Applying machine learning to analyse the layouts of Qing Dynasty forestland agreements in Fujian

During the Qing Dynasty in China, Fujian, the region with the highest forest coverage in the country, experienced frequent commercial transactions of forestland. Throughout these transactions, local residents produced many valuable folk historical documents. These documents, represented by transaction agreements, not only record the aesthetic sophistication of society’s approach to important information in land transactions but also reflect this through their layout design. This study uses surviving Qing Dynasty rural mountain and forestland transaction agreements from Yongtai County in Fujian as sample references. Modern Machine Learning-related research methods explore the layout design preferences of these historical documents. Research reveals that the layout design of forestland transaction agreements varied across different historical periods of the Qing Dynasty and among various clans. These hidden layout features may indirectly reveal the historical reasons behind cultural sophistication differences and provide practical reference value for modern graphic layout design and historical document restoration.