Abstract
Through examining the deeds used in Sino-Anglo land transactions on Gulangyu (鼓浪屿, Kulangsu), this chapter demonstrates the role of Huaqi (华契, a particular Chinese-language deed) in legalising foreigners’ land rights and safeguarding Chinese lessors’ interests. Huaqi ensured the consistent influence of the local traditions and indigenous customs on foreigners’ land development. Huaqi’s ambiguity and intricacy in demarcating the property arose with the increasing mobility of the residents. The registration of the title deed allowed the Consulate to efficiently manage their nationals’ properties. The changing formats and formalisation of the title deed indicated the institutionalisation process of the “rent-in-perpetuity” system in Xiamen. The chapter concludes that complex local contexts led to diverse ways of managing and supervising Sino-foreign land transactions in China’s treaty ports, mixing traditional Chinese ideology with Western practices.
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Notes
- 1.
Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce Between Her Majesty The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and the Emperor of China, Signed, in the English and Chinese Language, at Nanking, 29 August 1842, Ratification exchanged at Hong Kong, 26 June 1843. In Treaties Between the Empire of China and Foreign Powers, Together with Regulations for the Conduct of Foreign Trade, &c., &c., &c., Mayers, William Frederick (ed.), Shanghai: North-China Herald Office/London: Trübner & Co., 1877; reprinted by Taipei: Ch’eng-wen Publishing Co., 1966, pp. 1–3.
- 2.
Supplementary Treaty between Her Majesty The Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of China, Signed at Hoo-mun Chae (the Bogue), 8th October, 1843, Published by Proclamation at Hongkong, 10th July 1844. Ibid., pp. 5–6.
- 3.
PRO, FO682/1992/25 C (1/2): Chinese Original of Inc. No. 1, in Desp. No. 18 of 1859.
- 4.
The Shanghai Land Regulations (1845), in The Shanghai Land Regulations (Original and Present Codes) and Sundry Documents Relating Thereto, published by order of the Municipal Council for 1861; and reprinted, with an Index, by order of the Municipal Council of 1868–69, Shanghai: printed at the “North-China Herald Office.”
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
The Shanghai Land Regulations (1854), in The Shanghai Land Regulations (Original and Present Codes) and Sundry Documents Relating Thereto, published by order of the Municipal Council for 1861; and reprinted, with an index, by order of the Municipal Council of 1868–69, Shanghai: printed at the “North-China Herald Office.”
- 7.
Cai Yutian (comp.), Shanghai Daoqi [Shanghai Title Deed] (30 volumes), Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Press, 2005.
- 8.
Chen Yu, “The Making of a Bund in China: The British Concession in Xiamen (1852–1930),” in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 31–38.
- 9.
Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and the Emperor of China, Signed, in the English and Chinese Language, at Tientsin, 26 June 1858, Ratifications exchanged at Peking, 24 October 1860. See note no.1, pp. 11–20.
- 10.
Meadows, T. T., “Remarks on the Acquisition, Tenure, and Alienation of Real Property in China,” in Chinese Depository (2nd ed.), Bridgman, Elijah Coleman & Samuel, Wells Williams (composed), Canton: Printed for the Proprietors, distributed for North Central and South America, Vaduz: Kraus Reprint Ltd., reprinted by Tokyo: Maruzen Co. Ltd., 1941–1943, Vol. 18, no. 11 (November 1849), p. 569.
- 11.
Fei Chengkang categorised foreigners’ lease modes in China into four groups, that is, Minzu (lease from people), Guozu (lease from government), Bufen guozu (partially lease from government), Min xiang Guozu (people lease from government). Fei Chengkang, Zhongguo zujieshi [History of Concessions in China], Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 1991.
- 12.
For the discussion of the rent-in-perpetuity system and title deed in Shanghai, see Wang Zhenshan, Huzujie qianhou jingguo gaiyao [Brief History of Concessions in Shanghai], 1925, in Jindai Zhongguo shiliao congkan [A Series of Historical Data on Modern China], Vol. 74, Shen Yunlong (comp.), Taipei: Wenhai Press, 1972; Xü Gongsu, Qiu Jinzhang, Shanghai gonggong zujie zhidu [Systems of Shanghai International Settlement], 1933. A facsimile of the edition published by China Scientific Company, in Minguo Congshu [A series of books in Republic China], Vol. 4, no. 24, Shanghai: Shanghai Bookstore, 1992.
- 13.
J. E. Hoare , Embassies in the East: The Story of the British Embassies in Japan, China and Korea from 1859 to the Present, London: Curzon Press, 1999.
- 14.
Land Regulations and Bye-Laws for the Settlement of Kulangsu, Amoy, Signed on 10 January 1902.
- 15.
PRO, FO678/17, Amoy: Lot No. 74 Bruce, R. H., 1902.
- 16.
Yang Guozhen, Mingqing Tudi Qiyue Wenshu Yanjiu [The Study of Land Deeds in Ming and Qing Dynasties], Beijing: Renmin Press, 1988, pp. 24–29.
- 17.
Xue Qifeng (complied), Lujiang Zhi (Gazette of Egret River), Xiamen: Lujiang Press, 1998, c1766, p. 46.
- 18.
Zhou Kai (compiled), Xiamen Zhi (Gazette of Xiamen), in Zhongguo Fangzhi Congshu (A Series of Gazette in China), No. 18, Taipei: Chengwen Press, 1967, c1832, p. 45.
- 19.
Ma Xueqiang, Cong chuantong dao jindai: jiangnan chengzhen tudi chanquan zhidu yanjiu [From Tradition to Modern: Study of Land Ownership in Cities and Towns of Jiangnan], Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, 2002; Yang Guozhen, Mingqing Tudi Qiyue Wenshu Yanjiu [The Study of Land Deeds in Ming and Qing Dynasties], Beijing: Renmin Press, 1988, p. 74.
- 20.
PRO, FO678/44, Amoy: Lot No. 165 English Presbyterian Mission, Kulangsu, 1928.
- 21.
PRO, FO678/109, Amoy: Lot No. 57 Nicholls , T. C. 1899.
- 22.
PRO, FO678/46, Amoy: Lot No. 130 English Presbyterian Mission, 1914.
- 23.
PRO, FO678/47, Amoy: Lot No. 133 English Presbyterian Mission, 1915.
- 24.
PRO, FO678/114, Amoy: Lot No. 93 Ollia, Mrs. Metan Jehanger. 1904.
- 25.
PRO, FO678/121, Amoy: Lot No. 136 Petigura , P. J. 1916.
- 26.
PRO, FO678/115, Amoy: Lot No. 17 Ollia, N. D. 1882.
- 27.
PRO, FO678/120, Amoy: Petigura , P. J. 1916.
- 28.
Lim Boon Keng (1869–1957) was a famous Straits-born Chinese, whose grandfather originated from Haicheng, Fujian . Being the first Malayan to receive the Queen’s Scholarship, he studied medicine at the Edinburgh University. After his graduation, he practised in Singapore and promoted social reforms in the then British Straits Settlement. He was invited by Tan Kah Kee to be the president of Amoy University from 1921 to 1937.
- 29.
PRO, FO678/82, Amoy: Lot No. 170 Lim, Mrs. G. P., 1929.
- 30.
Chen Yu. “Yizhuan Yishi Xiangtu Qing: Jiedu Lin Wenqing zai Gulangyu de Goudi Zhiye” [Learning from Lim Boon Keng’s Real Estate Development on Gulangyu]. In Lim Boon Keng de Xiada Qingyuan [Lim Boon Keng and His Ties with the Amoy University], Lee Guan Kin (ed.), Singapore: Centre for Chinese Language and Culture, Nanyang Technological University and Global Publishing Co., 2009, pp. 87–117.
- 31.
Too (tu) referred to the traditional land allotment that was recorded by the government. Mow (mu), fun (fen), and le (li) were the traditional Chinese units of measurement. In Ming and Qing dynasties, 1 mu was around 614.4 square metres. One mu was equal to 10 fen and 100 li.
- 32.
Shanghai Land Regulations (1854), see note no. 6.
- 33.
Cai Yutian (comp.), Shanghai Daoqi [Shanghai Title Deed], Vol. 1, Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Press, 2005, pp. 1–8.
- 34.
PRO, FO678/133, Amoy: Lot No. 1 Scott, M. G., 1879.
- 35.
PRO, FO678/110, Amoy: Lot No. 123 Nicholls , Mrs. T. C., 1910.
- 36.
PRO, FO678/79, Amoy: Lot No. 128 Lim, E. V. S., 1914.
- 37.
Fei Chengkang and Ma Xueqiang also pointed out the different proprietorships between the Chinese and foreign landholders in modern China. Fei, Zhongguo zujieshi, 91–2; Ma, Cong chuantong dao jindai, pp. 179, 199–200.
Acknowledgements
This research originates from one chapter of the author’s doctoral dissertation entitled “Urban Transformation in Semi-colonial China: Gulangyu International Settlement (1903–1937),” which was completed in 2006. It was presented in a few conferences and substantially revised for this publication. Special thanks are attributed to Donna Brunero for her editorial comments, and Jason Tzu-cheng Kuo for his proofreading assistance and constructive feedback. Any error in this chapter is solely the responsibility of the author.
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Chen, Y. (2018). “Rent-in-Perpetuity” System and Xiamen Title Deed: A Study of Sino-Anglo Land Transactions in China’s Treaty Ports. In: Brunero, D., Villalta Puig, S. (eds) Life in Treaty Port China and Japan. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7368-7_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7368-7_8
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