Re-conceptualizing the ideal homes in rural China: an actor-network theory approach

The study examines how ideal homes are made and remade as dynamic, relational processes that involve both human and non-human actors. In the context of rapid urbanization and counter-urbanization in China, many urbanites seek alternative homes in rural areas to escape environmental problems, homogenized urban life, and modern anxieties. Prior research on home has largely been anthropocentric, overlooking non-human agency. This paper introduces actor-network theory (ANT) to Chinese home studies to analyze how relationships among heterogeneous actors are formed and translated in homemaking. The research question centers on how urban-rural migrants interact with rural material and social elements (e.g., farmland, landscapes, subsistence means, technology, local people) to construct ideal home networks, and what translation processes and obligatory passage points enable this network formation. The study is important for reconceptualizing home beyond static structures, revealing the agency of non-human elements, and understanding how sustainability-oriented lifestyles emerge in rural China.

The literature frames home as multidimensional, relational, and emergent from interactions among material and social elements. From a relational perspective, home does not have a fixed essence but is produced through connections and relational order, involving both human actors (family, neighbors) and non-human elements (walls, furniture, appliances). Home can be multiple and mobile, manifesting in atypical sites (cars, boats, camps). In China’s traditional smallholder context, homes have historically been entwined with nature and farmland, guided by the philosophy of tian ren he yi (human–nature harmony). Urbanization has distanced modern homes from nature and loosened kinship-based social relations, producing boredom and emptiness. Some urbanites now pursue rural resettlement or second homes for slower, healthier lives. Yet existing studies often overemphasize human agency, neglecting non-human actors. ANT offers a methodology to include non-human agency and analyze how heterogeneous actors become aligned via translation moments (problematization, interessement, enrolment, mobilization) to form durable networks.

Case site: A self-sufficient eco-community in W village, Minhou County, Fujian Province, one of China’s CSA pilot areas. Established in 2010 as an early non-profit rural organization, the community allows migrants to co-design lifestyles via consensus, balancing collective collaboration (food production, energy conservation) with independent income and living space. Membership requires a three-month evaluation and democratic voting by long-term members; members may quit freely. By 2018, over twenty migrants had settled and hundreds of visitors had experienced the lifestyle.

Design and data collection: Ethnographic qualitative research led by the first author. A 180-day field trip (2017–2018) involved participant observation (farming, planting, building, handicrafts) and in-depth interviews to immerse in daily life and build rapport. A second stage in 2020 conducted follow-up interviews with 10 participants via WeChat.

Sample: 18 participants (8 female, 10 male), including community members and volunteers encountered during fieldwork; some remained residents, others had left. All had extensive urban living experience; most lacked farming knowledge and skills. Motivations included work/life stress and perceived meaninglessness, concerns about pollution and food safety for themselves and future generations, and opposition to urban materialism/consumerism. Despite diverse backgrounds, participants shared visions of natural, healthy, aesthetically pleasing homes with friendly neighborhoods.

Analytical approach: Guided by ANT to identify key human and non-human actors and analyze translation processes. Thematic analysis identified five key actors: farmland, means of subsistence, technological facilities (notably the Internet and smartphones), urban-rural migrants, and local people. The analysis traced three translation steps: (1) problematization by key actors; (2) enrolment and benefit granting; (3) negotiation of obligatory passage points (OPPs) based on common goals.

• Farmland enrolment and bodily adaptation: Farmland, as a pivotal non-human actor, shaped migrants’ routines (e.g., working at sunrise/sunset to avoid heat), infrastructure modifications (road repair, water storage for irrigation), and bodily practices (acceptance of sun exposure, physical labor, changes in grooming/hygiene standards). Migrants reconsidered anthropocentric assumptions by experiencing dependence on weather and natural cycles; fieldwork (hoeing, watering, composting) functioned as OPPs to sustain livelihoods. Rural landscapes evoked nostalgia (e.g., retirees recalling tea-picking), strengthened place attachment, and supported ideals of a peaceful, poetic home, contrasting with denatured urban life.
• Means of subsistence and recycling: Reflecting on urban consumerism’s waste, the ‘means of subsistence’ actor promoted resource recycling and ecological consciousness. Material circulation between land and living materials enrolled migrants into reuse practices (e.g., using waste cardboard to grow mushrooms). These practices empowered creativity and integrated sustainability into daily routines, helping avoid romanticized rural idylls. Self-sufficiency and ecological sustainability emerged as shared OPPs across actors, implemented through: (1) eco-friendly daily practices (organic farming, old-house conservation, clean energy, handicrafts); (2) promoting sustainable knowledge/technology (permaculture education, smart gadgets for rural households); (3) positioning the lifestyle as an urban alternative and building partnerships with local communities. Core values coalesced as “good for the land, for the village, and for partners.”
• Internet-enabled social connection and economy: The ‘Half-farming and Half-X’ model combined small-scale self-provisioning with diversified income-generating expertise (e.g., nature education, arts, traditional medicine, technical services), frequently relying on the Internet/smartphones. The Internet connected migrants with global eco-communities, enabled crowdfunding, amplified visibility via short videos and media coverage, and fostered coalitions with local ecological organizations (e.g., Farmers’ Market). It sustained ties with families, partners, customers, and supported e-commerce for handmade, eco-friendly goods. Collective rules for funding and decision-making reinforced interdependence and fostered a shared community identity and belonging.
• Borders with local society and attempts at de-bordering: Conflicts with local people emerged over land ownership/use rights, farming methods, and chemical inputs. Examples included livestock grazing on rented plots and unauthorized harvesting. Ecological standards (e.g., organic practices) clashed with some local habits (pesticide/fertilizer use). Migrants attempted trust-building and translation of interests through sharing food and crafts, offering free organic farming training, and including local children in nature education to support elders. While these interactions improved understanding, unresolved land-rights disputes maintained boundaries, isolating migrants from local discourse and public affairs and destabilizing the actor-network.

Data points: Ethnography spanned 180 days (2017–2018) with 18 participants (8F/10M); 10 follow-up interviews in 2020; community established in 2010; by 2018, >20 settled migrants.

Using ANT, the study shows how heterogeneous actors co-produce ideal home networks through translation: (1) problematization of abandoned/polluted farmland, wasted subsistence practices, and migrants’ needs for self-sufficiency; (2) enrolment and benefit granting by key actors (e.g., landscapes improving mental/physical well-being; the Internet enhancing social quality and economic opportunities); (3) negotiation of OPPs around self-sufficiency and ecological sustainability to align farmland, migrants, locals, partners, and ecological environments. The findings demonstrate that home is an open, relational process in which non-human actors (farmland, subsistence materials, technological devices) exert significant agency. Migrants’ embodied practices and landscape attachment foster new lifestyles (“Half-farming and Half-X”) that balance tradition and modernity, while digital connectivity sustains social ties and supports hybrid economies. Yet, persistent conflicts over land rights and cultivation norms reveal instabilities in the human–land relationship, indicating that durable alignment requires institutional and governance considerations. The study re-conceptualizes rural homes as sustainable, recyclable assemblages that blur urban–rural and traditional–modern divides, highlighting ANT’s utility in descriptively tracing relational transformations in homemaking.

The paper contributes a relational, ANT-informed re-conceptualization of ideal homes in rural China, showing how human and non-human actors collectively assemble sustainable, recyclable home networks that integrate traditional cultural values with modern technology. It elucidates translation processes and OPPs (notably self-sufficiency and ecological sustainability) that align migrants, land, technologies, and local communities, and clarifies the Internet’s critical role in maintaining social/economic relationships. The study affirms the continued importance of nature (tian ren he yi) within contemporary homemaking and the potential for inclusive, value-based communities that balance collective and individual resilience.

Future research should engage the roles of government officials, governance policies, and land system reforms in shaping and stabilizing home networks, seeking feasible OPPs among heterogeneous actors. This agenda aligns with broader rural revitalization goals and suggests more democratic, socially just, and sustainable forms of urbanization and rural development are possible.

The study identifies instability and complexity in the human–land relationship, including unresolved conflicts over land ownership and use rights between migrants and local villagers, which can destabilize actor-networks and limit generalizability of the model. The analysis also notes that governance and policy roles were not centrally examined; attention to government officials, governance policies, and rural land system reforms is needed to identify feasible OPPs that can stabilize heterogeneous networks.