is an immigrant city with multi-layers of cultural backgrounds. Under the long-term domination of the Portuguese, Macao has developed its own economic structure and living style, which are different from that of mainland China. Therefore, since the establishment of Macao during the sixteenth century, there was an increase in the number of people from mainland China choosing to migrate and settle there. “Patio” as a type of Macao-Chinese living space, was one of the main architecture forms inside the Chinese residential area of the inner city, and was well recorded in the official documents, street names, as well as legislations. The cultural origin of the “patio” can be traced back to the “lifang” system from ancient China, and its development is closely connected with the collective housing apartment in the modern city. As a result, “patio” is the witness of both Macao’s housing history and Macao-Chinese social evolution. This article will provide the historical background, location distribution and architectural analysis of the “patio”. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate “patio” as the spatial representation of the “ecological niche” of Macao-Chinese, the social-space implication of “patio” will be discussed in three phases according to the theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, namely the maintenance of daily life, the interaction of social and economic environment, and formation of social status.