| The practices of additional payment and redemption in the land trade prevailed in the Ming and Qing dynasties, that is, the sellers of land, due to the rising of land price after sale, asked the assignees to pay additional money or return the land. There were several reasons for such practices. One of the key factors was the constantly rising of land price and the contradiction between less land and more people. Another reason was the land register system of the Ming dynasty which made the discrepancy between the time of bargaining and the time of transfer. The third reason was the vague distinction between “sale for ever” and “sale with redemptive right”. Besides, the value orientation of mutual benefits pursued by both buyers and sellers made such practices very popular. Therefore, a large number of disputes around land trade occurred since the mid-term of the Ming dynasty.The bases to resolve such land disputes were diversified. The central governments of the Ming and Qing dynasties enacted series of laws and regulations to stabilize the land trade according to different situations respectively. However, the laws and regulations had certain limits and therefore the local officials played a very flexible role in resolving these disputes. The notices, injunctions and judgments issued or rendered by local officials had become the important basis to resolve the land disputes. Besides, the contracts to increase price or redeem land were also important basis.National decrees, local injunctions and folk practices were in the state of conflicts. In order to avoid conflicts, national laws had to coordinate with folk practices. In order to stabilize the land trade order, to ease the social conflicts and to maintain the social order, the central governments of the Ming and Qing dynasties had kept adjusting the related laws or decrees, and local officials made efforts to take flexible measures. These experiences are very meaningful to us. |
京公网安备11010102006664号 京ICP备2023015853号