Evolution of the Land Tenure System in China

Abstract

The current urban land reform in China, which represents a major step towards the market economy, is not a completely new idea in the history of China. In China, and indeed other countries, the evolution of the land tenure system has depended to a certain extent on the historical socioeconomic development of society. Hence the substance of an urban land tenure system should change with the environment in question. This evolutionary progression improves the land system by rectifying past mistakes and enhancing the positive aspects. This review of China’s ancient land tenure system will show that urban land reform is not a new development, and that the current reform should not be viewed as a new system, superimposed onto the old, deeply rooted one, rather that the past has provided some valuable lessons for the modern age.