Equal-field system

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The equal-field system (Chinese: 均田制度; pinyin: Jūntián Zhìdù) or land-equalization system was a system of land ownership and distribution in China used from the Northern Wei dynasty to the mid-Tang dynasty.

By the Han dynasty, the well-field system of land distribution had fallen out of use in China though reformers like Wang Mang tried to restore it. The equal-field system was introduced into practice around 485 AD by the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei under the support of Empress Dowager Feng during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The system was eventually adopted by other regimes, and its use continued into the Sui and Tang dynasties.[1][2][3][4]

Basis

The system worked on the basis that most land was owned by the government, which would then assign it to individual families. All individuals, including slaves, were entitled to a certain amount of land, the amount depending on their ability to supply labor. For example, able-bodied men received 40

silkworms
).

The system was intended to foster the development of land and to ensure that no agricultural land lay neglected. That prevented aristocrats from developing large power bases by monopolizing the fields and allowed the common people to take part of the land and ensure their livelihood. It also allowed the government to develop a tax base and slowed the accumulation of land by vast, untaxable estates. It was also used by the Tang dynasty to break the dynastic cycle, the idea that all dynasties would end. Having people receive the land from the government would make them feel that the government gave them something even though it never left.[citation needed]

Fall into disuse

The system eventually began falling out of use after the

People's Republic of China
in 1949.

Adoption in Japan

The equal-field system was adopted by

Ritsuryo
), though it is debatable to what degree it was actually implemented. Provinces close to the capital were more strictly regulated and taxed, prompting farmers to flee to outlying provinces. In Japan, too, the system fell out of use as land reverted to private ownership; decrees in 723 held that newly developed lands could be inherited for three generations while a later decree in 743 allowed for these developed lands to be held in perpetuity. By 800 the land redistribution scheme was practically abandoned as census and distribution became infrequent and irregular. Nonetheless, the system remained in existence, at least in theory, well after that.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-8248-2465-5
    .
  2. ISBN 978-1-134-55353-2
    .
  3. ISBN 978-93-86019-90-5
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1108656849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
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