The Manager and Rermanent Tenants of the Former Jjn-zhou Manor

Abstract

The "Manshukoku" government tried to abolish the traditional land system, and establish a "modern" land system in Manchuria. The main task of this project was to determine one owner per piece of land. However, existing rights and customs on land were so complicated that two or more people sometimes claimed ownership on the same land. It is interesting to study the actual situation of land ownership in Manchuria prior to the 1930s by examining the problems this project faced. This paper especially considers the problems of permanent tenancy (yong-dian-quan 永佃権) in the former Jin-zhou manors. The Jin-zhou manors were owned by the Qing Imperial Household Department and were disposed of in 1905-09. After the 1911 revolution, there was an interesting lawsuit concerning permanent tenancy between the former manager (zhuang-tou 荘頭) and the tenants of the Jin-zhou manor in Suizhong prefecture. The Land Bureau of "Manshukoku" conducted research on this problem and completed a report. This paper is based on the Land Bureau report and discusses the following points: The Qing government expropriated the lands in Jin-zhou, and established the Jin-zhou manors in 1669. The government gave the right of permanent tenancy to the peasants who had been cultivating the land. Also, some Qing soldiers belonging to the Han banners were appointed as the managers of the manors. The managers were not able to either raise rent or deprive the tenants of their farm land. As a result, the managers' right to control the land conflicted with the peasants' right of permanent tenancy. The Qing government sold the manors' land to private citizens in 1905-09. In Ling village of Suizhong prefecture, both the manager, LING Yun-ge, and the tenants of the manor insisted that they should have the right to purchase the manor's land and acquire land ownership. Finally, they agreed to split the manor land in half But, the peasants were still permitted to retain permanent tenancy on the land which LING now owned. After the 1911 revolution, LING Yun-ge appealed to the government to deny permanent tenancy to the peasants. At the same time, the peasants campaigned to maintain their rights of permanent tenancy. The above dispute was not settled until the "Manshukoku" period.