Research on the spatial distribution and network connectivity of Hakka traditional villages in southern Jiangxi under the influence of clan culture

Hakka culture in China originated from the historical integration of Central Plains Han Chinese and southern indigenous peoples. Its traditional village spatial structures, profoundly shaped by both the Han clan system and topographic environments, exhibit unique culturally nested characteristics and spatial organizational features. This study examines three representative Hakka villages in Ruijin, southern Jiangxi—Mixi, Yangxi, and Huangtian—employing integrated methodologies of Thiessen polygon modeling, fractal dimension calculation, and complex network analysis to establish a “spatial distribution–structural connectivity” analytical framework. This framework investigates architectural spatial patterns and network connectivity characteristics. The research results show that the space of Hakka villages in southern Jiangxi is not only constrained by terrain but also deeply dominated by clan culture. Under these dual influences, architectural spaces demonstrate highly clustered distributions, significant geometric complexity, structurally self-similar features and collectively forming a robust self-organizing spatial system. The building spatial networks exhibit high global connectivity, low systemic vulnerability and multi-layered stable structures. Ancestral halls dominate these networks, establishing a hierarchical “core–branch–periphery” architecture. Quantitative analysis confirms a positive correlation between their spatial control capacity and the proportion of core clan population. This research deciphers the “culture-structure coupling mechanism” underpinning Hakka spatial morphology, enriches quantitative analytical perspectives on traditional settlement structures, and provides theoretical and methodological foundations for conservation practices and spatial governance of Hakka traditional villages.