Buoye, Thomas (1995) As Usual Each Manage Your Own Property: The State, Property, and Social Conflict in Eighteenth Century China

Conference: Presented at "Reinventing the Commons," the fifth annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, May 24-28, 1995, Bodoe, Norway.

Abstract: "During the eighteenth century the population of China tripled reaching 300 million by 1800 while the level of technology of China's overwhelmingly agrarian economy remained unchanged. Economically, this unprecedented level of population growth increased the relative value of land and created incentives for more stringent enforcement of property rights in land. Psychologically, historic notions of property and land were profoundly challenged as the concept of land as alienable commodity supplanted the long-standing concepts of land as inalienable patrimony. Socially, the pressure the alter property rights triggered a spurt of violent conflict over property rights which ultimately subsided with the development of new institutional arrangements.

"This paper is based on 260 violent disputes over property rights that occurred in Guangdong, Sichuan, and Shandong provinces for two time series: 1750-53 and 1774-75. The three provinces differed greatly in their levels of economic development and type of agriculture, and the overall pattern and level of violence. The source material for these disputes are routine reports of homicides to the central government. Strict rules and regulation governed the reporting of capital crimes nationwide reducing the danger of regional bias in the data.

"Although the state was quick to deal with violent conflict, Chinese officials did little to resolve the underlying causes of the violence. Peasants and landlords displayed a variety of innovative responses to changing economic circumstances. Interestingly, the role of the Chinese state was largely reactive. A frequent response to conflicts over land was: As usual, each manage your own property. In the absence of state intervention, a variety of local solutions gradually evolved but, throughout China there was an erosion of common property rights and a growing acceptance of land as an alienable commodity. This paper not only serves to elucidate an important period in the historical development of property rights but, also provides an important historical reference point to China's current reform of property rights in land."