According to the studies of settlement-geography both in Japan and Western countries, the allotments of land are seen through all ages. This is true of the field system in North China.
The 1/10, 000 map of China tells, for instance, the predominance of the road net-work of rectangular pattern in those old areas around Loyang and Changan where we witnessed the earlier occupations of the Chinese race. It must be admitted, however, that the flooded plains along the Yellow River were an exception to this rule. We can not exactly tell when it came into being, but the irrigation studies in China make us sure about the existence of the canals in the Ch'in and Han Dynasties (300 B. C. -100 B. C.) or even in earlier ages. Moreover, we have evidences that these canals came down to the present day in spite of the vicissitude of destructions and restorations.
In the Chou-li (_??__??_), a publication around 1000 B. C., the word fu (_??_) is identified as a ninth section of a rectangular land which was called ching (_??_), the area being 300pu ×300pu. The words i (_??_) and ch'in (_??_) are respectively the names of the greater sections, each being the mosaic multipli-cation of the ching. These areas are surrounded by canals and roads and are measured by trial or quartal or sometimes decimal system. Accordingly the ching-t'ien system in its original plan is supposed to be based on quartal (S Plan) or on decimal system (S Plan), the selection being dependent on the situation. The land allotment of the Twelve Canals (_??__??__??_) in the valley of the Chang-ho River was made in the Wei Dynasty. This is what we call the S Plan and is arranged by twelve rectangular ching, which is respectively surrounded by the irrigation canal. The ch'in-mo system (300 B. C.) in the Ch'in Dynasty was based on the S Plan and the land system (200 B. C.) in the Han Dynasty on the S Plan which was very similar to the Roman centuries. The transformation of the S Plan into the S is already evidenced in the Ch'in Dynasty. Therefore, untenable is the thesis that the traditional ching-t'ien system was destroyed and given place to the newly-established ch'ien-mo system in the Ch'in era.
On the other hand, the continuance of the land allotment system of the Ch'in down to the Han era is also evidenced by the measuring method. The large scale of Ch'in was applied to the S Plan, while the small scale of Han to the S Plan. The difference between both scales is only 0.2. So it is supposed that both plans are quite similar when they were put into practice.
Now in Ts'ao-Wei era which succeed to the Han dynasty, the distance between the canals is 300pu. Probably these are modifications of the Twelve Canals of the Wei Dynasty. Moreover, the plan of e Twelve Double Canals was partly applied to the new settlement at T_??_ng-ai.
Judging from the continuance of land allotment in Chinese history, we can fairly guess at the mainte-nance of measuring method, which kept the allotment intact. The rate of change of the area-measurement, 1mu=100pu×1pu (in Chou) →200pu×1 pu→240pu×lpu (in Ch'in and Han) is the same that of the change, 1li=300pu×300pu (in Chou)→360pu×360pu (after Ts'ao-Wei), which is 1. 2.
These facts lead us to the conclusion that the form of arable land in ancient China was formally based on both Kurzstreifenflur and Langstreif enflur and here we can see the characteristic farming in North China. It is noticeable, however, that the form of arable land in the jori system, the Japanese counterpart of the Chinese institution, was changed into the Blockflur where the paddy field was practiced.
