Abstract
The real property system in the Ming and the Qing Dynasties manifested itself as a dual structure of the macro and micro real property order spontaneously formed in local society. Taking “ye” (property) as the core concept and private contracts as the tool, the property rights system was composed of various managing hierarchies and transaction forms. The managing hierarchies were based on four influencing factors: operating profit, negotiability, management period and taxation risk. Various types of real property transactions, based on present and future values, formed a unified trading chain. The complex real property structure had the positive function of clarifying property rights and reducing transaction costs, and it was rooted in the socio-economic transformation of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties. Our observation is that the characteristics of the real property system in the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, i.e. concepts of abstraction and relativity, and flexibility of terms, are different from the property concept in the civil law system, whose core is the absolute ownership and the structure of “dominium ius in re aliena”. This observation can provide a useful reference for the current reform in China that aims at the separation of rural land rights.

I. Introduction

The inherent civil law rules concerning farmland industry in the Ming and the Qing Dynasties included special property arrangement rules, such as the two-owners-of-one-land system, the property rights of dien, live sale and absolute sale. Many Chinese scholars studying the economic history and legal history have accumulated a wealth of research on the basis of detailed first-hand historical materials, but there are still few theoretical studies from the perspective of civil law or property law. Taking a historical perspective, this paper explores the property system in the Ming and the Qing Dynasties by virtue of the theories of new institutional economics and modern property laws, from a perspective of functional comparison.