Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2013

Dian (Conditional Sale) and the Transaction System of Land Rights in the Qing Dynasty

(Abstract)

Long Denggao, Lin Zhan and Peng Bo

A classified study of dian (conditional sale) in the Qing dynasty from the perspective of land rights stratification and transaction reveals that dian was the transaction of land management right and all the benefits and interests derived from the right within the term of agreement, rather than an “off-set of rent and interest rates.” Dian was both independent from and interconnected with other transaction forms, constituting an inherently logical and highly diversified transaction system of land rights comprising taijie (title deposit loans), zudian (tenancy), yazu (rental deposit), dian (conditional sale), diya (mortgage), huomai (live sale) and juemai (irrevocable sale). The redemption mechanism of dian, huomai and yazu effectively safeguarded the farmers’ will to protect and redeem their property rights by limiting the room of land rights transfer caused by juemai and diya with high-interest loans. The diversified transaction system of land rights enabled farmers to make their own choices in accordance with market prices, risks and personal preferences, and helped achieve an inter-temporal regulation of current benefits and long-term benefits, thereby promoting the combination of land circulation with factors of production and boosting economic efficiency.